From time to time, we would like to present interesting news and locations from Hungary and Poland, that might be interesting for those who want to visit the other country.
Etyeki Kúria Winery – Visit the vineyard of Budapest
Our winery is nestled among the rolling hills of the Etyek-Buda wine region, located only 30 minutes from Budapest. Often called the „vineyard of Budapest”, the region is characterized by a cooler than average climate in Hungary, calcareous soils and zesty wines. It is because of these features that Etyek is often compared to Burgundy or Champagne in France.
We are open all-year round, to welcome guests for wine tastings, company and private events, weddings, or simply to enjoy a glass of wine on our terrace overlooking the vineyards.
We believe that the future is built on the past, striving to work in an innovative spirit while respecting traditions and learning from them. As an important milestone in our history, we were the first in the region to plant Pinot Noir vines to make red wine, previously only used to make sparkling wines. We work on 54 hectares in two distinct locations: Etyek-Buda and Sopron, the latter located in the northwestern corner of Hungary, on the border with Austria. This enables us to create an exciting assortment of wines, ranging from light, fruity sparkling wines, through characteristic, acidity-driven white wines, all the way to mature reds, under the expert guidance of our head winemaker Sándor Mérész.
The tradition of viticulture and winemaking in Etyek goes back more than a millennium. For many centuries the region played a vital role in supplying the wine merchants and the restaurants of the nearby capital, Budapest. But like in most other European wine regions the ravages of Phylloxera dealt a devastating blow to the industry. Today most local wineries focus on making some of the best Hungarian Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc wines.
An exciting project keeping the winemaker community busy now is the recently recognized Etyeki Pezsgő PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), initiated by 12 producers. In fact the area has a rich history of sparkling winemaking, going back to the end of the 19th century, thanks to the successful businessman József Törley, who sourced grapes from Etyek to be made into sparkling wine in an impressive cellar in Budafok. The purpose of the initiative was to create closely regulated, high quality „traditional method” bottle-fermented sparkling wines, capable of showing the unique characteristics of our soils, climate and the vineyards in the immediate vicinity of the town. The first sparkling wines with this designation are due to be released in 2023.
We strongly believe in the power of community. As members of the Fine Wines Association of Hungary (FWA), representing five different wine regions, we provide a diverse, comprehensive and easy to grasp cross-section of quality wine production in Hungary. A founding member of PLHUCC Tokaj-Hétszőlő Organic Vineyards, is also a fellow FWA winery, as well as the Tóth Ferenc Winery from Eger and Vida Péter from Szekszárd.
Our aim is to jointly promote our wines abroad, with Poland being one of our top priorities. Along with several other Hungarian wineries, we have joined the Wina Wegierskie initiative, to share interesting knowledge about our wines and regions in Polish, and entice Polish winelovers to come visit us as well!
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/etyekikuria
DYNAMOBIKE- A pocket guide of Budapest- by bicycle or on foot.
Have you ever thought to find a place where you can find everything you need while on a trip? You will eat well, rest, relax and after a nice lunch you will go on an unforgettable bike ride around Budapest.
Renting a bike abroad has never been so easy and enjoyable for tourists.
Dynamobike & Bake is just the place you were looking for. It is a cafe, cake shop and bike rental all in one place!
Now visiting Budapest by bike will be even easier with the new project Dynamobike- Budapest pocket guide. You will find here the ideal routes for short- and full-day tours around the city and additionally the main attractions with short descriptions of their history.
Follow the link: https://dynamobike.wordpress.com/
and visit the location: Képíró u. 6. (V. distr. – downtonw Pest) at Kálvin sq, Great Market Hall, National Museum and Váci street. Phne: 00-36-30-868-1107, email: info@dynamobike.com.
The Rákóczi Cellar
Vinum Regum – Rex Vinorum; or the Wine of Kings – the King of Wines! Catapulted to world fame by Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, this sentence has probably been uttered hundreds of times in the most famous wine cellar of Tokaj-Hegyalja, the Rákóczi Cellar. Throughout its long and glamorous history, the cellar has offered the best wine of the country, the Tokaji Aszú, to several male members of the princely Rákóczi dynasty as well as to Hungarian kings, Transylvanian princes and their high-ranking guests.
The cellar was named after the Rákóczi family in remembrance of their rule over the town of Tokaj in the 17th century, when the cellar was first mentioned in writing. Referenced as the "Palace", the complex of buildings occupied a well defendable and operable economic and administrative unit delimited by three streets, ideally located in the core of the medieval town, in the immediate vicinity of the main square. The Arpadian church, adorned first with Gothic elements and then reconstructed in neo-Romanesque style in 1910, also lies within a few steps of the estate. The Palace, comprised of the cellar itself and the manor above it, served as the centre of Tokaj's wine trade in the 16th and 17th century, as attested by a number of diplomas and contemporary works of art. It is thus befitting that the cellar has the largest underground knight's hall in Tokaj-Hegyalja. With its length of thirty meters, width of ten meters and height of five meters, the hall has a markedly medieval character. As we step in, the past seems to come alive, and the vaults resound with the chiming of golden goblets held high by legendary kings, princes and noblemen.
Indeed, the history of the cellar and the manor goes back to far earlier times than the Rákóczi rule. As the Roman Catholic church in the vicinity was built in the 13th century, we can reasonably suppose that the manor and the cellar itself were also built in medieval times, especially its older, narrower and deeper corridors. For example, it has been established that Matthias Corvinus mobilized his army against the Hussites under Tokaj and John Zápolya was proclaimed king here — an event that was surely celebrated in the largest wine cellar of Hegyalja, the Palace. Furthermore, the first grape seeds reliably dated to the 17th century ever found in Tokaj-Hegyalja were excavated here in the cellar. Archaeological research has demonstrated that the medieval and Arpadian layer is one and a half meters thick, suggesting that the area of the Rákóczi Cellar and the manor has been at the heart of Tokaj for at least one thousand years, where the most important matters were addressed and the most precious things were stored. In Tokaj-Hegyalja, nothing is more important than wine and wine trade.
The golden treasure of Tokaj has been guarded in this cellar for centuries. The lucky few, who have the honour to taste their wine, are certainly treading in the footsteps of kings, princes and high noblemen, who would surely exclaim while savouring the Tokaji Aszú, 'This is the Wine of Kings – the King of Wines indeed!"
