10 great wines to remember #10

Zöldveltelini is not a typical grape for sparkling wines, at least not in Hungary. However, if you cross the western border, you will find tons of great examples of Grüner Veltliner (the German name of Zöldveltelini) in Austria. Steigler Extra Brut comes from Sopron, this side of that border, from the organic Steigler Cellar. Refreshing, elegant, expressing the variety with outmost balance.

Steigler Extra Brut 2023

Steigler sparkling is not brut nature, since the residual sugar is slightly above the allowed 3 g/l, it is 3.3 g/l, 12 months on the lees, subtle yeast, but plenty of juicy fruits, especially citrus fruits and above all enchanting floral notes, as if you were lying in the middle of a spring meadow, under a blooming tree.

See Steigler Extra Brut on the winery webshop

More about Steigler Cellar

Report about our latest visit at Steigler Cellar

“What we do is controlled idleness”

An impressive ZV line-up at Steigler Cellar in Sopron

Though being a chief winemaker is far from “dolce far niente” aka “sweet idleness”, it is easy to understand what it may mean in an organic wine estate. As Tamás Varga, chief winemaker of Steigler Cellar explained, they do as little as possible – until the must ferments. Then comes the playful part, like making white wine of black grape, adding a handful of fine lees to a barrel or blending varieties that have never been blended.

By Ágnes Németh

Steigler Cellar came into the Hungarian wine scene less than a decade ago, but they became rapidly successful. The owner, Bálint Lőrinczy is a gentleman with vision, who follows family traditions with being a “poncichter”, a grape grower in Sopron. Tamás Varga is a winemaker of great experience (Austria, California and New Zealand) and with endless ideas and experimental spirit.
“It is the only cellar in the world which is underground when you enter, but then you leave up on the floor” – commented Tamás as he took us around in the tiny cellar in the heart of Sopron. Though I doubt the uniqueness in this regard, it is obviously cool to have a functioning wine cellar in the heart of city, especially with those tricky steps and tunnels.
It was my second visit, first I took foreign wine experts including Pasi Ketolainen MW and other highnesses, back then I was the organizer, I paid more attention to the wellbeing of the prestigious guests. But now it was more of a private visit with my sister, brother and my sister-in-law. Tamás was back then and now again simply irresistible. Funny, witty, generous with the tasting portions, and only as professional as it was needed – in other words, he is great to talk to wine lovers of any level, even with less background knowledge.

Method traditional sparkling of Zöldveltelini

By Ágnes Németh

Zöldveltelini is not a typical grape for sparkling wines, at least not in Hungary. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir are abundant, along with Furmint, our local hero. However, if you cross the western border, you will find tons of great examples of Grüner Veltliner (the German name of Zöldveltelini) in Austria. Now, with Steigler Extra Brut, we can also be pride of a bubbly: refreshing, elegant, expressing the variety with outmost balance.

 

Recently I have had the chance to taste the new release bottle fermented sparkling wine of the organic Steigler Cellar from Sopron. Well, it has already been on the shelves for a while, but I live in Spain and do not come so frequently to my home country. My Spanish second home happens to be in the centre of the Spanish (mainly Catalan) sparkling wine production, and over there, the majority of sparkling wine consumed is brut nature. In the Mediterranean climate it is easy to make adorable sparkling wines any dosage, but it is not easy to find good examples from northern countries.

 

Flowers all over

Steigler sparkling is not brut nature, since the residual sugar is slightly above the allowed 3 g/l, it is 3.3 g/l, yet, for me it was a revelation and a great pleasure to discover this wine. The truth is that I “run with sparkling wine”, this is how my engine functions, and since I am so used to super dry sparkling wines, I was struggling, even though there were around hundred wines at the event I worked at last weekend. (It was Winelovers Wine Awards, as the glass suggests…) Some of the sparkling wines were brut nature or extra brut, but my favourite was Steigler with its ethereal character. 12 months on the lees, subtle yeast, but plenty of juicy fruits, especially citrus fruits and above all enchanting floral notes, as if you were lying in the middle of a spring meadow, under a blooming tree. Congrats!

