Exploring Hungary: around the wine regions
Hungary is a complicated country – to give it context, there are more than 62,000ha under vine, which is approximately half of the planted area of Bordeaux. There are six wine zones divided into 22 wine regions, five protected geographical indications (PGIs) and 33 OEMs (the Hungarian equivalent term for PDO: protected designation of origin), including the new Soltvadkerti, registered in November 2020. Some of these cover regions, while others are for specific wines, such as Bikavér. Not every region is commercially important, so here we focus on the more significant ones in terms of availability of wines in export markets.
Tokaj
Arriving in Tokaj feels like stepping into another world. This UNESCO World Heritage site is less than three hours from Budapest, yet it feels so remote and otherworldly, almost a Tolkienesque scene of small villages atop a subterranean landscape of tunnels laboriously dug into the rock. Extinct volcanoes shape the landscape – hundreds of them providing the volcanic bedrock and dramatic slopes that make this terroir unique.
Tokaj (Tokaj is the place, Tokaji the wine) has several claims to status among wine royalty: it became the
