I’m currently in New York, I’ve been here for almost 2 weeks now and I had a couple of great wine experiences but none of them Hungarian. It’s not that I would order a Hungarian wine in a Meat Packing District restaurant (not only because Spice Market is better known for its cocktails) but apparently Hungarian wines are totally absent in Manhattan, as opposed to, say Slovenian wines which are everywhere. No kidding. I’ve been browsing the wine list of some fine restaurants and the shelves of wine stores (I even passed by a Balfi van today in the SoHo) for some days now but I didn’t see any Hungarian wine. Slovenia is, however, present in many establishments of NYC.
I’m not complaining, I’m just confirming my reinforced idea that Hungarian wines are world famous only in the mind of Hungarians. And I doubt Hungarian wines will ever play a somewhat more important role in international wine drinking. The only problem with this you see is that Hungarian producers have no other choice than turning their attention to the domestic market, which they’ve been serving so far anyway. The realisation that they have no chance abroad combined with a biased (patriotic) domestic demand and little sofistication of the internal market will result in slower development of quality. This is my concern. This doesn’t help preserving the diversity of wines either because there’s little to be preserved here.
Today the hippest buzzword in hungarian wine marketing is versatility. This doesn’t seem like a strategy we chose. The is the only way left apparently, at least until dessert wines become fashionable again.
I don’t want to write a long post about this topic (I’m on vacation after all) so let’s just finally have a picture here from Les Halles (a bistro I highly recommend to anyone visiting the city btw), where half a bottle of Sauterne (sic!) cost appr. USD 250. The question you may ask yourself is why there couldn’t be an Aszú there too, perhaps at somewhat lower cost, to start with?
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:29 am
Not sure I fully agree with you, Whineguy. I think there is world class product here but the pricing and marketing need to be appropriate. In my view, they’re not. Enjoy your time away and I trust the weather is slightly better than it has been here!
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I have no inside information but I would guess its lack of good marketing.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Hi John V., we always come to that point, pricing, don’t we? And how come everything in Manhattan is cheaper than in Hungary, except real estate? Even in the best restaurants they offer you tap water instead of charging a ridiculous price for mineral water (they have Donald Trump water here though:)). There’s a better chance you’ll consider a bottle of wine if you save a fortune on water. Something for the Hungarian restaurant folks to think about I think.
It’s freezy here too and sometimes snowy, but I’m travelling to London today which is going to be a bit warmer and wet. I’m devastated I have to go back to Budapest soon but snowy Budapest is something I love and I only hope the snow will last until Sunday.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:33 am
I think the US reputation of Hungarian wine still suffers from how badly it was marketed here in Communist days, when all we saw was robust Egri Bikaver and stunningly inexpensive Tokaji Aszu. I still have a few unopened bottles from then, for instance 375ml of 1981 Tokaji Aszu 3 puttonyos, priced $7.99. The price of Tokaji Aszu Eszencia has recovered here, priced along with high-grade Sauternes and Barsac.
The wines of Austria have recovered well from the 1985 Diethylene Glycol wine scandal through the efforts of importers like Terry Theise, and I think Hungarian wine in the West needs someone similar who can reliably choose the finest vintners and champion the best grape varieties and the best vineyards. That Hungary can produce good grape varieties unknown outside it is quite an asset, but only if a person will take advantage of that fact.
Importer Michael Skurnik makes a start, carrying the wines of Arvay, Oremus, Pannonhalmi Apatsagi, and SZENT ILONA BORHÛZ KFT., but it’s only a start.
New York is expecting a foot of snow on Saturday, so you may have just gotten out in time!