Always with an eye to the future
Etyek is just a brief drive from Budapest and as the wine region closest to the capital, has long been considered the capital’s vineyard. It’s a great place to venture out from Budapest to relax and taste some wine and Etyeki Kúria’s attractive, modern winery is the perfect place to do this.
They have been working their Etyek vineyards for more than 20 years now, where their main varieties are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. However, they now also have vineyards in Balf, in the Sopron region, where they produce Kékfrankos and Merlot. This brings their total vineyard area to 54 hectares.
I have already visited the Kúria and toured the vineyards as well as participated in their annual Pinot Noir vertical tasting two years ago, when Pinot Noir aficionados had the chance to taste one of Hungary’s top Pinots going back to 2003 and compare various barrel samples.
Kúria Pavilon
Always looking to the future, as was clear on my previous visit, Etyeki Kúria have now expanded their facilities with a new event space – the Kúria Pavilon, located just below the Kúria and some of its vineyards. This can be used for functions both large and small, ideally on a warm summer’s day, which we, unfortunately were not treated to that day. This meant that the space’s new motto ‘Chill with us! Taste with us!’ took on a whole new meaning that rainy day in May. The Pavilon is spacious and tastefully designed with lovely views over the vineyards. Perfect for something romantic, like a wedding reception. Or something less romantic, like corporate team building.
The Kúria can therefore now offer four spaces for events. Besides the Pavilon, there is the Vinotéka for smaller tastings, the spacious Üvegterem (Conservatory) with an attractive terrace for sunny days and the old, atmospheric cellar where you can even learn how to blend your own wine, bottle and cork it and add the capsule yourself. Once you’ve designed your own label and stuck it on, you can take the bottle home as a nice memory or a gift. Chocolate lovers can make their own chocolate bonbons with Gingalló Csokoládéműhely. Naturally, you can also do some traditional wine tasting or learn about food and wine pairing.
Photos of the space and the event by Gergő Ombodi
Project wines
The Kúria have also just launched the latest in their line of ’project wines’. Chief winemaker Sándor Mérész, now celebrating ten years at the winery, has been crafting a series of limited edition ’Méresz Sándor Projekt’ wines. The initial Grüner Veltliner was followed by a Zenit and a Pinot Gris orange wine. Now it’s the turn of Sauvignon Blanc, harvested from several different vineyards, all with limestone soils but with differing exposures. It’s wild fermented and a small percentage is aged in new French oak. It has all the hallmarks of a great Sauvignon Blanc – green pepper, cut grass, gooseberry and herbs and a good dose of tropical fruit, yet a lovely, creamy mouthfeel too.
ChardonnÉJ
Etyeki Kúria showcase their other Burgundian variety in June during ChardonnÉJ. The playfully named evening, Éj is Hungarian for night, takes place every year on the Saturday closest to midsummer’s eve. Fans of the world’s favourite (or perhaps most controversial) variety can enjoy a whole evening tasting Chardonnay wines from Burgundy, the New World and Champagne as well as more local versions from the Carpathian Basin and enjoying the, hopefully, sunny weather on the terrace.
This year, it takes place on 22 June and will also feature a masterclass from WineSofa’s Dániel Ercsey and a Random Trip concert. You can find more details about the event here.
Let’s hope for better weather this Saturday so that we can enjoy the terrace and all the Kúria’s space!
Budapest Wine Snob 