The five Hungarian best of the best

The list of winners is rather long, due to the huge number categories (there are 81 categories!), but consider the amount of restaurants competing at the gastronomic scene around the globe! Hungarian restaurants are well represented by five quality places:

• The highest award, the global award was given to Tama Restaurant. Tama has also won a regional award for being the best fine dining cuisine restaurant in Eastern Europe.
• Deak St Kitchen has received continent award in Hungarian cuisine category
• Robinson restaurant has won country award for ambience / romantic atmosphere, Gundel restaurant for fine dining cusine and Prime Steak House for luxury steakhouse / grill category.

Tama, the global winner

The cosmopolitan Tama restaurant in the centre of Budapest is a relatively new restaurant. Best of Budapest 2017 has chosen Tama the best new restaurant. Its chef, Péter Kovács previously worked – among others – in Skylon, UK, in the restaurant of Adam Gray, and he frequently does staging in Michelin star restaurants. László Hegyi owner participated personally in the gala ceremony in Hanoi. „This award is especially important for us, because the evaluation is partially based on the opinion of guests, and thus it is a proof that we are on the right path” – commented Hegyi on the great result.

Béres Hárslevelű Sparkling

As for the cuisine, Tama offers a cosmopolitan cusine with a touch of oriental influence. As for the wine list, Tama has some exclusive French wines (like Chateau Latour 2001), some champagne and some wines from Transylvania, but the backbone of the wine list is a good selection of Hungarian wines. Apart from the highly recommended Kreinbacher Prestige Brut, you can taste a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine made of Hárslevelű grape in Tokaj wine region by Béres – something of a real curiosity!

House wine made of Furmint

The white wine of the house is again an indigenous Hungarian grape variety: Tokaji Furmint 2008 by Zsirai Winery from Mád, Tokaj wine region.

The wine lists goes on showing several beautiful wines mad of local grape:

• Egri Leányka by Egri Borvár / Tóth Ferenc winery, Eger, 2014 (Leányka grape variety)
• Gróf Buttler Superior Kadarka, Gróf Buttler Winery, Eger, 2013 (Kadarka grape variety)

For more info on the grapes, read our Grape Dictonary

• Zsirai Tokaji Fordítás, Zsirai Winery, Tokaj, 2008 (Fordítás is style of sweet wines made in Tokaj, for more info read our Vocabulary

Budapest Wine Festival is really „the” program you can adjust your stay in Hungary to. It is the oldest wine festival in Hungary, the wine event of wine events, a huge wine tasting which will be organized for the 26th time this year. The setting, the Castle of Buda is part UNESCO World Heritage, the visit is an unforgettable experience in itself. There is a huge opposition to events held in the historic buildings, most of the regular events were „evicted” as a consequence, but Budapest Wine Festival was allowed to stay due to its long tradition and values.
More than Hungarian 200 wineries offer their new vintage wines to taste, and on the stage, all the four days will host different genre of music: Thursday pop music, Friday world music, Saturday jazz and Sunday folk.

Discover new wines, deepen your knowledge

Budapest Wine Festival has several side events, which are suitable for professionals or for the ones who are seriously interested in our wines.

• Wine University is a two day set of masterclasses just before the wine festival in various topics, usually in a different location from that of the festival. (At the moment of our post the program is not known yet, but you will soon find it at the website of the festival).
• Taste Hungary is the name of a set of theme routes which can guide you through the exhibitors to find out more of Hungarian grapes and wines. „What’s the secret of Tokaji Aszú? What goes into Bikavér (bull’s blood), a special red blend produced in Eger and Szekszárd? Where does the scent of Cserszegi Fűszeres or Irsai Olivér come from? What’s the difference between a light and a full-bodied Furmint? How is rosé, a definite summer favourite, made? These are the questions that will be answered at the Budapest Wine Festival, where guests from all over the world gather to learn about Hungarian wines from our best wine makers and producers” – say the organizers. Visitors should pick up Taste Hungary brochures at the cashier and start their routes.

