Hungary is an amazing and beautiful landlocked country that is located in Central-Eastern Europe and is enriched with beautiful historic sites, local customs and trends, exciting new experiences, delicious cultural food from the broad Hungarian cuisine, ruin bars, relaxing thermal spas and baths, and much more. The capital city of the country is Budapest that is located at and bisected by the famous River Danube into two parts that are namely Buda which is the ancient heritage part of the capital and Pest that is the rather modern part of the city. Budapest is a breath-taking tourist attraction that is visited by millions of tourists each year that are eager to explore its enticing streets and enthrall in the rich Hungarian culture and festivities that the city and the overall country offers.
The overall experience of Hungary is one of a kind and is absolutely amazing. A tour across this wondrous land is highly recommended and enjoyed by many travelers since a very long time now. The country not only offers fun and thrilling activities and relaxing spas and ruin bars but it is also deeply enriched with unique flavors. The unique local flavors of Hungary include amazingly scrumptious dishes of the local cuisine as well as the exquisite drinks and Hungarian wines that are internationally famous and attract people from all over the world that come to visit Hungary for a simple taste of the authentic and rich wines of the country.
Hungarian wine is widely popular and it has a rich history that dates back to the Kingdom of Hungary. Outside Hungary, the best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokaji Aszú which is particularly found in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia and the red wine Bull’s Blood of Eger.
About one hundred years ago, the country of Hungary was one of the most important wine producers in all of Europe and every royal court in Europe would clink glasses filled with precious gold Tokaj wine while other lush Hungarian whites and reds were lauded and enjoyed as well throughout the grand continent of Europe.
There are many Hungarian wines but a few stand out as they are the most intriguing and the most famous as well and here is a quick overview of what makes them so special:
Egri Bikavér
Egri Bikavér translates to the meaning “bull’s blood” and as the name implies it is a mean red blend that is rich in tannin and spice. Legend claims that the wine gets its name from a famous incident during the Ottoman siege of the region of Eger in 1552. Back then the Hungarian troops were caught drinking large amounts of spicy red wine by Turkish onlookers. When they saw the bloodshot eyes, red-stained beards, and fiery temperaments of the wine-drinking Hungarians the Turkish soldiers hurried back to their captain and insisted that the Hungarians were not to be messed because they had been drinking the blood of a bull.
Egri Csillag
Egri Csillag translates to the meaning “the Star of Eger” and is a delightful, white-grape sister-blend of the Bikavér. If you look into the ancient Hungarian history you would find that wayfarers used to navigate the route to the region of Eger by looking for the glittering roofs of the winemaking huts that were set on top of the Nagy-Eged hill which they called the “stars of Eger.” This celestial blend is made up of at least four white grapes and a minimum of 50% of the blend must be native grapes. Tart pineapple, citrus, and lychee mingle with almonds on the mouth and are complemented with a fresh and crisp finish. Drinking this ice-cold blend on a scorching hot summer day is sure to make you feel like you have somehow been transported to a trendy outdoor club in the city of Budapest. The rich blend will cost you around $15. The blend today is Eger’s flagship wine. By regulation, the blend has to be made of at least three grapes and a minimum of fifty percent must be a native red grape that is typically Kékfrankos. The taste that the blend offers is a rustic, fiery, fuller-bodied wine with dark jammy forest fruits and good acidity.
Tokaj
Tokaji Aszu is one of the premium wines of Hungary and Tokaj wine can be either dry or sweet. The wine is essentially made from individually picked “botrytized grapes” that are then mashed and soaked in dry wine or must. The wine that is obtained as a result of this process, after aging, has a golden hue and is extremely sweet. Tokaji has the potential to age indefinitely when it is properly stored. This widely treasured and growingly popular wine often tastes like candied tangerines and apricots, cinnamon and cloves with a sweetness that can be detected to lye somewhere between honey and nectar. The best part of the taste that really kicks is that the bright acidity balances out the extreme sugar content. In the country of Hungary, the classic Aszú pairing is foie gras but many people also enjoy it with creamy cheeses, lemon tarts, or simply on its own. The exquisite wine can easily cost over $55 for a single bottle but is absolutely worth it.
Juhfark
For many centuries people have believed that the volcanic Somló wines had positive effects on everything including anemia and paralysis. In fact, legend says that aristocrats and monarchs would send fertile women there to drink the wine as they had a strong belief over the myth that the overpowering masculinity of the wine would lead them to beget a male heir. However, all the wines produced in Somló are remarkably volcanic but the Juhfark is an exceptional specialty. Juhfark is a famous local wine of Hungary that is grown only on the volcanic soils of Somló or “sheep’s tail” in Hungarian. Somlo is known to make white wines that are ashy, savory and fierce. The wines induce flavors of lemon, smoke, and wheat with mineral-driven intensity. Juhfark’s effects on health and masculinity have not been proven yet but its uniqueness makes it a coveted bottle among international wine geeks. Juhfark is best after it has had some time to mellow out in the bottle because it then begins to show a golden, savory richness and express more citrus fruit flavor. A bottle of Juhfark can cost you between 25–30 USD.
