Did you know? 7 facts about Siller

How many wine colours exist? White and red, basically, and rosé became a hit in the last decade. Orange has joined lately and has become trendy, but how about siller, the 5th colour? It is a wine made Hungary and in some parts of Germany, it is darker and more flavoursome than a rosé and sometimes it is aged in barrel. And does it have anything to do with the poet Friedrich Schiller?

1          Schiller – siller – what about the name? According to Wein.Plus, “Schiller is a wine from the German growing region of Württemberg with pale to light red color. There are various versions regarding the meaning of the name. Allegedly, the name refers to the poet prince Friedrich von Schiller Friedrich (1759-1805), who was born in Marbach in Swabia. However, the name was already used centuries before Schiller’s lifetime. It is likely derived from the shimmering color. The wine must be produced from a mixture of freely usable red and white varieties from Württemberg.”

2          The most typical grape of Siller is Kadarka, a light skinned variety of the Carpathian Basin.

3          While the rosé wines ferment separately from the skin, in case of a siller the fermentation happens together with the skin, at least for 2-3 days. Then the skins are separated, hence the light colour.

4          Mix of white and black? Well, it used to be! In the good old days, black and white grapes were allowed to harvest and processed together, so it was a typical way to make siller. The other reason of the popularity of siller in our region is the amount of Kadarka plantations before phylloxera. There were a lot, about 80% of all the vineyards, and since Kadarka can be tricky, in some vintage it does not produce colour, so the solution was to make siller then.

5          Siller is ideal for summer grill dishes, but we can pair it with Hungarian fish soup and also with the famous rooster stew of Szekszárd.

6          Antal Kovács sommelier champion of Hungary (3 times) says that “siller is the rosé wine for those of refined taste”.

7          There is an annual wine competition of Siller in the town of Paks (famous for its nuclear power plant). At the 16th National Siller Competition 90 wines received medal, and only 16 of them won gold medal.
Tóth Ferenc Winery Kadarka Siller 2024 is one of the gold winners of this year’s Siller contest. The nose is abundant in red fruits, mainly cherry and chocolate cherry. The palate features strawberry and raspberry, while the fish is full of sour cherry accompanied with spices. Refreshing, but not excessive acidity, medium body. A true summer evening wine!

Find the wine on the winery webshop