Wine Tours
Hungary's wine regions are enchantingly rustic and oozing plenty
of old world charm. The state-of-the-art new wineries that are
dotted around bring the sleepy wine regions and their historical
towns into the modern age, while at Lake Balaton the wineries are
set just back from the tourist crowds and offer delightful views of
the "Hungarian Sea" plus an astonishing range of wine styles around
one body of water.
Any of Hungary's wine regions can be reached from the capital on a
day trip but, it is worth staying over at most of its wine regions,
especially since Hungary has a zero-tolerance alcohol policy and a
car is the most convenient mode of transport. All the regions can
also be reached by bus or train - timetables are available at www.volanbusz.hu and www.elvira.hu respectively.
Wine tourism in Hungary may be in its infancy, but after having
caught the wine bug as the new revolution took place in the 1990's,
Hungarian are now taking their interest further and right into the
vineyard. Foreigners will find touring Hungarian wine regions
enjoyable even though the surrounding infrastructure is not always
of the highest standard. In many regions a sophisticated restaurant
scene is yet to develop and accommodation options, even in the most
developed regions, remain limited. You can increasingly turn up at
wineries without prior warning, but it's always recommended to call
them beforehand as most are working wineries without staff actually
dedicated to hospitality. A quick phone call however and the
winemakers usually make themselves available, though communication
can be a problem sometimes as not that many speak English, for
example. However, most usually have someone on hand who has a grasp
of English.
Villány and Tokaj are the most geared to wine tourism, with the
many of the wineries of the latter conveniently clustered together
on and off a main road while leading winemaker Attila Gere's new
Crocus four-star wellness hotel takes wellness to a new level.
Tokaj is made up of a number of villages and towns, and the village
of Tarcal has the stately Degenfeld Palace and Andrássy kúria to
choose from. The best starting point for a visit to Tokaj after a
two and a half hour drive from Budapest is the Disznókő at
Mezőzombor, close to the the Mád-Tarcal junction of the 37 road.
This is one of the region's leading top flight wineries, as well as
the first you'll encounter coming in from Budapest.
Lake Balaton is also well set up for wine touring and reached by
the M7 road from Budapest in one to two hours, depending on traffic
and which end of the lake. The black volcanic basalt "organ pipes"
that dramatically rise up at Badacsony, one of the most picturesque
parts of the lake, set the tone for the area's predominantly white
mineral-infused wines. Szeremley wines put Badacsony on the path to
renown and he has an excellent restaurant with sweeping views of
the lake where you get dishes made from his locally raised
mangalica pigs and Hungarian Grey Cattle.
Eger is not to be missed, both for its wines and stunning Baroque
architecture, Turkish reminders, abundant game dishes and
flourishing thermal baths and spas. The wineries are located in
clusters in and around the medium sized town.