Rediscovering the Wines of Beautiful Balaton

Lake Balaton, in the middle of western Hungary, is Central Europe’s largest lake and one of its most bustling tourist destinations. It’s also a great example of vinous re-discovery. This ancient wine region, initially established by the Romans, and continued through millennia thanks to the monks of the Catholic Church, is nearly unknown outside of its regional consumers. It is rife with world class terroir and a small but growing cadre of talented winemakers. Like many of the nearly forgotten wine regions of the former eastern bloc, communism took its toll on quality, but the potential for producing great wine was always right below the surface.For a quick refresher, terroir is the French concept of a consumable product tasting like the place it’s from. It combines geology, climate, and cultural practices to ensure an inimitable imprint, whether wine, cider, cheese, or whatnot.Balaton’s northern shore is a long cascade of mountains providing excellent elevation with a diversity of aspects great for planting vineyards. The bedrock below is extremely varied, and three of those variations, sandstone, basalt and limestone, are broadly recognized as being exceptional for great wine. Germany’s Pfalz region also boasts all three with Grosse Lage, or Grand Cru vineyards correlating to those soils.Hungary is situated in the center of a continent, giving it a pretty clear-cut continental climate: Four delineated seasons with cold winters, short, wet summers and — what makes viticulture possible — long, dry, cool autumns. Yet like all large bodies of water, Lake Balaton has a mitigating effect on the temperature, allowing for warmer winters and cooler summers than most of the country. It also generates more precipitation, which, along with many natural springs in the hillsides, helps to avoid drought, a real boon in these climate change years.The hills themselves help to create even more varied micro climates. A great example is the peninsula of Tihany jutting into the middle of the lake. It was formed by a ring of extinct and eroding volcanoes creating a ring of hills around another, smaller lake. Several amphitheater-shaped slopes help trap in warmer air, making it a “hot spot” for red varieties, like Blaufränkish, which show distinct flinty aromas from the basalt soils.That last part of terroir, culture, is where the wineries of Lake Balaton have had to reinvent themselves. There was a mass erasure of Hungarian wine culture in lieu of forced farming quotas. Soviets preferred their wine to be made in quantity, to sate the thirsty masses. This meant ripping out traditional, more difficult-to-farm varieties like Furmint and Blaufränkisch in favor of easy to cultivate ones, like Olazriesling (Welschriesling). Low-yielding old vines were grubbed up every 20 years for more vigorous, young vineyards. Favored sites, like difficult-to-work steep, rocky slopes, were abandoned for flat, fertile planes. The delicate handwork was traded for rougher, efficient machines wherever possible. Oceans of innocuous juice could be fermented in huge iron tanks and shipped easily around the USSR.Thankfully viticulture never ceased throughout the Soviet era or after the iron curtain fell. The people slowly privatized the state-owned vineyards but most didn’t have the means to invest back toward quality wine. The majority of wines in the region sell for $3 a bottle, and taste like it.Yet a few hard-working individuals have pressed tirelessly to regain the reputation of the once great region. Those like Szent (Saint) Donat bought back their first historical family vineyard over 30 years ago; others, like Villa Tolnay, only arrived in 2004, but have poured their heart, soul, and personal savings into the revitalization of the wine industry.So what can you expect from the wines of the estates at the top of the food chain? Enthralling explorations of the outstanding terroir. The best hillsides have been replanted with both traditional grapes as well as Olazriesling, and newcomers like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Rhein Riesling (just Riesling to American drinkers), Grüner Veltiner, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Hárslevelű, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris.It might surprise some to know that Olazriesling, when planted in great sites and farmed with care, can produce incredibly mineral, terroir-transparent wines. The investigation of marrying grape varieties with the most appropriate sites are ongoing, and I think the best is yet to come.Top producers — those mentioned above as well as Palffy Pince, István Bencze and Kolónia 52 — all produce traditionally made, low-intervention wines (some might venture to say natural). Styles include quaffable table wines, serious, and age-worthy reds and whites, slurpable pet-nats, and traditional method sparklers.While comparisons to other regions can be futile, especially since some of them are nearly as obscure as Lake Balaton, they are worth mentioning nonetheless. The previously mentioned Pflaz in Germany has very similar soil makeup (limestone, basalt and sandstone), but is slightly warmer and drier, producing higher-alcohol wines. The up-and-coming dry wines of Tokaj from volcanic sites make similar still and sparkling bottles. Blaufränkisch is a terroir transparent grape, making every one unique depending on the circumstances. Balaton’s top examples are easily comparable to the best in Burgenland and Sopron, although the basalt expressions are unique. Those who love volcanic reds like Nerello Mascalese from Mount Etna on Sicily, or even some of the Pinot Noir on volcanic sites in Oregon, will find these every bit as intriguing.Maybe the best part of discovering an unknown but classic region is the pricing. Bottles in America seem to top out at $25 with few exceptions. Of course, finding them outside of specialty wine shops and obscure wine lists will be all but impossible.

Rediscovering the Wines of Beautiful Balaton

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