The hill where the Sun never sets

As the local elders say, the grapes of Badacsony absorb sunlight from three different 'suns'. First of all, there is sunlight from the skies, then there is sunlight reflected by the water, and the loessial basalt soil mirrors back the sun as well - even during the night. Basalt walls protect the grapes from the northern winds, and the lake ensures the ideal humidity of the air. The awesome circumstances could only result in 1600 acres of first- and second class vineyards from Badacsonytomaj to Tapolca.

Highbrow wine experts sometimes bring it up as a milestone of wine history that by the early 20th century every wine grape of Badacsony was destroyed by the phylloxera plague. We could mourn the grapes Before Christ Insects, but even the wealth of Bill Gates would not be enough to get wines from before the plague. After the phylloxeras that had been shipped in from America vanished, protecting walls were raised and new grape types were added to the repertoire. Wine makers started to use the Gobelet training system at that time, but for the average wine-consumer of today this only means good news regarding the view.

Balaton only offers white wine--this notion would be completely true if the wine makers followed the trends, the traditions and the foreign examples all the time. However, wine makers like to produce different kinds of wines just for their own entertainment, and if these turn out bad, they simply hide it in the cellar. In general, Welschriesling, Pinot gris, Tramini, Riesling and Chardonnay used to be considered "real" Balaton wines, but red grapes have made a surprising jump into the mix. As a result of this, red wines and rosés have also found their places on the shelves of Balaton's wines. As long as our bold wine makers make good products like these, we should allow them to make wine from whatever they find.

The traditional local wine will be always made of Kéknyelű. It acts like the always unhappy single girl: this is one of the most difficult grape kinds to take care of. It was cut out on purpose before: it needs to be pollinated, but still it only produces small amount of grapes. Kéknyelű is not only hissy, but resistant, too: it survived phylloxera and mass viniculture as well. It is starting to make its return once again, because it was taken up by the Research Institute for Viticulture and Oenology in Badacsony, and the wineries Szeremley and Varga.

The Szeremley family harvests the best grapes from 115 acres of vineyard in the middle of Balaton-Felvidéki National Park--which automatically suggests good quality. Pick a Welschriesling from Laposa if you want to go with a light-bodied white wine while you're sitting on the Rózsakő with your sweetheart instead of the well-bodied single type. Due to its acidity it is a male wine, but girls will get along with it quite well, too. Every wine of Badacsony is well-bodied and rich with high alcohol content. If you're looking for tasty, natural and cool artisan wines, Válibor in Badacsonyörs, the always smiley Ambrus Bakó and the Villa Sandahl with Swedish owners are great choices for you.