Hungarian Wine Challenge – Válibor winery, Badacsonytomaj
Like lots of people, I love a challenge! In September 2024, I set myself the challenge, while visiting Hungary, of travelling to multiple wine regions, tastings, festivals and other wine events in order to find some of the best wines in the country. The challenge started on 1 September and finished towards the end of the month.
Along the journey there were a number of places I visited. Among them was the Válibor winery in Badacsonytomaj
About the Balaton wine region
Lake Balaton is located about 2 hours away from Budapest by train and covers an area 592km² and has a shoreline which stretched 197km. The lake is the largest lake in Europe. The reflected sunlight from the lake makes the surrounding shorelines excellent for ripening grapes. The region is broken down into a number of wine districts with different, but broadly similar wine styles. This area is hilly and has volcanic soils which add minerality to the wines.
About Válibor winery
The winery shop and bar is located about 10 minutes walk from the railway station which makes it an ideal starting or ending point for a visit to Badacsonytomaj. The family here have been producing wines since around 2000, and have been seriously marketing their wines since the mid 2000’s.
The day I arrived there was no English speaking person to deliver the tour, but the person in the shop actually spoke relatively good English and we managed to make it work. The shop / bar has a really nice atmosphere and on a warm sunny day like the one I arrived on was an oasis of air conditioning and a great view of the church opposite to sit and watch the world go by.
One of the amazing things about this region is that it has some very unique grape varieties. I instantly fell in love with the Kéknyelű and the complexity of flavours it has to offer. Another is the Budai Zöld (or green Buda). They also grow Szurkebarat (what you and I would refer to as Pinot Gris) which develops some very nice minerally flavours. Also common here is the Olaszrizling or Italian Riesling – a grape which is neither Italian nor Riesling! It was great to try varieties and blends I have never tried before, along with a very generous tapas plate to accompany it.
The wines here were excellent. The variation meant that there were a lot of styles. The thing that actually motivated me to visit here in the first place was that I had tasted a pinot noir in a wine bar in Budapest which I had really appreciated. This was not part of the wine tasting unfortunately, but that didn’t stop the bartender offering me a small sample when I asked about it. The experience was great and I felt I was really well looked after during my visit. Service was attentive, but not in any way rushed.
The experience was very reasonably priced and I felt it was good value for money. I would happily revisit. Generally I love Hungary, and it offers great value train travel, but unfortunately one of the downsides of that is that not all trains are airconditioned in the summer heat. So, if you do visit like I did towards the end of the summer, just make sure you have planned for a 3 hour journey in a tin can with blazing sunshine on it. You will appreciate a glass of wine at the end of that journey even more!
I really can’t fault the Válibor winery. The hospitality was great, the wines were delicious and they really showcased what is possible to achieve in this wine region. The bar is a very nice calm atmosphere and the food was phenomenal. I’d recommend a visit as part of a trip out to Lake Balaton.
So thank you to the Válibor winery for their great wines and hospitality. If you want to know more about them you can find out more on their website: https://www.valibor.hu/. If you do visit, let me know! And in the meantime, keep exploring this beautiful planet we live on, one glass at a time!