The wine compass of Central Europe – reads the slogan of VinAgora International Wine Competition, Hungary's most prestigious wine contest. Since VinAgora also stands for guaranteed quality, you can find some rare treasures at the New Talents stand located in Lions Court.
VinAgora New Talents focuses on wine makers who don’t have their own stand at the festival, but having performed very well at the competition, we wanted visitors to have a chance to meet them. These are typically lesser known, but very inspiring wineries worth getting to know.
On Thursday and Friday, Dominium Pincészet will open the event. "Naturalness is our primary concern, both in the cultivation of our vineyard and in the winemaking process." – claims the winery. And while this philosophy is costly and labour-intensive, the natural flavour of grapes and then wine makes up for it. Not only did the 11-hectare estate in the Mátra receive the VinAgora most deserving wine from environmentally conscious production special award, but their Chardonnay-Furmint cuvée, Adél also won a gold medal.
The first two days will also feature Pannon Tokaj Pincészet's VinAgora gold medal winner late harvest Furmint. Attila, the winemaker of the family, explains: “Wine has always been part of human history. Wine preserves tradition, nourishes, educates, heals, makes and nurtures friendships. It brings joy, entertains, pampers, makes you think, asks questions, and turns out it is often the answer.” This is the vision we want to share through our wines.
On Saturday and Sunday, Káli Balázs will bring us some vibrant, mineral wines from the Balaton Highlands.
He knows the characteristics of every vineyard in his hometown of Szentbékkálla. For him, vines come before all else. He finds his motivation in walking through the beautifully cultivated rows of vineyards. As a winegrower from Balaton, his main priority is Olaszrizling, which he believes best reflects the character of Káli Basin and the largest volcanic mountain in the area, Fekete-Hill. No wonder that Rolling Rock's Öregtőkék Olaszrizling won the silver medal at the VinAgora Wine Competition.
During the weekend, Szalóczi Pincészet from Tokaj-Hegyalja, Tállya, will also present their Furmint-Hárslevelű blend, which won a silver medal at VinAgora. Everything from the cultivation of vines to bottling is done within the family, under the guidance of father and son. As a result of the collective efforts of several generations, the winery offers youthful, fruity wines as well as wines made with traditional ageing methods.
Four days, four wineries, let the treasure hunt begin!
