On a recent trip to Hungary, I spent my last two days visiting Budapest and was lucky enough to have timed my trip to coincide with the opening of the Budapest International Wine Festival. Held on the grounds of the castle for the last 19 years, it affords a beautiful view of the city, both during the day and at night, while sampling the very diverse wines of Hungary, with a couple of stalls devoted to foreign wines (predominantly European – France, Italy, Greece, etc.).
Hungary is most famous for its Tokaj Aszu wine, a sweet wine made from grapes that are picked late from the vines (often in November or December) and which have actually started to “rot” (a fungus grows on the grapes known as “noble rot“). Hungary is also known for a number of red wines, including one of my favorites (simply for the name): Bull’s Blood, from Eger, a town in the North East of the country.
Buda Castle by night
While the festival is dominated by Hungarian wines, there is the opportunity to sample other wines, but the main excuse for attending (in particular for “non-wineys” is the view. The castle is lit up in the evening and due to its location on Castle Hill, the view of the rest of the city and of the Parliament building in particular is spectacular. With traditional Hungarian food, music, wine, all accompanied by a fantastic atmosphere, it’s difficult to find a better place to spend a September evening!
The next Budapest International Wine Festival is due to be held from the 7th to the 11th of September 2011.
