New release by Béres Vineyards

Verjus, the seasoning of wine connoisseurs’ cuisine, is a more and more popular product of Hungarian wineries. As the consumption of alcohol-free drinks increase, verjus, the juice of the green, unripen grapes, can get a new role: it can serve as a subtle and additive-free alternative of de-alcoholised wines in the form of cocktails or simply with soda water.

Picked by hand

Since verjus is all about the acidity, it is logical to make verjus in Tokaj, where grapes naturally retain a high amount of refreshing acidity. Acidity is blessing in Tokaji Aszú wines, where it balances the immense amount of natural sugar, and it is also welcome in verjus, which is used in cuisine as a quality alternative of vinegar.
Béres Vineyards was founded by the son of Dr. József Béres, the internationally renowned inventor of Béres Drops.Their slogan is “Every single drop is Béres”. Verjus is a concentrated substance, thus the slogan is absolutely relevant here.
The Hárslevelű grapes for Béres verjus were picked by hand and pressed gently. The acidity is 28.3 g/L, while the residual sugar is 40 g/L. “The elegant essence of acidity for versatile use from cocktails or other drinks to innovative gastronomical ideas.”
Price on winery webshop: 2542 HUF / approximately 6–7 EUR (0.75 L)
For those living in Budapest, Béres Verjus is available at BOCCA Gourmet Stories MOM Park.

More about Béres Vineyards

Certainly not verjus, but wine is the focus of Béres Vineyards, here is a recent, huge success:

Decanter World Wine Award 2025: Platinum award

The Platinum awarded wine is: Béres 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú 2017, Tokaj, 97 points
60% Furmint, 40% Muscat
DWWA review: A captivating interplay of richly concentrated fruit and exuberant white tea aromatics bathed in a joyous sweetness. Very refined and distinctive with a massive lemony energy which pervades the racy acidity and swirls towards the long, volcanic finish.

And another outstanding result:

The highest score in the history of Dr Matthew Horkey YouTube channel

February is the month of Furmint variety, it is celebrated all over Hungary and in several other countries as well, for example in the United Kingdom. Wherever you live, enjoy a glass (or better a bottle) of the wine of this amazing, versatile grape variety.

 

1. The pronunciation of Furmint is “Foor-mint”.
2. Furmint originates from Tokaj, and there are several evidences to prove that, one of them is the mention of the variety as early as 1571 in the Hétszőlő vineyard and another in 1611 in a document from Erdőbénye, both in Tokaj region.
3. According to DNI analyses, Furmint is the offspring of Gouais Blanc grape variety, therefore it is the “half-brother” of many famous grapes like Chardonnay and Riesling.
4. DNI tests have also proved that Furmint is a parent of Hárslevelű, the other important grape of Tokaj.
5. Furmint is one of the few grapes allowed to use under the appellation of Tokaj, it is the main grape of Aszú wines along with Hárslevelű.
6. Though most Tokaji Aszú wines contain Furmint, the variety is far more than an ingredient of the noble sweet wine. You can find single vineyard dry Furmint wines, dry and sweet blends and also marvellous bottle fermented sparkling wines made of Furmint.
7. Though most wine experts associate Furmint with Tokaj, it is grown in many other wine regions giving stunning examples of the variety: Somló, Badacsony, Balatonfüred–Csopak, Mátra and Eger.
8. Furmint is the 3rd most planted white grape in Hungary.
9. Furmint is also grown in Croatia, it is known as Moslavac there, while in Slovenia it is called Šipon.
10. Furmint was taken as far as South Africa, and we have seen “Tokaji Aszú”-type of wine made of Furmint and Hárslevelű in South Africa.

Tokaj, botrytis, great vintage

Though the 2024 harvest is over, the official harvest report of Hungary has not been released yet. Fortunately, some wineries are happy to share their harvest experiences, so here is the first one with Béres Vineyards from Tokaj.

 

Some vineyards of the world are lucky enough to be located in a zone where grapes ripen twice a year. Hungary does not belong to these places, yet some winemakers of ours experience the double harvest, what is more, they have to do the two pickings within two months – as it happened in Tokaj at Béres Vineyards this year. The harvest began on 22 August and ended on 25 October.

What was the best of this year’s harvest?

As János Jarecsni estate manager and chief winemaker explained, they started with Hárslevelű for their method traditional sparkling wines. They had known in advance that the harvest would start early, just like in 2018. “Since we planned to vinify the majority of our production dry, the first three weeks were very intense. I believe that we made good decision when deciding the harvest dates. Most of the work had already been done by the time the heavy rains arrived in the middle of September.” And they started waiting for the best, hoping for a great Aszú vintage.

Attila Götz vineyard manager added that it had been nice working in the vineyard due to the lovely, sunny weather, and he also mentions the team of pickers: “we could work with the same people during the whole harvest period, perhaps this year was the most relaxed in this aspect”.

The following announcement comes from Gergely Ripka, the author of TokajGuide. The cover picture is made of photos taken by Béres Vineyards team, they are here for inspiration.