See Steigler Extra Brut on the winery webshop

Steigler, Tornai, Tűzkő, Vylyan, Zsirai and others

The 3rd edition of Winelovers Wine Awards international wine contest takes place next weekend with a great line up of international jury members and buyers from three continents. A side event of the contest is a wine exhibition on Saturday afternoon with more than 30 exhibitors and with the international wine celebrities among the guests. Apart from the exhibition, masterclasses are also available with wines of Central Eastern European countries. Another highlight is a masterclass for sommeliers by Piotr Pietras MW. The exhibition and the sommelier masterclass is free for members of the trade and press.

 

Venue: Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Erzsébet krt. 43–47., Budapest, Hungary
Date and time: 28–29 June 2024
Winelovers X: 29 June (Saturday), 15.00–21.00
Masterclass of CEE wines: 28 June (Friday), 14.30–16.00, speaker: Attila Petzold
Masterclass “Sell your wine in 10 minutes”: 28 June (Friday), 16.30–18.00, speakers: winemakers
Masterclass of Romanian wines with highlight on Feteasca Neagra: 28 June (Friday), 18.30–20.00, speaker: Zoltán Szövérdfi-Szép, more info here.
Buy tickets for the masterclasses here (in Hungarian, but google can help)
Masterclass for sommeliers: 29 June (Saturday), 14.00–15.45, speaker: Piotr Pietras MW, more info here.
To register (free of charge) for the exhibition or the masterclass for sommeliers, write here. Don’t forget to give your name, your position and your workplace.

5 exhibitors from Winelovers X not to miss

Wine of the Week

Grüner Veltliner is mostly known as one of the best white Austrian grape variety however, “GrüVe” can give great wines on the other side of the border, in Hungary as well. Sopron wine region on the west of Hungary has a unique climate and soil structure, and the grape also has its tradition here. Steigler is an organic winery with outstanding wines – as it was also proved at the last edition of Winelovers Wine Awards.

A serious wine competition

Winelovers Wine Awards international wine competition, held for the second time in July 2023, attracted wines from 14 countries. The jury comprising 65 wine experts and winemakers represented 19 countries and included several Masters of Wine and one Master Sommelier evaluating 839 wines. (I–Ágnes Németh, the editor of Hungarianwines.eu–was also involved in this international wine contest organized in Budapest for the second time. My duty was to invite and take care of the foreign jury members–therefore I have first-hand experience of the expertise of the jury.)

The list of jury members can be seen here.
See the full list of results here.

Crispy, zesty, easy

Organic farming, Guyot training system, yield: 8000 kg/ha. Fermentation in stainless steel tank at low temperature, ageing in stainless steel tank on fine lees for 6 months. “A lighter, more easy going Zöldveltelini (Grüner Veltliner) from Steigler Cellar with vivid greenish yellow colour and amazingly fresh nose – mainly with grapefruit, lime and fresh green herbs. The crispy acidity and the subtle carbon dioxide makes the wine even more refreshing and zesty.”

More about Steigler Cellar

Have you not heard about Grüner Veltliner / Zöldveltelini?

In Hungary in 2022 there were 1237 hectares under vines of the variety–much more than for example Juhfark, the flagship grape of Somló with only 145 hectares. In Sopron wine region with its 98 hectares Grüner Veltliner–in Hungarian Zöldveltelini–is the most planted white grape.
As mentioned earlier, Grüner Veltelini is a top quality, versatile white grape in Austria, there are more than 17 000 hectares unter the variety. The Czech Republic and Slovakia also have significant amount along with Hungary. There is a small amount in the US, in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
As for the origin of Grüner Veltliner, we can find the following in the book called Wine Grapes: “The earliest mention of Grüner Veltliner dates back to the eighteenth century. Despite its name, Grüner Veltliner has no link with Valtellina. Recent DNA profiling unexpectedly uncovered the parentage of Grüner Veltliner: it is a natural cross between Traminer (SAVAGNIN) and, very likely, an obscure vine found in St Georgen am Leithagebirge near Eisenstadt (Regner 2007). This old vine has a unique DNA profile and is currently the only known survivor of this variety.”
Excerpt From: Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia; Vouillamoz, Jose. “Wine Grapes (9780062325518)”. Apple Books.

