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

Vesztergombi Bodzás 2019 – wine of the weekend

Vesztergombi Cellar from Szekszárd should build a new store room for the gold medals. They have been collecting serious acknowledgements for three decades, in a crazy amount! The latest: 2 gold medals at Berliner Wine Trophy for 2019 Vintage and 2020 Csaba wines. One thing is sure: this Szekszárd winery is a stabile base of outstanding red wines. And probably, one of the most important feedback for Csaba, the son of the owner Ferenc Vesztergombi, is the No2 position in renowned wine writer, Sebestyén Nagy’s Top 50 wines of 2023.

Vesztergombi Bodzás Cabernet Sauvignon, Szekszárd, 2019 – 9.4 points

Sebestyén Nagy’s wine review:

It is rare to find a wine like this in Hungary. Properly ripened, clean Cabernet Sauvignon with perfect structure, in great format – almost the “wtf” category. I had to pinch myself, I mean, I had to retaste and retaste again to believe that yes, that wine was really like that. It can easily compete with some better Bordeaux Superior, not to mention more famous wines at this moment, not to be too hasty. Very intense and very Cabernet-like nose abundant in black currant, with a bit of leafy–minty character and liquorice. Big tannin, not harsh, it has already begun to form a soft, smooth chain of tannins. Sensation of high acidity and outstanding intensity of the black berry fruit aromas. Great use of barrels bringing a touch of chocolate and spices into the wine. Great length and potential to be kept for several decades. I’d like to open a bottle of this at the age of 90, with its producer and I would say “Hey, Csaba, my mate, I was wrong. Lay it down for another 10 years”.

Planting: 2014, 1.1 hectare, 4500 vines/hectare medium high
Harvest at the end of October 2019
Maturation in 300 L and 500 L oak barrel for 24 months, then 6 months in bottle.
Retail price on Vesztergombi webshop: 12 000 HUF / 30 EUR

More about Sebestyén Nagy and his earlier No2 wine – also from Vesztergombi

The best red wine: Vesztergombi Alpha, Szekszárd, 2017

More about Vesztergombi Cellar

Vesztergombi Alpha 2017, Szekszárd

2017 was a “once in a lifetime” vintage in Szekszárd, especially for Vesztergombi Cellar. Apart from the several gold winner wines, Csaba Vesztergombi felt that there was something even more precious in the barrels. An icon wine was about to be born – but what will be the name of it? We asked our readers around the world and we received almost 50 names!

Csaba Vesztergombi chose the winning name, which was submitted by Michal B. Paradowski. Then the wine was released, won numerous awards, and finally the godfather received his reward, a wooden box with 6 bottles of Alpha. Michal B. Paradowski is not a wine expert by profession, yet he takes wine seriously. Here is our short interview with him.

– Being a university professor, how come that you are so into wines?

– I’ve always enjoyed cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. During master’s and PhD studies, I managed to win a number of exciting culinary competitions; that also opened doors to internships in the kitchens of five-star hotels. Interest in wine—and wine and food pairing—came naturally along the way. Alongside academic activities I gradually started freelancing as a food and wine writer and a restaurant critic (among other activities, I was the representative of ZAGAT SURVEY when they started including Warsaw and Kraków in their Europe’s Top Restaurants guide). I’ve been doing much less of it now given the workload at the university, but I still receive invitations to and enjoy attending wine tastings and gastronomic events.

– How did you learn about the “godfather” thing?

– I read about the competition in your newsletter.

– As a professor of linguistics, do you think that the name of a wine influences our choices of purchasing?

– That’s definitely a factor. Market research shows that even details such as the presence or absence of the currency symbol/abbreviation on the menu may influence customer choices, let alone a name (and matching label) that invokes the desired qualities. Speaking of which, I really like the label that was designed for Alpha.

Huge congratulations Csaba on this masterpiece—it is real honour I could give a name to such a stellar wine!

More about Vesztergombi Cellar

Nagy Sebestyén wine writer selected Alpha the best red wine of Hungary

The best red wine: Vesztergombi Alpha, Szekszárd, 2017