In the third part of our series of articles on Hungarian winemaking and its features, we will focus on a number of regions where wine is produced. As mentioned in previous publications, there are currently 22 wine-growing regions in Hungary, which are sometimes combined into larger regions. In this article, we will consider several very famous and popular regions in Hungary. And let's start with the region -South Pannonia.
It is best known for its strong red wines. The zone includes four regions, such as:
Villany is often referred to as the Hungarian Tuscany. The region has “shot” due to the high demand for dense red wines. Villagne is considered one of the best places in the world to grow Cabernet Franc.
Szekszard, along with Eger, is famous for his "bull's blood". Despite the similar varietal composition, the style of the wines is very different due to the fact that Szekszard is located much further south. It must be admitted that the region is, technically, much more progressive than Eger: this applies to local legislation, which is constantly being improved, and marketing.
Pec is in the shadow of more eminent neighbors, but has recently been developing quite actively. It is also home to one of the key research institutes in the field of viticulture, which boasts a large collection of rare varieties.
Tolna was once part of Szekszard. After the separation, it became much more difficult for winemakers to position their wines on the market, so today most of the local grapes are exported to other regions. Nevertheless, a number of very prominent farms are located here, such as Tűzkő, which is part of the empire of the Marquises of Antinori .
The next region worth paying attention to for all connoisseurs of wines is the Middle Danube Plain.
Approximately half of all Hungarian wine is produced here, and during the Soviet period, production volumes were several times higher.
Three regions are distinguished in the zone: Kunshag (the largest region of the country), Chongrad and Hayosh-Baya. Kunshag's "finest hour" came at the end of the 19th century, since local sandy soils did not allow the spread of phylloxera, one of the most dangerous pathogens of vines. Although today the zone is still associated with giant factories and cheap mass-produced wine, there is a downside to the coin. Wine tourists are strongly advised to visit the cities of Hayosh and Monor, which have about 1200 and 960 cellars respectively. In addition, there are medium-sized estates in the regions focused on the production of high-quality wines, such as the winery of the Frittmann brothers from Scholtvadkert.
Based on materials by Sergey Smolin for https://swn.ru
Based on materials: https://swn.ru/articles/vina-vengrii, the author's personal permission to copy is also granted.