The historic estate of Tolna wine region, part of Marquese Piero Antinori’s wine company has recently launched its renewed labels. The now look is contemporary and traditional at the same time, elegant and pure. The new vintage of the premium wines will debut at a wine dinner in Budapest at Haris Park, a fabulous venue in the Buda side of Budapest.

Time and date: 18.30, 28 June 2023
Venue: Haris Park – Bobo Restaurant (1022 Budapest, Marczibányi tér 6-7.)
Price / person: 24 990 HUF / 68 euros
Tickets are available here (scroll down, in Hungarian, but google can help)

The menu (by chef Zsolt Szabó and sommelier Mátyás Ambrus)

– Green asparagus cream filled tart with blue cheese and almond
Tűzkő Grüner Veltliner 2022

– Grilled chicken breast and salad with raspberry dressing and marinated strawberry
Tűzkő Kékfrankos Rosé 2022

– Marinated salmon with walnut, pear salad, walnut crumbs
Tűzkő Chardonnay Barrique 2021

– Rosé venison with grilled parsnip and chocolate-sour cherry jus
Tűzkő Domb Cuvée 2019

– Chocolate soufflé with grilled rhubarb and strawberry
Tűzkő Merlot 2019

More about Tűzkő Estate

Wine of the Weekend

Tűzkő Estate, the Hungarian winery of Marchese Piero Antinori has recently updated their brand image including the logo and the labels. There is only one wine of their portfolio, whose label remained more or less the same: Banka, the “one with the bird”. New vintage 2022 is available now and you can taste it today in Szeged, on the last day of Szeged Wine Festival (Tűzkő is at booth 61).

Szeged Wine Festival
21 May is the last day of the outdoor wine event with concerts late at night.
There is no admission fee, wines are to be purchased by the glass from each exhibitor.
Website (in Hungarian, but google can help): https://szegediborfesztival.hu
Szeged is only 2 hours’ drive from Budapest, the festival is in the city centre.

Hoopoe, the favourite

Banka stands for the bird on the label. ‘Búbos banka’, in English Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a beautiful bird, protected in Hungary, typical around Tűzkő Estate, in the charming hilly region of Tolna. (You can listen to its song here.)
Fun fact: Hoopoe birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas. One was recorded at about 6,400 m by the first Mount Everest expedition. So, hoopoe is a migrating bird, yet it stays on Tűzkő labels. The explanation is simple: regular customers like the bird, she is familiar to them, they would have missed this lovely, beautiful creature from the label.

Tűzkő Banka Grüner Veltliner 2022

In Hungarian Grüner Veltliner is called Zöldveltelini (‘zöld’ stands for green), but the German name is also popular (just like the grape variety itself in the neighbouring Austria). Grüner Veltliner / Zöldveltelini is grown on 1250 hectares in Hungary. As a comparison with other white varieties: there are 1950 hectares of Chardonnay and 3700 hectares of Cserszegi Fűszeres. (More information about grape varieties grown in Hungary here.)
The latest vintage of Tűzkő Banka reveals the typical notes of “GrüVe”: citrus fruits, green apple and white pepper. The palate shows crispy acidity and a touch of residual sugar. Refreshing, easy to drink, juicy, delicious wine. It can pair well with salads, hard cheeses and lighter dishes and also enjoyable by itself.

Tűzkő Estate website is under construction, meanwhile you can find info about the winery HERE.

Soon we will introduce the new labels of Tűzkő Estate!

Importers: The Netherlands (Activin B.V.), Belgium (Drankenservice Vandermolen – Vanko bvba), Germany (Xaver Troiber e.k. ; Weinland Ariane Abayan GmbH ), Poland (LAUBEL – Peter Illesy), Switzerland (Globalwein AG – Philipp Reher), Taiwan (European Consumer Product Trading Co. Ltd.), Canada (Mark Anthony Brands), USA (Hemispheres LLC), Israel (Havit Hungarit), Italy (Marchesi Antinori S.p.A)

If you cannot find an important nearby, you can order Tűzkő wines from Winelovers Webshop. They ship to every European country.

Many wine contest can boast with something. The largest number of samples, the oldest, the most female buyers in the jury, etc. However, Finger Lakes International Wine Competition can boast with something more noble: it is one of the largest charity wine contest – they help children with cancer. “All proceeds from the competition and subsequent events benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and families all over the world, whose lives have been touched by cancer and sickle cell anemia.”

