Anyone interested in wine, and especially dessert wine, should include this area of Hungary on a trip to the country. The countryside is picturesque, there are some very pretty towns (Tokaj and Saraspatak in particular) and, of course, the wine is fantastic.
Wine tasting in this area is very easy to do, provided that you plan ahead, arrange transportation, and book tastings in advance. The Hungarians are very pragmatic about wine tastings: expect to pay either a flat fee or between 2,500 and 5,000 Ft for a tasting of 3-4 wines, or pay by the glass. This means you can taste a range of good wines without feeling guilty or obligated to buy anything from the producer. Most producers speak reasonable English and are happy to do a tour of the wine producing facilities and the cellars (which are worth seeing just for the penes mould on the walls) and a lot of the tastings take place in the cellars themselves.
If staying in a local hotel, the hotel staff may be able to arrange tastings for you. Otherwise, Tourinform in Tokaj has lots of information. 90% of the wineries do not do tours without a prior booking (you may turn up to find no one there) so it pays to book at least 24 hours ahead, 2-3 days is fine.
Transport for wine tastings can be challenging given that:
(a) the Hungarian law on drink driving is very strict, zero alcohol is permitted in the bloodstream when driving, so tasting (even if you spit) and driving is not a good idea.
(b) local train services are infrequent and involve complicated changes at small stations. Many stations have no visible name sign. There are local buses (which I have not tried) but the services are not that regular - it would be difficult to do more than 2 tastings in a day by bus.
(c) there are no taxi services (that we could find) in this part of the world. It is possible to arrange a driver through the better hotels but this is not cheap (around €50 for one visit 30km away, round trip).
So organisation is the key - you either need a paid driver, or a designated driver in your group.
The wine is well worth it. Of course the Tokaj Aszu sweet wine is fantastic - the better wines are on a par with Sauternes. But also the range of other wines is interesting - varieties such as furmint and harslevelu which are not common in other parts of the world.
Some wineries to visit (not a comprehensive list)
- Grof Degenfled (Tarcal) - also has a good hotel and restaurant
- Oremus (Tolcsva)
- Disznoko (Tarcal) - great view from the watchtower on the hill
- Chateau Megyer (Sarospatak, just outside the castle gates) - old cellars with fantastic mould growth
