4th VinÓvár grand tasting

The town of Mosonmagyaróvár near the Austrian border (90 kilometres from Vienna) has an ideal venue complex for a wine event: the campus of the university and the Castle of Mosonmagyaróvár. Babarczi and Pannonhalma Archabbey from Pannonhalma, Steigler from Sopron, Sabar from Badacsony and Holdvölgy from Tokaj will be among the exhibitors.

Fun fact: not only wine

Not many people know that Széchenyi István University runs a cheese and a craft beer manufacture in Mosonmagyaróvár, their products will be available to taste at the event along with some other beers by craft breweries.
Water is also special in Mosonmagyaróvár both for drinking and bathing: ‘Szigetközi’ water is world famous, it represented Hungary at Bocuse d’Or final in Lyon, while the spa of the town belongs to the 5 best thermal waters in Europe.

About the 4th VinÓvár

Date and time: 14 October 2023, 18.30–23.00
Venues: university buildings and castle in Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary
Format: relaxed walk around tasting with wineries, breweries and food vendors
To see the list of exhibiting wineries, click on ‘Borászatok’ here.
Tickets cost 13 900 HUF / 35-36 euros
Get your ticket here (scroll down). The site is in Hungarian, but goodle can help.
Contact: vinovarkft@gmail.com and (+36) 30 377 5344

 

The winners of VinÓvár wine contest

Last week we recommended a wine event called VinÓvár. Frankly speaking we have never heard of this event – which is not a shame, it was only the second edition. However, the organizers must be really professional or passionate – or both. The list of exhibitors was stunning, and the wine tasting attracted nearly 1000 people! With this number the event can rightly be called the largest wine event of Western Hungary.

There was a wine contest within VinÓvár: first wine experts selected the best wines of the nearly 50 submitted samples, then the leaders of the town decided which two wines will represent the town of Mosonmagyaróvár. Dr. István Árvay, the mayor of the town was pleased with the selected wines, and he added: “Our town is not situated in a wine region, yet the wine trade was looking at us for a few days.”

Burgundy style Chardonnay from Neszmély

The winner white is Kamocsay Ákos Chardonnay 2019 from Hilltop Neszmély. The wine is a brilliant example of the variety with tropical fruits and citrusy notes on the nose and the palate. A barrel aged, Burgundy style with with lovely balance and complexity.

More about Kamocsay and Hilltop wines

A Villány blend for young and old

The winner red wine is Bock 70+ 2018 from Villány. It is a blend of wines from Fekete-hegy (‘Black Mountain’) and Ördögárok (The Devil’s Dench) from 17 year old vines. The soil contains loess, limestone and loam. 50% Kékfrankos (Blaufrankisch), 5% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Bock 70+ matured for 14 months in first and second fill barriques, making it a perfect choice for those who are new to Villány wines. “The acidity of Kékfrankos adds a liveliness to the cuvée, and the alcohol is restrained on the palate. 70+ is a kind of entry into the world of great wines, but with its balance and elegant, tobacco-chocolate notes, it paves the way for wine lovers to Villány’s finest batches.“
Only 5000 bottles are available, retail price is only 4490 HUF (12.60 euros).

More about Bock 70+

Wines of the university

VinÓvár is an event organized by the town and the university of Mosonmagyaróvár, therefore it is no surprise that Széchenyi István University has selected its favourites as well.

The winner white is Holdvölgy Meditation 2018, a dry Furmint from Tokaj, while the winner red is a 2018 Cabernet Franc wine from Pannonhalma wine region by Tar Winery.

Congratulations to the winners!

2nd VinÓvár tasting on 25 September

Mosonmagyaróvár is a relatively small town with only 33 000 inhabitants, yet some enthusiastic winelovers could organize an event with fabulous exhibiting wineries again. Hungarianwines.eu works only with wineries of great quality, we have 40 partners, and many of them will participate at the 2nd edition of VinÓvár – more precisely 8 of the 24 exhibitors are Hungarianwines.eu partners, which is a guarantee on quality. Babarczi Vineyard and Winery (Pannonhalma), Bock Cellar (Villány), Borbély Family Winery (Badacsony), Garamvári Vineyard, Hilltop (Neszmély), Holdvölgy (Tokaj), Sabar Wine House (Badacsony), Taschner Winery and Sparkling Wine House (Sopron) – they will all pour their wines in 2 tasting rooms at Széchenyi István University (B building foyer and Phare building) and in the Castle of Mosonmagyaróvár.

Tickets are almost sold out, only last minute tickets are available for 11.500 HUF (

Tickets (in Hungarian, but it is easy to use, scroll down, adjust number of tickets, give the necessary data and pay).
Mosonmagyaróvár is not far:
Distance from Budapest: 162 kilometres (1.5 hours)
Distance from Wien: 87 kilometres (1 hour)
Distance from Pannonhalma: 56 kilometres (40 minutes)

Drink local, taste wines from Pannonhalma

The closest wine region to Pannonhalma is Pannonhalma (though Sopron is not far either), thus it makes sense to combine the event with a visit to Pannonhalma, a land of crispy white wines and (recently more and more) vibrant red wines. Babarczi is a family winery with significant development in the past few years. Good value for the money, welcoming hospitality, and some really outstanding wines. Taste Babarczi wines at VinÓvár, and then visit them the other day to treat yourself with a lazy – and delicious – Sunday!

Another reason to visit: Babarczi has just been selected The Most Beautiful Wine Estate of Hungary (In the category of small estates).

More about Babarczi Vineyard and Winery