The most European wines came from Hungary

At the 21st edition of Finger Lakes contest the selected experts tasted over 1750 wines and spirits. It is a competition for the US market, therefore more than 90% of the samples arrived from the US and Canada. A few wines came from South America and Australia, one from Italy and one from Spain. And 11 grape wines from Hungary (plus 2 fruit wines). For some reason our little country’s winemakers like this competition – the charity cause must play a part – and receive shine medals from year to year.

Gold winner Garamvári wines

Garamvári Vineyard is situated on the south shore of Lake Balaton, in a region ideal for black grapes. Merlot ripens here fully, the gold medal for Garamvári Merlot 2017 proves it nicely.

Garamvári Lellei Cserszegi Fűszeres 2020 is a white wine made of an indigenous white grape (see our Grape Dictionary) – again rewarded by gold medal. The message is that we should take these aromatic varieties more seriously, we are good at it and there is a market for them. Garamvári makes méthode traditionelle sparkling wines as well, the third gold medal went to Garamvári Extra Dry NV.

More about Garamvári Vineyard

Interview with Dr. Árpád Erdélyi, the estate manager of the Hungarian Antinori estate

The interview is based on that of Pécsi Borozó online wine magazin.

We asked Dr. Erdélyi Árpád about the year 2020, which did not lack challenges and which happens to be one of the best recent vintages. The estate in the commune of Bátaapáti (Tolna wine region) belongs to Marchese Piero Antinori‘s “empire”, and it gives fresh white wines, crispy roses and recently more and more serious red wines.

 

– How would you evaluate vintage 2020?

– In viticultural point of view 2020 was not an easy vintage at all. Budding took place later and longer, plus the cooler spring and the drought in summer meant serious challenge in the vineyards. Fortunately August brought some rainfall, which was cruicial to achieve juicy berries for the time of the harvest. From the winemakers’ aspect it was immensely important to obtain fully ripened and healthy grape. As for white wines and roses we can confidently state right now, that 2020 is one of the best vintages of many past vintages: sufficient acidity and full body, varietal characteristics and easy-to-drink wines. The red wines are also promising, but at the moment they are not matured enough to enjoy them in their full glamour.

 

– Which new wine is the best in your opinion?

– Personally I am a white wine lover, my favourite varietals are Rhine Rhiesling and Zöld Veltelini (aka Grüner Veltliner). Both of them are wonderful, and it is not only my interpretation, the market agrees with me. We have already sold more than 90% of our Rhine Riesling, which means almost 150.000 bottles, mostly in our export markets. The rest will get to the basket of Hungarian winelovers.

Hungary is still suffering from the pandemic and the lockdown, people are quite depressed and wine bars are still not open to ease the stress. What to do? Go out, enjoy the green parks and countryside, and if you are loving this green parade, add some more green things. Drink ‘Zöld Veltelini’, which is the Hungarian name of Grüner Veltliner (‘zöld’ and ‘grüner’ mean green).

And the green attitude can be intensified: return your wine bottle to recycle. Bottles cause a huge carbon footprint, so if you can do something to reduce, do it. If you happen to stay in Budapest, the best place to return your bottles to is Borbázis ‘Wine Base’ winestore, because you will get 50 HUF (about 15 euro cents) discount on wines for every single bottle.

Borbázis returns annually 250.000 bottles to production, therefore they spare about 17.250 kWh energy, 16 tons of carbon dioxide and 50 tons of garbage.

Okay, but what ZéVé / GrüVe to drink?

As for Hungary, Sopron is the region for this variety. Steigler Cellar is a newcomer – respecting all the traditions of their ancestors. The grapes for the wines of Steigler Cellar come from our own 21 hectare organic vineyard.

They have two Grüner Veltliner wines, one entry level and one premium. The entry level (or medium range as they call it) costs only 6–7 euros in retail. “A lighter, more easy going Zöld Veltelini (Grüner Veltliner) from Steigler Cellar with vivid greenish yellow colour and amazingly fresh nose – mainly with grapefruit, lime and fresh green herbs. The crispy acidity and the subtle carbon dioxide makes the wine even more refreshing and zesty.”

More about Steigler Cellar