A couple of wine couples – a witty way to taste yourself through the exhibitors. Some of them – not all of them – offer two glasses of wine for the price of one, and the two glasses are somehow interesting to compare. Probably the same grape, but different vinification. Same wine, but different barrel, same wine: still and sparkling, etc. The list of partcipating wineries will be updated on the website, and a booklet is available at the cashier.

Wineries – the „line-up” is not ready yet!

The list of exhibitors is tempting already, but there will be more signed wineries by September. For sure you will meet Winemaker of the Year Frittmann winery from Kunság, Winery of the Year Koch from Hajós–Baja, Kovács Nimród Winery and Egri Borvár / Tóth Ferenc Winery from Eger, Tornai Winery from Somló, Haraszthy Winery from Etyek, Kristinus Wine Estate from South of Balaton, Pajzos Tokaj and Sauska from Tokaj, Bock Cellar, Csányi Winery and Gere Attila Winery and Sauska from Villány.

Tickets: a daily ticket costs 2500 HUF (8 euros) if you buy it before 15 August, and 3200 HUF (10.5 euros) if you buy at the venue.

More information

 

A mission to convert beer drinkers

Slovakia, the northern neighbour of Hungary is traditionally a beer drinking country, though winemaking has a long established tradition as well. “Slovakian people have always preferred beer to wine, and this trend seems to change nowadays, however the Slovakian wine drinkers favour Italian, French or Austrian wines” – says Frigyes Bott, a Hungarian winemaker living in the Slovakia. Frigyes Bott makes suberb wines, his Rhine Riesling is simply amazing (his Riesling became first at VinCE Magazine panel tasting this March). He is a member of Pannon Bormíves Céh, and with the other members he is optimistic to show Hungarian wines to the Slovakian public, as Béla Jekl, president of the association said, they hope that the event will generate more export to Slovakia from Hungary.

Did you like them? Buy them!

The event is accompanied by a webshop to offer the opportunity to the visitors to buy the wines they liked the best. Attila Gere, József Bock from Villány, János Eszterbauer from Szekszárd, János Frittmann from Kunság, Vilmos Thummerer and Ferenc Tóth (Egri Borvár) from Eger, and many wellknown names are on the list of the members, thus this tasting promises to be a great opportunity to sample stunning Hungarian wines!

Tickets: 19 euros in advance, 25 euros on the spot
More information: www.bravino.sk

purchasing tickets

Hotel Devín

• Eger – Egri Borvár, Ferenc Tóth winery

The family winery produces excellent white wines and their red blend, the Bikavér is suberb as well. The bubbly white and rosé wines are areated, they are the youngest members of the family. The white is made of Leányka, Királyleányka and Muscat Ottonel – three grapes typical of the region of Eger. Their rosé sparkling is also made from a local grape: Kadarka.

• Etyek – Haraszthy Winery

The winery will release their first méthod traditionelle sparkling wine just for the event. The wine is so new that we haven’t tasted it either, we are curious very much!

• Kunság – Frittmann Winery

The family winery produces its Frittmann Gold Brut méthod traditionelle sparkling wine of Ezerjó grape. The wine is elegant, gracious, bone dry, lovely. Frittman Gold Brut has won a Vinalies Gold medal.

• Somló – Kreinbacher Estate

The winery was the pioneer of this renessaince of sparkling wines we experience now. The méthod traditionalle sparkling wines are made of Furmint, with the highest care. You can taste a whole range at their booth: Extra Dry, Brut Classic, Brut Nature, Prestige Brut. Perfect examples to show that great sparkling can be made of local grape.

• Villány – Csányi Winery

The country’s largest quality winemaker of red wines makes great rosé wines as well – and at remarkably good prices. Their 2,5 bar Teleki Villányi Cuvée rosé areated wines is fresh, clean and enjoyable. It is a cuvée, a blend of the grapes of Villány region.

More information about the tasting:

https://pezsgojunius.hu