Paradise for wine enthusiasts.
Using the wonderful city of Budapest as a base to explore, our wine tours Hungary are a fantastic opportunity to visit not just world-famous Tokaj, but several other superb wine regions. Villany, Eger, and Etyek can easily be combined and we can take you even farther if you have the time.
Hungary Wine Tours Highlights:
- Budapest sites and an introductory tasting of Hungarian wines
- Visit and stay overnight in the lovely Tokaj wine region
- Visit several high-quality Tokaj wineries, vineyards and cellars
- Taste the iconic “Bull´s Blood” and the exquisite “Tokaj Aszu” wines.
- Enjoy the Etyek and Eger wine regions, plus the historic town of Eger
- Stay at vineyards, rustic guest houses or old castles, and mansions
- Tasting made in cellars – some tours with winemakers and owners
Remember that everything we do is cusom made for each client or small group, all private services. If you wish to stay somewhere a little longer or skip something all together, no problem, just tell your guide.
Enjoy a traditional cold cuts lunch with our Hungary wine guides
Day 1 – Arrive Budapest – Intro Tasting
We will meet you at Budapest airport and transfer you to your hotel in the historic center of the city. In the evening you will have an introductory tasting, a broad flight of Hungarian wines at a very atmospheric wine bar, our favorite is Doblo. This will give you a useful overview of wine from Hungary and whet your appetite for the next three days of wine exploration.
Your choice of lodging in Budapest will depend on your preferences, location, hotel-style, and budget. When planning your tour we will discuss hotel level, and anything from 3 to 5 star can be arranged. We suggest it is better to spend on experiences rather than lodging, you spend most of your time outside of course. However, if you fancy splurging we have some lovely options.
A great introductory article on Hungarian wine
Day 2 – Budapest & Etyek (Budapest´s Vineyard)
Today starts with a half-day city tour of Budapest. There are a number of historic monuments we will show you on this resume of the capital. Budapest is equally spectacular by day or night so in the evening make sure to stroll along the river. If you have some spare time when we come back you can see more and if you have an extra day you can add to our schedule, even better!
Budapest is really a beautiful city and a real treat to stroll around in!
After seeing some of the city from both sides of the river we will drive 30 minutes or so to the nearest wine region to Budapest, called Etyek. We will start with some fuel and enjoy traditional cold cuts, bread, vegetables and double cream lunch at a traditional Master Butcher shop and cellar in Etyek. It’s likely to be quite hot out here so we will quaff a Froccs Spritz on arrival.
A visit to this butcher´s shop and storerooms is a great visual experience, eating there is even better (as you can see in the photo above). We will visit the cellar to see dozens of hams hanging and maturing and we will meet the Master Butcher and his wife, hearing a little about the process, and sit outside eating and drinking in a place that seems so far from the bustle of the city but is in fact very close.
Your Hungary wine tours schedule moves on to our first tasting of the day, Etyek is full of winery options and if you have fixed ideas of where you want to go let us know beforehand. Below we mention two places that we normally visit, where we know you will enjoy yourself greatly before we drive to our overnight stay in Tokaj.
Our first visit will be to Kuria – the video below shows you the minimalist design of this winery, the stylish tasting rooms, and eye-catching labels. The wines are superb as you will taste on site.
The area is predominantly limestone based, rich in volcanic minerals which can be picked up easily. The terroir is ideal for white grape varietals such as Olaszrizling, Chardonnay, Rhine Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, and Sauvignon Blanc. Only a few reds are made in Etyek, principally Portugieser, Kadarka, and Pinot Noir. We will enjoy a premium tasting at Kuria before strolling round to the nearby Hernyak winery.
Hernyák Winery is one of the most dynamically growing family wineries in the area, and the members of the family will proudly show us around their impressive projects. Hernyak´s vines are planted across 8 hectares on the south-east-facing slopes around Etyek which offer the best micro-climates: Orbán (0,6 ha), Tóra (2,4 ha), Báthori (2 ha) and Sánci (3 ha).
This visit feels very personal, very interactive, and (as you can see in one the photo above) Gary and his local guides are enjoying some face time with the owners. After tasting at these two wineries we will drive the short distance back to your hotel in central Budapest and leave you free to explore the city by night.
Day 3 – Eger Wine Region & overnight Tokaj
We will pick you up earlyish today as we will be driving to Tokaj via another excellent wine region, Eger. This 11th-century town is famous for its castle, lovely cobbled streets, and its “Bull´s Blood” wine. The legend surrounding this local blend is an interesting one, feel free to read here | A great article on Egri Bikaver here
As you may have read Egri Bikaver is required to be a blend of the Kekfrancos variety, at least 50% and then at least 3 French varieties. The superior level of Bull´s Blood will have 4 other varieties blended with Kekfrancos. You will have the chance to try several examples during this trip and draw your own conclusions on the aroma, flavor, and quality.
Beautiful properties for your stay in Hungary, surrounded by vines
In the “Valley of the Beautiful Women”, a few kilometers from Eger town many cellars found side-by-side has been nicely restored and made into wine bars and restaurants. If you decide to add an overnight stay in Eger then this valley is lovely to stroll around in the evening, trying a glass or four at several places. Our favorite converted cellar belongs to the Ostoros Winery.
Kovacs Nimrod – Old press houses and cellars
Several old press houses and cellars have been connected to form the winery, cellars have been extended and joined to increase capacity. Clients will love the tasting room which is very well-appointed and, as the owners are fans of jazz and blues, you will try wines with names such as Dixie, Cool, Blues, etc. Piped music in the tasting area and bathrooms. Our premium tasting will include these music-themed wines, plus the flagship, limited issue NJK line. Another interesting wine is their Pinot Noir produced exclusively from clone number 777 which is perfect for this terroir.
Grand Cru comes from near the top of the Nagy Eged hill – Limestone and Rhyolite Tuff volcanic deposits give a complex highly mineral character. Nimrod also owns two other vineyards on lower slopes in other nearby locations where Granite and Limestone dominate soils.
Bolyki Winery – Hewn out of rock
On our Hungary wine tours route, you won’t see any other wineries that look like this one. Cut into huge limestone rock faces, with 2 massive blocks guarding the entrance. We were told that these two blocks fell down onto several tanks that were at that location, crushing them and sending thousands of liters of wine down the hill.
There are two very impressive tasting rooms that remind you of a King Arthur round table room hewn into the rock. The wine labels are very entertaining, or slightly bizarre, depending on how much you have been drinking today!!!
Kekfrancos is the cornerstone grape used to create Bulls Blood, or Egri Bikaver (Egri meaning “from Eger”) with other regional varieties such as Csillag. There is the white Furmint which is popular in many Hungarian wine regions and a large number of French varieties are also grown.
Our suggested hotel for your Hungary wine tour itinerary night in Tokaj is absolutely beautiful. The Degenfeld Castle Hotel is a mansion owned by the current Count Degenfeld. To work off the great wine and food you will be consuming you can stroll up the hill through the vines to the chapel for great views over the wine region.
Day 4 – World famous Tokaj – wine tours Hungary
Tokaj is a big deal! If you don’t know much about Hungarian wine then you probably still know a little about Tokay Aszu. We deal with some of the specifics of this wine region on a separate page but needless to say there are plenty of options and if you can stay two nights in this lovely wine region then even better. With one night in Tokaj we can still hit some of the highlights, please discuss this with us when you are looking at your options.
After our time in Tokaj, we will head back to Budapest for your last evening in Hungary. The next day we will take you to the airport for your flight onward for the rest of your Eastern Europe Wine Triangle or home where you will be scouring wine stores for bottles you have tasted our here.
