The National Wine Competition (’Országos Borverseny’) is organized annually by HNT (The National Council of the Wine Communities), our report of the last edition can be found here. Apart from the stickers on the bottle, this wine contest has a significant benefit: HNT takes award winning wineries to different wine exhibitions, mainly to Poland, as this market is identified as the main focus in HNT’s export strategy. The Krakow event will feature 31 Hungarian wineries from all over the country, for example Borbély Family Winery from Badacsony, Bock Cellar and Csányi Winery from Villány, Dúzsi, Eszterbauer and Lajver Wineries from Szekszárd, Thummerer and Tóth Ferenc Wineries from Eger, Juliet Victor and Grand Tokaj from Tokaj and Taschner Winery and Sparkling Wine House from Sopron. Besides the walk around tasting two masterclasses are provided by Grzegorz Gajos and Mariusz Kapczyński. The event takes place in Grand Sheraton Hotel, begins at 9 am and ends at 6 pm. Admittance only for members of trade, registration is necessary.

See full list of exhibitors
More information and registration

Taste local grapes at the Krakow tasting!

Here we go recommending 3 award winning wines made of autochton grapes, presented at Best of tasting in Krakow.

Furmint: Garamvári Furmint Brut 2014

Furmint is the flagship variety of the country, it has a great potential not only for the sweet Aszú wines of Tokaj, but it is equally capable of dry still wines and sparkling wines. This méthod traditionelle sparkling wine received a special prize at the last edition of National Wine Competition. Vencel Garamvári is a pioneer of sparkling wines in Hungary, he was the first to use Furmint variety for bubblies. „Character-based fruitiness of the varietal can be sensed alongside the dynamic acids. Quince, citruses, mango tastes combined with sweet spices like cloves and cinnamon.”

Kékfrankos: Taschner Kékfrankos Classic 2016

Though Taschner got gold medal for a wine made of an international variety (Taschner Chardonnay 2016) at the last edition of National Wine Competition, Kurt Taschner is keen on cultivating local varieties, his Korai Piros Veltliner is a real rarity. Kékfrankos is the most important red variety of Hungary, and Taschner’s home town, Sopron is said to be the city of Kékfrankos. „Fresh and lively wine, which represents the colour blue on the nose as well (‘Kék’ in Kékfrankos means blue): plum, blueberry and blue flowers with charming, playful spicy notes. Spices dominate the zesty palate supplemented by ripened fruits like cherry and plum.”

Bikavér: Thummerer Egri Bikavér Superior 2013

The above mentioned Kékfrankos variety is the key grape in the most important blend of Bikavér blend as well. Two wine regions are allowed to make the famous Bikavér (’Bull’s Blood), the regulations are strict in both places. Thummerer Winery from Eger collected 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the last edition of National Wine Competition, Bikavér Superior is one of the award winning wines. The blend consists of 40% Kékfrankos, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet sauvignon, 15% Cabernet franc, 10% Syrah. „This Egri Bikavér Superior 2013 is one of the flagship wines of the winery, made only is the best vintages. A fully ripened, developed great wine with stunning character and soft tannins.”

Great speakers, great topics

2018 edition of IWINTEC will see speakers like Felicity Carter, editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, the world’s only global, English language wine business magazine, Judith Lewis, founder of deCabbit Consultancy specialising in integrated digital marketing consultancy and execution or Dr. John E. Hudelson, assistant professor of Global Wine Trade at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. What are the international trends in tourism and what they mean specifically for the wine tourism industry, and how they can be built into even the smallest wine tourism venture? How social network platforms can be used for customer acquisition and retention? How can cellar door visitors be converted to wine club members, developing long term relationships and maximising lifetime value? These and other highly interesting topics will be discussed during the conference.

And above all: great wines!

At the conference some quality exhibitors will show you that choosing Hungary as the host country of this year’s conference was more than a good decision. Do not miss these wineries and sample their stunning wines!

• Garamvári Vineyard, Balaton and Buda

A family winery with vineyards on the south of Lake Balaton giving superb still wines, and with a 100 year old ageing cellar in Buda mountains producing amazing bottle fermented sparkling wines. Garamvári was the make sparkling wine of Hungary’s flagship grape variety called Furmint. “Garamvári wines and sparkling wines are made according to the values set by the founder Vencel Garamvári, and to which all the members of the family and the company are faithful to: Tradition and Innovation.”

• Kovács Nimród Winery, Eger

Mr Nimród Kovács was a successful businessman in the USA when he established his winery in Eger, a wine region often quoted as the ”Hungarian Burgundy”. He wants not less but to put his wines among the top quality international wines. The results continuously prove that he is right: countless gold medals, acknowledgments by top experts, more and more regular visitors of the winery and customers of the wines. His top Kékfrankos called Grand Bleu could be paired with the most brilliant stars of the wine world, while the every day wines of the winery are famous for their superb price value ratio.

• Vylyan Vineyard and Winery, Villány

Vylyan is an amazing winery: a place where art and passion meet and manifest in wine. Great ideas, super creative events and most of all elegance in wines. From the entry level Portugieser called Macska (‘Cat’) to the single vineyard wonders like Pillangó (‘Butterfly’) Merlot: Vylyan wines are always the ones you can rely on. “The basis of our philosophy lies in the work done in the vineyards, which is naturally reflected in our wines. Remarkable wines may only be born of top-quality grapes. Sustainable development is becoming a more and more important aspect; we prefer natural, environmental friendly solutions both in our vineyards and in winery.”

For more information on attending the conference

[add_single_eventon ev_uxval=”1″ id=”5135″ ]