112 wineries, 180 award winning wines

The 3rd edition of Winelovers Wine Awards international wine contest took place at the beginning of July with a parade of wine experts from Taiwan to the US. On 14 September the wine enthusiast public can meet the producers of many medal-winner wines and certainly they can taste as many as they can comprehend. The venue is the 5-star glamorous Corinthia Hotel Budapest, the very same place where the contest took place.

Date and time: 14 September 2024, 14.00–22.00
Venue: Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Erzséber krt. 43–37., Budapest, Hungary
Some of the exhibitors: Eszterbauer Winery (Szekszárd), Etyeki Kúria (Etyek), Feind Winery (Balatonfüred–Csopak), Fehérvári Wine Estate (Somló), Heumann Winery (Villány), Holdvölgy (Tokaj), Koch Winery (Hajós–Baja / Villány), Pannonhalma Archabbey (Pannonhalma), Sauska (Tokaj / Villány), Steigler Cellar (Sopron), Tornai Winery (Somló), Vesztergombi Cellar (Szekszárd), Villa Sandahl (Badacsony), Zsirai Winery (Tokaj)

See the full list of exhibitors
Tickets: Before 13 September tickets cost 14 900 HUF / 38 EUR (on the spot it will cost 16 900 HUF / 43 EUR).
Tickets and more info here.

Let us introduce the WWA medal winner wines of the cover picture wineries

Eszterbauer Winery (Szekszárd)

The family winery in Szekszárd won 6 medals, 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals. Mesterünk 2021, the gold winner wine is a varietal Merlot (the bottle shot in the cover photo features the 2019 vintage, which was a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc). It aged for 19 months in small barrel. The grape came from Görögszó vineyard, and the wine is produced only in the best vintages. It received 90 points! ‘Mesterünk’ means ‘Our master’ and it refers to winemaker László Pálinkás’s grandfather and tutor, a great professional.

More about Eszterbauer Winery

Fehérvári Wine Estate (Somló)

The estate won 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals. The gold winner is Fehérvári Magnum Brut (NV), a bottle fermented sparkling wine made of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Furmint and Hárslevelű. “Our Reserve Brut Magnum sparkling wine carries both the exclusivity of traditional sparkling wines and the innovative curiosity of our winery. An exciting specialty that offers a wonderful sight as moonlight pearls in the glass with a yellow colour. In its complex aroma, juicy peaches, pears and citrus appear at the same time, with toasty, mature aromas in the background. Its fruitiness creates harmony with the biscuit flavours, which end with a creamy finish.”

More about Fehérvári Wine Estate

Heumann Winery (Villány)

Villány family winery has vineyards in the Siklós part of the winer region and produces elegant, outstanding quality wines. At this year’s WWA the Heumanns won a gold medal for Terra Tartaro 2018 (with 91 points), while Laguna 2018 received 88 points and a silver medal. Terra Tartaro 2018 is made of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, from 15–30-year-old vines. The soil is mainly loess with high proportion of limestone. Destemmed, alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation in temperature-controlled steel tanks at 28-30° C; matured in Hungarian barriques (225 l) and tonneau (500 l) for 24 months.

More about Heumann Winery

Pannonhalma Archabbey (Pannonhalma)

The legendary winery of the Benedictine monks collected not less than 6 medals: 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. One of the gold winners is the super elegant flagship red wine, a wine that wins whatever contest it enters: Infusio. The 2021 vintage received 90 points. And Pannonhalmi Hemina, a white blend from 2022 received even more, 92 points! The blend is made of 50% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, and 15% Viognier, aged in 500 litre Hungarian oak barrels. “The wine is based on Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc that ensure the full body and the creamy structure, ornamented with the calcareous minerality and the delicate notes from the aging in used barrels and enriched by the lively fruitiness of Viognier and the vivid acidity of Sauvignon blanc. It is a complex and rich wine that can even develop with bottle ageing.” We wrote about Hemina, the story of the name here.

More about Pannonhalma Archabbey

Vesztergombi Cellar (Szekszárd)

The founder Ferenc Vesztergombi and his son, Csaba make stunning wines that are frequent protagonists of every top list and medal chart. At WWA they won a gold for Bodzás Merlot 2019 with 91 points, and 2 gold medals as well: Vintage 2019 and St László Bikavér 2021. The grape for this wine came from ‘Bodzás’ vineyard, hence the name (‘Bodzás’ means ‘Full of elderflowers’). A west facing slope planted in 2000, with vines at 230–250 metres above sea level. The soil is mainly red clay with some limestone pieces. Aged in 300L and 500L barrels for 24 months and 6 months in bottle before release.

More about Vesztergombi Cellar

Villa Sandahl (Badacsony)

This unique estate in Badacsony collected 2 gold and 2 bronze medals at this year’s Winelovers Wine Awards. Uniqe, because the Swedish owned estate produces only Rhine Riesling wines, but what Rhine Rieslings! The king of white grapes feels great on the volcanic soil of Badacsony, and now it is proved again. Roses darling 2022 and Out of the blue 2022, the gold winners have not been released to the market yet, we have to wait. Freya’s Amulet, one of the bronze winners is available and we had the chance to taste this amazing wine. Complex, juicy, luscious Rhine Riesling with several layers. At Villa Sandahl each vintage has a different topic that appears on the labels, 2020 is about gods of the Old Norse era. “Freya is the goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, and sex (symbolized on the label with daisy flowers and bees), but she is also a brutal warrior. ”

More about Villa Sandahl
More about Freya’s Amulet

Zsirai Winery (Tokaj)

The winery run by the Zsirai sisters collected a bronze and a gold medal, and the gold winner is also the best white wine made of indigenous grape, namely of Hárslevelű: Zsirai Középhegy Hárslevelű 2021 received 95 points! ‘Középhegy’ (‘Middle Mountain’) stands for the vineyard, a windy, cooler ‘cru’. (Read more about Középhegy here.) The wine fermented spontaneously and aged in Hungarian oak barrels for 10 months. It has 8.5 g/l residual sugar and 7.4 g/l acidity. “ In addition to the elegant acid structure and minerality characteristic of the vineyard, the typical linden leaves come along nicely.”
More about Zsirai Winery

 

Find all WWA results here