Hungary, in Central Europe, has gained its reputation in the wine world through just a couple of wine styles, but for centuries it has been a wine-producing nation of considerable diversity. In addition to the Sweet wines of Tokaj and the Deep Bull's Blood of Eger, the Hungarian wine portfolio includes Dry whites from the shores of Lake Balaton, Somló and Neszmély, and finer reds from various regions, notably Villány, Sopron and Szekszard.
Hungarian wine culture stretches back to Roman times and has survived numerous political, religious and economic challenges, including Islamic rule during the 16th Century (when Alcohol was prohibited) and the Phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800s.
The modern Hungarian wine regions are distributed around the country.
Sopron, in the north-west, is separated from Tokaj, in the north-east, by 370 kilometers (230 miles) and from Hajós-Baja in the South by about two-thirds of that distance.
Between these key areas lie the country's 22 official wine regions, each of which have their own particular blend of culture, history, Terroir and wine style. The quantity-driven vineyards of the southern plains, for example, are quite distinct from the lakeside vineyards of the west and the foothills of the north-east.
The eastern side of Hungary is Wrapped by the Carpathian Mountains, which have a considerable impact on the local climate, protecting the land from the cold winds that would otherwise blow in from across Poland and western Ukraine.
The generally continental climate is also moderated by lakes Balaton and Neusiedl, allowing for a longer, more temperate growing season.
The most important wine grapes currently grown in Hungary's vineyards are a mixture of traditional, regional varieties and the international varieties of French origin which are better known and more easily marketed. The traditional Hungarian white wine varieties include Furmint and Hárslevelu (the white grapes used in Tokaj), Olaszrizling, Leányka and Kéknyelukekfra. These have been joined lately by a raft of new crossings such as Irsai Olivér, Cserszegi Fuszeres, Zefír and Zenit, a number of which have been created locally by Hungarian ampelographers.
Intraspecific crossing between the saint laurent and the limberger realized in 1922 and in Austria by Fritz Zweigelt (1888/1964) who named it rotburger. Very well known in Austria, it can be found in most Eastern countries, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, the United States, etc. In France, it is not very well known and yet this variety has interesting qualities when vinified as a single variety for both red and rosé wines. - Synonyms: rotburger, klosterneuburger, zweigelt blau, blauer-zweigelt in Germany, zweigeltrebe in Austria, Great Britain and the Czech Republic, blauer zwelgetrabe in Hungary, etc. (for all the synonyms of the grape varieties, click here !)
red wines from the region of Észak-Dunántúl go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or spicy food such as recipes of traditional hungarian goulash, crusted lamb fillets with sweet spices or couscous chicken and merguez.
Plans have been approved for what will become Islay’s 12th Scotch malt whisky distillery. Laggan Bay is set to be developed by whisky bottlers and brewers The Islay Boys, in association with Ian Macleod Distillers. Argyll and Bute Council has granted planning permission for the distillery, which The Islay Boys said will produce ‘a traditional, double-distillation Islay whisky’, at Glenegedale in Laggan Bay, close to the island’s airport. The new development, on a two-hectare site, will also incl ...
Export shipments were worth £4.51bn last year, up 19% on 2020, but 8% below the total of £4.91bn recorded in 2019, according to HMRC figures quoted by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). However, export volumes rose 21% to nearly 1.4 billion bottles in 2021, some 73 million bottles above the figures recorded in pre-pandemic 2019. Scotch exports experienced an annus horribilis in 2020, falling to a 10-year low thanks to the combined effects of the pandemic and the imposition of punitive import t ...
On December 10, 2020, four Hong Kong personalities discussed Chablis wines on a live webinar: Yang LU, Master Sommelier and Official Bourgogne Wines Ambassador, Debra MEIBURG, Master of Wine, Ivy NG, Official Bourgogne Wines Ambassador and Rebecca LEUNG, wine expert. In 80-second clip, Debra MEIBURG answers the question of an Internet user : what style should one expect from a good Chablis ? #Chablis #PureChablis ...
