Hungarian Wine Challenge – Vértes Birtok – pincészet Etyek (City & Wine tour)
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 Vértes Birtok – pincészet winery in Etyek.
About the winery
For about as long as I have been travelling to Hungary, I have been going on a wine tour which travels from Budapest to Etyek, run by City & Wine. You can use my affiliate link to book the wine tour here. The tour runs in the morning and afternoon with the option for either 2 or 3 winery visits and either lunch or dinner depending on the time of day. The morning is 2 wineries plus lunch and the afternoon is 3 wineries plus dinner.
The Vértes Birtok – pincészet is one of the options on the City & Wine tour for having lunch / dinner. The winery has both indoor and outdoor dining options, with a really great terrace which overlooks the countryside. In the summer this cannot be beaten. The food options here are good and satisfying. They pair well with the wines making for a great experience.
The winery grows Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir and Syrah and produces around 8 different types of wine which includes a mix of white, rosé, orange and red. The orange wine is good. Some orange wines can be a little overly funky, but this one is well made with some complexity of flavour coming from the skin contact. The offering is still wines only.
The indoor tasting room holds around 30 people, and the terrace is probably similar in terms of seating capacity. The atmosphere is good. I enjoy the terrace, and I suspect others would as well, but obviously that only works in the right weather. Hospitality is good and the team are interested in imparting information about the wines and their production.
One of the wines is a Swabian style wine, which is a blend of multiple varieties and pays tribute to the Swabian tradition of the town. The local area was largely populated by German people (Swabians) who built the tradition of viticulture. Following World War II 80% of the German population left, and it was only after the fall of communism that wine production of any quality began to return to the area along with some of the Swabians.
| Other offerings include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, a blended rosé, a Pinot Noir rosé, a Syrah rosé, and a lightish bodied Syrah. Each has its own charm, and all of them are very drinkable. They range from simplistic fruit forward wines, to slightly oaked whites, into more complex reds. For me, the orange wine is probably among my favourite. |
The highlight of visiting this winery is both the view and food. On a summer day, sitting on the terrace with a paprika chicken and a glass of Chardonnay is hard to beat. In the winter, sitting inside with a glass of orange wine or even the Syrah is very warming. That combined with nice hospitality and a friendly staff makes this a good venue.
In my view, from a wine perspective I think its worth visiting here to try three things. Firstly the Swabian wine, secondly the orange wine, and thirdly the Syrah. The latter is much lighter than you may be used to. If you can manage a fourth wine, maybe try the Chardonnay as it might pleasantly surprise you – the oak is much more subtle than Chardonnays from Australia and the USA.
Overall, the winery is a good spot. I’d suggest a visit in good weather to make the most of terrace, but if you visit in winter, you’ll still be well fed and wined.
I have never quite found the time or courage to try to arrange my own visit, but it is possible to get the bus from Budapest out to Etyek and walk between wineries. The great thing about the City & Wine tour, though is that besides the obvious door to door transport, you get to meet different people on each tour from all over the world, drink great wine together and share the experience. That’s probably why I keep rebooking!
So if you want to visit the Vértes Birtok – pincészet winery, its definitely worth a trip to Etyek. The way the City & Wine tour works is there are multiple wineries, so its not guaranteed you will visit on every tour. So to be absolutely sure, you’d need to arrange you own visit. But you can do so using Hellowine.com – Just click here (not an affiliate link). If you do plan a visit, let them know I recommended them. And in the meantime, keep enjoying this beautiful planet we live on, one glass at a time.