Budapest wine

Try Egri Bikaver, which translates as "Bull's Blood of Eger."

Godzilla

Salut/Hi snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com,

le/on 15 Sep 2005 22:01:28 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

Gulp!! They made world class sweet wine in Tokaj 200 years before France did! However, there's some truth in that the (egalitarian) communist years there didn't do anything to enhance quality.

I'm afraid I don't know what's available in the USA. However there are a number of full bodied reds - although Hungarians tend to prefer white with their food. Bull's blood is one of the best known, though it's not really world class. There are 22 wine regions in Hungary, and I would be surprised if you were able to find more than about 2/3 or them in the USA.

Forgive me for asking, but wouldn't it be better to take advantage of being in Budapest to try wines you _can't_ find in the States?

Anyway, the better (IMO) reds from Hungary are from Villany, Szekszard and Eger (which despite Bulls Blood, manages to make some excellent food wines.)

In Villany, the producer Vylyan is (IMO) the most interesting, but there are excellent wines made by Bock, Attila Gere, and Tiffan. In Szeksazrd (the z makes the 's' sound like an 's' because in Hungarian 's' on it's own is pronounced like "sh"), Kékfrankos, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot all are used to good effect, but it's not an area whose wines I know much about. You'll find their better wines a bit lighter than those from Villany. Heimann, (try his Szekszardi Bikaver, by the way) Vestergombi and Peter Vida have a good reputation. In Eger, they are making an effort to improve their bikaver (it needed it) you ought to try some, but try to get hold of some from a decent producer like Vilmos Thummerer, or (magic) Tibor Gal whose Bikaver and Kékfrankos are truly world class.

Decanter had a special supplement on Hungarian wines this year. They tasted both wines availble in the UK, and some that were not exported were tasted in Hungary. Most of the tasters in Hungary were from Decanter's sister title in Hungarian. All of the best wines in the tastings were tasted in Hungary and not exported, at least to the UK.

Here are some of the reds they liked and rated as 4 out of 5 star.

Figula Mihaly , Figula Cabernet Sauvignon, Balatonfured 2003;

Weninger Soproni, Kekfrankos Selection, Weninger Pinceszet Balf 2002;

Demeter Pinceszet, Cabernet Franc, Eger 2000;

Gere Attila, Villanyi Merlot Solus, Villany 2002;

Szende Pince, Szende Cuvee, Villany 2000;

They also mentioned several white wines. If you can bring yourself to taste one, a wine that comes from close to Budapest might be interesting. You might try Nyakas, Pince Etyek, Budai Cuvee 2002.

I have tasted none of these wines, so if you do not like them, complain to Decanter :-) .

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Ian wrote on Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:16:47 +0200:

IH> le/on 15 Sep 2005 22:01:28 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

??>> I will be traviling to Budapest this winter and hear ??>> Hungary is an up-and-coming wine producer.

??>> Does anyone have suggestions about what is good, and if it ??>> can be found in the US???

IH> I'm afraid I don't know what's available in the USA. IH> However there are a number of full bodied reds -

I've seen Egri Bikaver, as well as other Hungarian wines whose names I forget, in our not too enterprising county stores here. I'm not just talking about the place in Potomac, which is the only state store that I know with wines costing well over

James Silverton Potomac, Maryland.

It's sad to see that with the influx of capital to Hungary's wine industry, we also find the "Internationalization" of their wines. While I know little of the history of winemaking there, I suspect that there were many "indigenous" red grape varieties beyond Bikaver and Kékfrankos, and that the French varietals were minor players at best. Some would no doubt argue that whatever was there produced inferior wines compared to these Merlots and Cabs, but I for one question just how many more Merlots and Cabs the world needs and that even a less-than-world class red made from unusual grapes and sold at a reasonable price might be of greater overall interest. Some of the recent Portuguese red table wines come to mind as good models.

Just my $0.02, Mark Lipton

Alas, memory wines only, since Tibor died in a car crash in South Africa last year ...

M.

The Decanter special supplement on Hungarian wines also listed a few restaurants, some of which have very good wine lists.

Gundel - Palatial, gypsy musicians, and garden for summer dining. Try plate of different foie gras, poularde in paprika, or the very famous Gundel crepe. Outstanding wine list. +36 1 468 4040 or snipped-for-privacy@gundel.hu. ;

Muzeum - Late 19th century interior, white napkins, haughty waiters. Try carpaccio of yellow boletus, goose leg with red cabbage, or Hortobagy pancake. Hungarian wines. +36 1 138 4221. ;

Kispipa - A Jewish restaurant located in the old ghetto. Try soup with beans and Transylvanian stuffed cabbage. No information on wines given,

Trattoria Toscana - Although you need not go to Hungary for very good Italian food, Huba Szeremley's wines are listed. + 36 1 327 0045.;

Also some of the many good hotels have good restaurants with good wine selections. Hotels listed included Hotel Gellert, Grand Hotel Margitsziget, Gresham Four Season Hotel, Hilton, Corvinus, and Hotel Taverna. Details concerning the restaurants within the hotels were not given.

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