Of course wine is one of them and the other one is the so called “sour” water, medicinal (mineral) water which made Balatonfüred very popular back in the days.

The word Füred means, bath or spa while the word Balaton is referring to the biggest central and west European lake (the Hungarian sea), the Balaton itself. Just a couple of sentences on the water and spa treatments as I rather focus on wine but as mentioned beside vineyards and winery visits you find a lot of activities which puts you in a healthy mood.

Balatonfüred as a spa town became famous in the XVIII. century and as railway was laid down late (first on the south side) they actually transported people from south side town Siófok to the north side, like Balatonfüred. It has a medical institution which was renowned as “hearth hospital” and beside Hungarian well-known figures (Lajos Kossuth, István Széchenyi, Ferenc Deák, etc.) many from abroad also paid a visit. Rabindranath Tagore (the Tagore promenade is be named after him) Hindu poet and Salvatore Quiasimodo Italian poet, both Noble prize winners by the way. The Anna ball a beauty competition and water activities (sailing, fishing, etc.) make it a busy place, hence a good way to escape, specially in the summer to the good wineries.

The official name of the wine region is Balatonfüred-Csopak, Csopak is the next town east of Füred. Today out of the 6300 ha only 2100 ha are planted with vine and some of them need also a facelift, yet the major problem is similar as in Badacsony, some good sites have been used for weekend houses, built in basically. The best sites are those which face south, looking at the lake, protected by the north winds  by the hills (as it´s windy on the flat overland plateau and in the Bakony).

Some volcanic soils, basalt (closer to the Balaton-highlands) and slate, sandstone and silica, later mainly around Csopak can be found. Marl, dolomite which is rich in lime exits primarily around Balatonfüred. Hence the wine style can vary quite a bit on this stripe along the Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region. We talked with Tibor (from the Lakatos Winery) and Dóra (from the Koczor Winery) about this yet I would love to see the definition of the style. What can you expect when you taste a Balatonfüred wine or from Pécsely or Szentantalfa coming wine. Tibor promised an all-round tasting next time I´m looking very much forward, as there is a lot to discover.

Today the region primarily a white wine producing area it used to have some Kékfrankos and according to old maps also Kadarka. Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) followed by Chardonnay are the main grape varieties today, however.
According to the Hungarian wine law you can have recommended grape varieties in a wine region (in theory best suited for the region, at least thought by the law) followed by supplemented grape varieties. There is an odd situation going on when it comes to match grape varieties with wine region, determine whether it´s suitable or not for quality production. I get the feeling most of the times there is more production, fashion and simplicity behind this, what is allowed and what is not. Tradition, functional, terroir and the spirit of the place happens to be left out most of the times. But let´s discuss this another time and another place as I could fill pages when I get started on this.

Olaszrizling is popular in Hungary and virtually planted in every wine region (except Tokaj) as it´s easy to handle, provides good yields and gives a correct drinking but mostly simple wines. Yet it does not offend anyone if you drink it within the region, I like to call them Csopak- or FüredRizlings (or the town name in front of it). They also do the proper Riesling, the one and only Rajnairizling (RheinRiesling) by the way. Something interesting for me is the Semillon grape as only here can you find it in great numbers. How did it come to Hungary, remains yet to be discovered…

My mentor dr. Robert Cey-Bert hooked me up with Tibor Lakatos, who spent a long time of his life with is family in Brazil. Working as a wine maker in South America. Mainly in the south, Rio Grande do Sul but also in the North where he lived. But he also spent some time in Bordeaux and Champagne. Well travelled and equipped with an all-round view, what´s going on in the world and of course in Hungary. He owns 6,3 ha of vine mainly around the town of Dörgicse, here in the Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region. His flagship wine is the Juhfark, which I tasted back in December 2008, the 2005 vintage had a very ripe nose of stone fruit aromas and lovely citrus/lemon fruit. Dry with a great acidity but very different of those of the Somló wine region. Some of them have an unbearable acidity level and can taste tar, steely as you sense someone is scratching your teeth like crazy. I´m a great fan of Juhfark as it has a lot of personality and Tibor´s example was a superbly pleasant experience indeed. Less acidity as mentioned (still plenty) and ripe fruit, almost tropical connection on the palate. Highly recommended. And how weird, that the wine regions law only mentions it as supplemented variety.

He also does Szürkebarát (Pinot gris) and some reds as well. He started to expand his cellar yet not all the cellar work takes place in Dörgicse right now.
Tibor a direct and upfront guy with a smile under his moustache is very much connected to wine and after the time in Brazil he decided to give this Hungarian wine region some great wines, he has the determination and passion to do so.

Tibor Lakatos Winery, Dörgicse
Email: hegylak@freemail.hu

Tibor wanted me to see another family slightly off Balatonfüred in the Bocsár vineyard site. The Koczor Winery, the family makes wine since 1815 and today they have 23 ha of vineyard mainly around Balatonfüred and Pécsely (town northwest of Füred, on a higher slope). The Winery has a very hospitable environment where tastings (winery visits, etc. -appointment recommended) can be arranged. The interior set up in a very welcoming way, warm, cosy and friendly. I had a chat with Dóra she also showed me some wines while we talked. The earlier mentioned identity question, in which I would like to distinguish in a defined style between the towns she said does exit. Yet the main problem what she also pointed out, the number of the grape varieties. It´s simply too much, yet you could not enter the market with less. People what to have the choice which makes winemakers life unnecessarily difficult.

Mosel has one grape (Riesling/major/) and a winemaker can make several wines out of it…And there are many other examples. It´s good to see, as they´re all different yet I reckon 1 grape can be different when harvested at a different time, different vineyard site (or simply town), different quality level, etc.

The Koczor winery is replanting some areas where they getting rid of the wide space between the rows (big tractors use to need this in the past) go come to 5-6000 vine/ha. Olaszrizling and Semillon (Sémillon) are the major variety and beside the dry whites they also do late harvest, sweet wine usually a blend of the two. Like the Aenicma from 2006 with 65 g/l residual sugar (RS). I wish to point out two wines, both curiosity and very interesting, the Rozália (2007) is a cross between Tramini and Cserszegi füszeres cultivated at the Keszthely Georgikon University. I tasted some unfriendly wines out of this, but well done to the winery as they succeeded to make a delicate not overwhelmingly floral soft spicy, pretty wine with a hint of RS. And the other one was the Ottonel Muskotály (Muscat Ottonel, not the Lunel, this is the simpler of the two) from Pécsely 2006. Vinified dry, very elegant, crisp and good balance. And it´s dry!!! This is highly unusual, unfortunately, but well done to the winery to make this, congratulation.
Address: Balatonfüred, Bocsár vineyard
www.koczorpince.hu

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