Hungary’s winemaking society has changed significantly over the little more than one decade since some lads started thinking about procuding drinkable wines in the early 90s. After the now well-established tier-1 names’ successes (primarily from Villány and Eger) followed by a growing number of tier-2 procuders mainly from Tokaj, Villány and Szekszárd, there’s a new generation of winemakers emerging in all regions. Despite their diverse bakcground, unlike their predecessors, most of these dominantly young winemakers have to work experience in socialist vinyards. Some of them are really experimental (such as the Orsolya winary), others have flying winemakers’ support (Royal Tokaji). Their output also varies a lot, although most of them have up to 20-30 hectares or much less.
The emerging winemakers’ offering includes some traditional grapes, but most are increasingly focusing on global varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and even Syrah, and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.
So this group is extremely heterogeneous (in terms of varieties, backgrounds, locations, price ranges, etc.). For me, the wineries need to fulfill some of these caracteristics to qualify for amanzing emerging winaries:
- New in the business as a standalone brand
- Hunger for perfection or at least for improvement
- Availability in bottle
- At least 2 vintages available on the market
Small quantities and other caracteristics are not requirement, but rather consequents of being emerging.
So here’s the list of most amazing emerging winaries, based on their performance in the past few years. The list will be updated soon, extended with a short description of each winary including their offering, strenghts and contacts.
Orsolya Pincészet (Eger)
Figula Jr. (Balatonfelvidék)
Kikelet/Berecz Stéphanie (Tokaj)
Németh Attila (Mátraalja)
Tags: most amazing wineries, TOP10
