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Hungarian wine terms

The Hungarian Girl | July 2, 2012 | 5 Comments

Learning about Hungarian wine can be daunting and the language just adds to the confusion. However, knowing some of the basic terms can effectively help you understand things a bit further.

Here’s a glossary of the most commonly used Hungarian wine terms.

Bottles of Tokaji wine at the Budapest International Wine Festival.

Aszú: Botrytis-shriveled grapes and the sweet wine made from them in Tokaj.

Badacsony: Wine district on the north shore of Lake Balaton.

Birtok: Estate

Bock, József: Leading winemaker in Villány.

Bor: Wine

Bormarketing Kht: Hungarian Wine Marketing Association, which is aimed at improving the reputation of Hungarian wine abroad.

Bormester: Sommelier

Bortrezor: A professionally maintained wine cellar.

Disznóko: Historic wine estate in Tokaj.

Edes: Sweet

Eger: A historical town that is located in Northern Hungary at the foot of the Bukk Mountains.

Egészségedre: Cheers

Egri Bikavér: Literally “bull’s blood“, a red blend mainly based on Kékfrankos.

Essencia: Made only from the juice that runs free from the botrytised grapes and is one of the rarest wines in the world.

Etyek-Buda: Wine region near Budapest that is known for producing sparkling wines.

Félédes: Semi-sweet

Fehér: White

Furmint: The most widely grown varietal in Hungary that can be used to produce dry or sweet wines.

Gere, Attila: Highly esteemed winemaker in Villány.

Gönc: A barrel used for making Tokaji wine.

Haraszthy, Agoston: A Hungarian-American winemaker who played an important part in California’s viticultural history.

Juhfark: A white grape variety meaning “sheep’s tail” on account of the longish, cylindrical shape of its bunches.

Kadarka: A dark-skinned variety of grape used for red wine but has long been in decline since being replaced by Kékfrankos and Portugieser.

Kékfrankos: A red grape that produces wines with rich tannins.

Kéknyelü: A rare white grape whose name translates to “blue-stalked.”

Olaszrizling: Hungarian name for Italian Riesling or Welschriesling.

Pince: Cellar

Pezsgo: Sparkling wine

Puttonyos: The measure of sweetness from one to six in Tokaji Aszú.

Rózsa: Rose

Somló: Hungary’s smallest wine region which produces both red and white wines.

Szamorodni: Hungarian label term meaning “as it comes,” which nothing is added to the wine.

Száraz: Dry

Szekszárd: One of Hungary’s oldest wine-growing areas known for producing quality red wines.

Szepsy, Istvan: Renowned winemaker and key figure in the Tokaji renaissance.

Szolo: Grapes

Szolofajták: Wine grape varietals

Takler, Ferenc: Award-winning winemaker in the Szekszárd region.

Teleki, Zsigmond: A Hungarian who became world-famous for finding disease resistant grape varieties during the phylloxera epidemic that swept through Europe in the 19th century.

Tokaji Aszú: A famous wine revered for centuries for it’s potent complexity and sweetness.

Tokaj-Hegyalja: Hungary’s most famous wine region that is home to a variety of sweet wines and the oldest wine classification system in the world.

Törley: Leading sparkling wine producer founded by József Törley in 1882.

Vörös: Red

Villány: A historical settlement known for producing some of the best red wines in Hungary.