Wine & Drinking

Hungarian Wine — The Underrated Jewel

Hungary has a more than 1,000-year-old wine culture and 22 wine regions — and yet it is one of the most underrated wine countries in Europe. This is mainly because its reputation was damaged by cheap mass-produced wine (keyword: "Bull's Blood" in a Tetra Pak). The reality today is different: Hungary's best wines can compete with Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Tuscany — at a fraction of the price.

The Most Important Wine Regions

• Tokaj — UNESCO World Heritage, famous for the Aszú dessert wine, but increasingly also for dry Furmint. The "Wine of Kings."
• Eger — Home of Bikavér (Bull's Blood), a robust red wine blend. The cellar row in the Valley of the Beautiful Women is legendary.
• Villány — Hungary's best red wine region. Cabernet Franc and Bordeaux blends of international class.
• Balaton (Badacsony, Csopak) — Volcanic white wines with unique minerality: Olaszrizling and Kéknyelű.
• Somló — The smallest wine region on a single volcanic hill. Legendary Juhfark wine, supposedly guarantees the conception of male heirs.
• Szekszárd — Elegant red wines (Kadarka!) south of Lake Balaton.

Pálinka

Hungary's national spirit: a fruit brandy made from 100% fresh fruits, without added sugar. Plum (Szilva), apricot (Barack), cherry (Cseresznye), and pear (Körte) are the classics. Good Pálinka is a masterpiece of distillation — fruity, elegant, and surprisingly complex. Bad Pálinka is ... dangerous. In Budapest: Palinka Museum for tastings, or try a selection of fine brandies in any wine bar.

Unicum

Unicum is Hungary's most famous herbal liqueur — a bitter liqueur made from over 40 herbs and spices, formulated since 1790 by the Zwack family. Dark brown, intensely bitter, with an aftertaste that polarizes: you either love or hate Unicum. Traditionally drunk as a digestif after meals. The variant Unicum Szilva (with plum) is milder and a good introduction.