22 categories and special awards

The annual awards of Vince wine magazine and wine club were given out on 8 November at Vince Gala event at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. First the team and trustworthy experts of the magazine nominated three wines in each category – partially based on the monthly panel tastings –, and then the readers could vote for their favourite ones. Congratulations to the winners!
See the full list of winners below the photo.

The winner wines from our cover photo:

– Kovács Nimród Battonage Chardonnay 2023
– Pannonhalmi Főapátság Infusio 2022
– Heimann és Fiai “Piros” Siller 2024
– Steigler Pet-Nat Zöld Veltelini 2024

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

Another reason to go to Villány

The first vintage of the ancient method sparkling wine was released last year and now the 2021 vintage is available – though only 700 bottles. The Villány estate creates something exciting from time to time with only one negative attribute – the quantity. Vylyan Pét-Nat is available only at Vylyan Depó (in the centre of Villány) and at Vylyan Terrace, on the site of the wine estate itself, surrounded by the astonishing artistic barrels decorated by contemporary artists. Vylyan Vineyard and Winery is situated in Kisharsány, only a few minutes’ drive from Villány.

How did we make?

Vylyan team reveals how they created the second pét-nat of their history under the guidance of Sándor Tóth head winemaker: The blend is Pinot Noir, Merlot, Kékfrankos, Zweigeilt and Syrah. Fermenting rose must was bottled directly from the stainless steel vat on 17 September 2021. The fermenting must contained 18 g / l sugar (not it contains 7.4 g / l only). The wine stayed on the lees until 1 March, when we disgorged each bottle manually and closed with crown cap again.

The colour is bright, salmon-like, almost siller colour. The nose is fresh, straightforward, abundant in jogurt with strawberry and raspberry, pleasant and fine with only a hint of yeast. The palate also features red berry fruits, a lot of sour cherry, strawberry, raspberry, cherry. Playful, happy wine with tart acidity and popping candy. Easy going, not oversophisticated. Meaty, fleshy, juicy, we can almost bite into it! A popular summer wine, a “hipster” joywine.

At Pentecost weekend and after

Vylyan Terrace await guests during the upcoming long weekend with the following opening hours: Friday: 17.00–22.00, Saturday: 11.00–20.00, Sunday: 11.00–20.00, Monday: closed. If you miss this upcoming weekend, no problem, Vylyan Terrace welcomes guests on every Friday in the summer season: “This year we are saying goodbye to the barbecue kitchen and our general opening hours will also change. Every Friday, we are waiting for wine lovers with our “Friday Wine Night” program series, during which you can choose from our wines, our cheese and ham plate and if you are feeling adventurous we will even take you for a cellar tour.”

Further details about Vylyan cellar tours

Friday Wine Night

All we want in the heat of the summer is refreshment. Wines with bubbles are given by God to ease the sweaty hotness and make us fell better. Vylyan pét-nat, Giorgio Furmint (and Yellow Muscat) frizzante from Patricius in Tokaj, Paulus sparkling from the unknown Generosa, Béres aerated sparkling and an organic pét-nat from Kristinus.

Experiment of the experimental

Vylyan Vineyard and Winery has recently introduced its new chief winemaker, Sándor Tóth and the young professional presented two new products immediately. One is a higher category, barrel aged, complex, creamy rosé wine, while the other is pét-nat, the trendy, natural, unfiltered bubbly wine. The estate has released two pét-nat wines, a white made of Olaszrizling, Rhine Riesling and Chardonnay and a rosé from Pinot Noir, Kadarka, Kékfrankos and Merlot. Unlike the traditional pét-nat, Vylyan version is slightly different: they disgorged the bottles by hand. The result is a “naughty”, yet enjoyable white and rosé, both abundant in fruity flavours. Vylyan pét-nats are available only at Vylyan Terrace in Kisharsány (Villány)

More about Vylyan Vineyard and Winery

Kristinus Wine Estate on the souther shore of Lake Balaton is closer and closer to be certified fully biodynamic both in the vineyard and the cellar. „The initial idea was only to increase the quality and expressiveness of the grapes. Also getting out of the competition of mainstreamed wines and finding a sustainable way of agriculture” – explained Florian Zaruba Kristinus CEO about the beginnings in an earlier article of ours. The deeper he got into the topic, the more obvious it became for him to choose biodynamics. In 2018 all Kristinus wines were made without chemical pesticides and fungicides, and they have started to convert the cellar as well: Kristinus will not use any kind of synthetic products in the cellar, and they will get rid of selected yeasts as well.

