HUNGARIAN WINE REGIONS AND A LITTLE WHINING

There are 22 official wine regions in the country.  As far as distance goes.  Budapest sits just about in the center of the country.  For example, it is 124 miles to the Tokaj wine region in the east of the country shown as number 20. To the far west sits the Zala wine region about 123 miles from Budapest shown on the map as region 21.

I started tasting at number 20 (Tokaj-Hegyalia), came west to 18  (Eger), further west to Budapest, and then further west to 6 (Balatonfured-Csopak).  I then turned north to go to 10 (Pannonhalma ).  Next stop is the northwestern most tip of Hungary number 12 (Sopron).  To give you an idea of distances, Sopron sits only 45 miles from Vienna, Austria and 54 miles from Bratislava, Slovakia.

My Hungarian wine tasting adventure to date really hasn’t covered that much ground in terms of regions.  Having to rely on intercity train and bus schedules and then local bus schedule times, what could have been done easily in five days by car has taken two weeks by public transportation. 

It just isn’t the time to go between placers by public transportation.  It is the research needed and then double checking to make sure you are headed where you want to go.  The complexities are multiplied when you consider that few people speak English, and the name of every place is unpronounceable since the spelling of each is liberally sprinkled with z’s and s’s, etc.

Added to that, most wineries lie outside cities and are not possible to get to with public transit and simply too far to walk.   

That leaves tasting ‘winehauses’ in cities as the best bet to sample a range of regional wines.  Most offerings are very recent vintages.  You usually find mostly 2015, followed by a few 2014 or possibly 2013.  The new wines tend to be a bit raw, generally speaking.  I can only count two or three times to date when I have established sufficient rapport in the Eger caves to sample older and more seasoned vintages. 

A particular drawback of not travelling about by car is the missed opportunity of one on one with the vineyard employees or the vineyard owner himself.  That way you have a much much better chance to learn more about the wine and taste samples that give you the true essence of the region.

Even the tasting at the Apatsagi cellar in Pannonhalma the three wines tasted were all 2015.  They were OK.  However, some of their older vintages are outstanding.  I think the country sells itself short by offering lesser wines for tasting.  Folks such as myself  who want to learn about new wines and who would appreciate the better wine a winery can offer should be given the opportunity to pay to taste them.

I think there is a bit of the same problem in Hungary that exists in say Thailand when it comes to going after the tourist dollar.  Tour operators who charge big bucks to squire people around for the day simply want to keep more reasonable cost operators out of the business.

I have recently concluded that is necessary to supplement my tastings at venues with also buying a bottle of ‘better’ wine.  This can only go so far.  A half bottle of ‘decent stuff’ at the end of the day on top of several deciliters consumed at tastings puts a strain on the old liver.  And I do in fact have an old liver.

Hence, a purchase of a Bock 2012 Ermitage was in order here yesterday. (‘Here’ is Gyor, a large city just a few kilometers from Pannonhalma).  Bock, located in southwest Villany, was awarded ‘Winemaker of the year’ in 1997 and ‘Winery of the year in 2007’.

 Half a bottle later, I declare the wine a winner.  It is a blend of up to seven wines.  Each varietal was put in oak individually, then blended, and then returned to the barrel for an additional time.  This was the same process for making the better versions of ‘bulls blood’ in Eger.

This wine has a full well rounded body and would be a fine accompaniment to a substantial dish.  Think relative of a fine Cabernet (which is one of the wines in the blend).

Tasting notes say there is a hint of sour cherry and chocolate, no less on the finish.  I definitely got the sour cherry.  I’ll leave it to my sweetheart who has a much more refined chocolate palate than I do to see if she divines that essence.ungarianH

I go next to Sopron.  It is reputed to be one of the most important wine regions in Hungary.  After Sopron, I think that ends my Hungarian wine tasting adventure with the possible exception of Villany which is located in southwest Hungry.  I might land there on my way back from Croatia headed to Budapest.