The Harvest in Tokaj

After last year’s great success, the 10 years old TokajGuide is announcing a photo contest, the topic of which is the inimitable vibe, colours and flavours of the harvest around Tokaj.
The picture must be taken in the Tokaj wine region. It can be black and white, portrait or landscape, the point is to illustrate one of the most important weeks of the region, the harvest, as beautifully/imaginatively as possible! The next few weeks are probably the best time for this, as there is so much going on in the vineyards that tempts you to explore.

Grand Prizes:

– The jury’s main prize: a photography voucher worth HUF 120 000 by Camera Kft. photo shop.
– Members of the jury:

• Ferenc Dancsecs photographer, Furmint Photo, wine producer,
• Zoltán Demeter, wine producer, hobby photographer,
• József Hlavács of BAZ Beer, hobby photographer, former winner,
• Gergely Ripka, editor of TokajGuide.

– The prize of the public vote (during November): also offered by the jury, a valuable gift package with wines, BAZ beer and a signed copy of the new TokajGuide23.
– Entries are accepted till: October 30, 2024.
– Expected result announcement: early December 2024.

Competition rules

– We are waiting for pictures only from 2024 (we have time)!
– Entry is free.
– Anyone can apply, but a maximum of 3 pictures can be submitted as an applicant (if someone sends more, we will still judge the first three); as for audience voting, after preliminary screening, we will give away a maximum of one per entrant!
– For public voting, we will publish the entries on Facebook, and they will be judged according to the number of likes under the original picture up to and including the deadline.
– We welcome submissions with a few sentences about you to: ripkagergely@gmail.com (indicated in the subject line: TOKAJGUIDE-photo)!
– Technical requirements: jpg, jpeg or raw format. We can accept images of a maximum size of 5 MB each. Please include the name of the entrant in an identifiable way in the name of the picture.
– What we don’t accept: AI photos, watermarked photos.

Tokaj in the heat of the summer

It is unbearably hot in Hungary, since the temperature is constantly above 35 Celsius and the nights are not cool either. Béres Vineyards produces magnificent Tokaji Aszú wines, however, the dry wines and sparkling wines are also important. Béres Furmint and Holdezüst wines are great thirst-quenching wines, and Wine, Shine, Bénye festival on 8–11 August is a superb opportunity to enjoy both.

Béres Tokaji Estate Furmint 2021

The winery produces a single vineyard, legendary wine of the iconic grape of Tokaj, it is the Lőcse Furmint, a complex masterpiece. However, for a summer lunch or dinner we might look for something lighter, like the Estate Furmint (in our cover photo above) with its juicy, lovely, refreshing flavours. “Fresh, fruity wine. Notes of pear and grapefruit on the nose. Its lively acidity makes it crisp, with a long, citrusy finish. A true Furmint reminiscent of summer.” The longevity of Furmint is proved by the vintages available at Béres Vineyards: the 2021 vintage of this Furmint is young, vibrant and vivid, just in its peak to enjoy!

More about Béres Tokaji Estate Furmint 2021

Our wine today is Béres Lőcse Furmint 2017 from Tokaj. It is a great wine, has a story and available in several countries. We will explain what the wine is made of and how, why do we suggest it, what to pair with, where you can buy for how much, and we also tell you more about Lőcse vineyard.

How to pronounce Béres Lőcse Furmint

What
100% Furmint, a single vineyard wine from the best crop of Lőcse vineyard. To read about the vineyard, scroll down.

How
After very gentle pressing the must had a rest for a night then fermentation took place in wooden barrel. After fermentation the wine aged in large barrels (2 and 5 hL) with different levels of toasting. Due to bâtonnage during the ageing period, this Furmint became a round, balanced wine reflecting the mineral characteristics of the vineyard. “After ageing we tasted every single barrel and blended the best ones to create the final wine”.

Why
Tamlyn Currin, wine writer of Jancis.Robinson.com tasted this wine and gave 17 points. “Classic Furmint nose! The smell of pure Furmint always seems, to me, to have a lime-green luminosity to it! Heady florals that tumble from nose to palate. Nectarines, tangerine and exploding sweet lime and the locust-tree/acacia-blossom sweetness. The oak is but a whisper, bringing a pencil-tip-fine stipple of spice, more felt than tasted. Towards the finish, elegant richness builds: creamy warm almonds, even a touch of orange marmalade. Long. Superb.“

What to pair with
Due to its complexity this Furmint pairs well with elaborate plates of poultry, fish or pork tenderloin. If there is a creamy sauce, the acidity (6.2 g/L) of the wine will balance it nicely.

Where and how much
– The new official Béres website with a webshop is available in Hungarian at the moment, the price is 4792 HUF (11–12 euro)
– You can also order Béres Lőcse Furmint from Winelovers Webshop. They ship to every European country! The price is 13 euro here.

More about Béres Vineyards on Hungarianwines.eu
The English version of Béres official website is under construction.

Lőcse – a legendary vineyard