Wines of heavenly harmony

I had the chance to taste a whole range of Kristinus wines around Christmas, and I must admit I was most impressed. All the wines were vibrant, full of flavours, long lasting and the ingredients were in perfect harmony. Just to mention two: the Pet Nat (made of 100% Zenit) was refreshing and full of notes of exotic fruits and the scents of a spring meadow. Holistic Kékfrankos (Blaufrankisch) 2018 was again abundant in fruit and floral notes, and with its smooth tannins, silky texture and medium body it was kind of ethereal for me. Damn delicious! You may say my sensation was influenced by my elevated soul (due to Christmas and family gatherings), but no, it was not the case. And now Kristinus has released its first Siller made of 100% Kékfrankos.

Do you know what Siller is?

As Elizabeth Gabay MW describes it in one her articles: “Siller (Schiller in German) is one of the oldest styles of rosé made. Its name means ‘to shimmer’ referring to the colour being between red and pink. Few people make siller today, with the fashion for an international pale rosé.“ Nowadays Siller is a rosé with darker pink colour, made with longer maceration (24–36 hours usually). The method comes from Swabian winemakers and traditionally it was produced by picking and fermenting red and white grapes together, but today it is made from red grapes only.

With a touch of saltiness

Kristinus Siller was soaking even longer, for 3 whole days. After spontaneous fermentation the wine spent 6 months on lees, and was bottled without filtration. “Behind the sweet overtones of red and black currants, cherries and raspberries, the Kékfrankos hits the palate with a mixture of red and black pepper spiciness. With a medium to long finish and incredibly smooth texture, a final touch of saltiness heightens the piquancy of the Kékfrankos and makes it a summer favourite.“

What to pair with it?
This fruity Siller pairs well with a wide range of plates from soft cheeses through duck to sushi – and at Lake Balaton you must try it with the obligatory Balaton fish soup.
“We like it well chilled, even right away from the ice bucket! Not overthought, mostly with friends, on a late Saturday afternoon, sprawled deep in a hammock under a walnut tree. Fresh and cheerfully honest.“  I can’t wait. The Siller is available from Bortársaság stores – in May within a selection of special offer.

More about Kristinus Wine Estate

Bortársaság May Selection with Kristinus Siller

Go natural, drink organic, be open – some of the most important messages of Kristinus Wine Estate (South Balaton), which created some exciting wine & gourmet packages for Easter. The labels are colourful – just like nature itself –, and also to support the #familyisfamily movement.

Oliver, Oliver!

The protagonist of the cover photo above is Oliver, a fully organic (certified) wine, fermented spontaneously, matured on fine lees, unfiltered and made of Irsai Olivér grape variety. “Oliver is an absolute vibrant character. The explosive fruitiness is already reflected in his aroma: fresh grapes, elderflowers, many citrus fruits, nectarines, as well as exotic aromas – mangoes and lychees. The storing on fine yeast for seven months decisively contributed to the excellent structure of the wine. It’s really lively but the dynamic acidity is accompanied by a solid, pleasant feeling of creaminess. It’s longer than medium. We love its “Oliver-style” vibrancy and natural honesty without any makeup. He entertains us also as a solo player but he fits also to a grilled salmon with lemon sauce, seafood or lighter salads.“

More about Kristinus Oliver

Tomato chutney with fennel and other delicacies

Kristinus has found a partner to offer some organic snacks with Kristinus wines. They have found some “super exciting products made directly from small, local and organic farms’ ingredients – where, responsible animal husbandry and sustainable farming are the basis of everything.“ The delicacies come from the innovative team of a Balatonfüred wine bar called MÓR24. The young team is a startup, in fact they have just won the Startup of the Year in Balatonfüred (the northern capital of Balaton).

The Easter packages are exciting and are prepared to astonish connoisseurs with food and wine pairings. Kristinus Pet-Nat for example matches perfectly with the crunchy, slightly spicy, sweet curry pickles of MÓR24, since Kristinus Pet-Nat is made of the aromatic Muscat grape.

See the content of Kristinus–MÓR24 Easter packages