The Classics Tokaj and Eger wine region tour

HIGHLIGHTS

♦ Two diverse, yet interesting and unique wine regions of Northern Hungary

♦ Exploring Tokaj wine region, the part of UNESCO world heritage

♦ Visiting Hollókő an ethnographic village in Hungary and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

♦ Discovering the secrets of Tokaj’s Aszú wines, tasting the most famous grape of the region: Furmint

♦ "Bikavér" experience in Eger

♦ Visiting old cave dwellings, Jeep or horse-carriage tour between the vineyards

♦ Cellar visits and wine tastings with distinguished winemakers of the regions of Eger and Tokaj

♦ Wine dinners

♦ Small group, personalized service

♦ Wine a’More's wine tour guide

 

PROGRAMME

DAY 1.  |  Departure from Budapest at 8:30 a.m. to Eger. (The tour can depart from Eger as well.) Hollókő, besides being a liveable village is the symbol of the Hungarian traditions, part of the UNESCO Heritage. It is the one of the last islands, where the traditions are preserved and shared with the visitors. We will have lunch there in the homes of the locals. Later we start exploring the Eger wine region wines with one of the most interesting winemakers. It is going to be an incredible experience in a cellar surrounded by 30 meters high walls of stone quarry walls. There are 9 cellars within the 1.2 hectares area. Transfer and check-in at the Hotel, free time at your leisure or for further exploration of the city. You might wish to visit the Eger Castle, enjoy one of the thermal bathes of the area. We meet again in the evening for dinner in  a cozy wine-restaurant of the city. Overnight in Eger.

 

DAY 2. |  Key experiences in the morning will include a walking tour in the beautiful historical town of Eger: visiting to the Monstrous Basilica – the second largest in Hungary – Dobó Square and the Archbishop’s Cellar. Later we visit a wine bar for tasting and lunch. We taste the elegant, high quality wines of Eger region and blend our own “Bikavér”. Our next stop is an extremely unique place; old cave dwellings, home of former settlers. We take a ride among the vineyards on a jeep or horse carriage to the caves. Later during the second wine tasting of the day, our host explains terroir and professionalism. The philosophy of the estate is very simple: the quality of wine depends on the health of the grapes in vineyards. Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight in Eger. 

 

DAY 3. |   We check-out from the hotel after breakfast and head to the historic wine region of Tokaj. After a 90 minutes’ journey, we arrive to Mád village, to the heart of the region, to learn about the jewish heritage of the region. Our local expert guide is telling us about the golden age of Tokaj, the history of a local families. Later we grab our picnic baskets full of local products and wines and climb up to a tiny hill. (In case of unfavourable weather, lunch at a local restaurant.) Besides tasting some wines our local wine guide explains about the grapes, winemaking traditions and the diversity soils and importance of stones. After strolling among the vineyards and having lunch, some treasures are waiting for us to be explored in a six hundred years’ old cellar labyrinth. Hiding away in the underground world we drive to a nearby village and check-in at our hotel. After having some time for relaxation, we drive back to MÁD for dinner. Transfer back to the Hotel. Overnight in Tokaj. 

 

DAY 4. | In the morning we head to a nearby village to follow our journey to the botrytised sweet wine world. We taste some late harvest and Aszú wines at one of the region’s biggest cellars. Goulash for lunch is going to be prepared in open air in one of the cellars of the UNESCO Heritage Site cellar row village. The afternoon is for visiting the city of Tokaj. Free-time and visit the regions famous Rákóczi cellar for tasting. Transfer to the Hotel. Cellar visit followed by a wine dinner in the elegant restaurant. Overnight in Tokaj.

 

DAY 5. | To kick off the day we meet a lady winemaker in a nearby village. She will guide our feet in her cellar and explain how hand-crafted wines of exceptional quality are made. Our Tokaj program ends with a lunch at a wine estate owned restaurant, at the foot of the vineyards. Some can climb up the hill to touch the funny shape rock or just stroll in the vineyards, before leaving the region. We arrive to Budapest in the evening. The evening is for free, for exploring Budapest.

 

ABOUT THE WINE REGIONS | Tokaj & Eger

The historic landscape of Tokaj was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002. Tokaji is the prestige brand of Hungary, unique and excellent. Tokaji Aszú is the world’s greatest natural sweet wine, a medicine, a gift of the nature. Furmint is the dominant grape variety of Tokaj. It is an autochthon type, a late ripener with high acidity and sugar levels and especially susceptible for botrytis. Due to its unique characteristics it is the perfect base for both dry and sweet Tokaj wines. Since Tokaj is a closed wine region, the law determines the grape varieties that can be grown here, like Hárslevelű, Kövérszőlő, Zéta or Sárgamuskotály. Walk around the lovely vineyards, learn about vintages and the diversity of the volcanic soils, meet the winemakers and explore the hundred years old cellars. Taste the finest dry single vineyards Furmints, search for apricot, lime or quince flavours in the late harvest, dry fruits and honey in the nectar-like Aszú wines.

The uniqueness of the Eger wine region has always been its ability to grow vines capable of producing quality red and white wines. The most famous one of the region is undoubtedly the Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood) which is a Kékfrankos (Blaufrankisch) based red cuvee, a blend of three or more grapes. Winegrowers invest a lot of time and money for repositioning this brand. We are going to taste some excellent examples during our tasting tour. Besides Kékfrankos, Pinot Noir, Cabernets and Kadarka are the most commonly planted red grape varieties. Among whites Hárslevelű, Olaszrizling and Leányka are the most popular ones, each autochthon types. There is a new region brand Egri Csillag (The Star of Eger) which is a uniformblend of white grape varieties.