Page 196 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Budapest

194  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

What to Drink in Budapest

Hungary is famous for its excellent wines and, although
it is not a big country, it has as many as 22 wine regions.
These regions produce all the characteristic wine styles,
from pezsgő (sparkling wine) and light whites that come
from Mátra, near Lake Balaton, to dry reds from Villány
or Eger, as well as Tokaji Aszú, a distinctive sweet dessert
wine from the slopes of Tokaj. Many wines from different
vineyards are matured in a maze of underground cellars in
Budafok. They are all widely available in Budapest’s many
restau rants, wine bars and wine shops. As well as being a
prominent wine producer, Hungary also makes beer, Light Hungarian beers
pálinka (a drink distilled from orchard fruits), several types Hungarian Beers
of brandy and a bitter herb liqueur called Unicum.
Hungarians are turning increas-
ingly to beer as their chosen
Pálinka
drink, as its thirst-quenching
Kecskemét is the largest quality goes well with many
region that produces the traditional, paprika-flavoured
alco holic drink pálinka, which Hungarian dishes, goulash
is distilled from fruit grown in among them. There are some
the orchards situated popular Hungarian beer brands
on the Great Hungarian worth trying, most notably
Plain, some 100 km Soproni, Borsodi and Dreher.
(60 miles) southeast The large Dreher factory in the
of Budapest. Pálinka Kőbánya district of Budapest
is a spirit native to was founded in 1854 and now
Hungary and comes offers pre-arranged beer-
in a variety of flavours sampling events at their
including barack Pezsgö by Törley and Hungaria museum (www.dreherrt.hu).
(apri cot) and The number of small artisan
cseresznye (cherry). first production plant in Budafok breweries is also growing, with
The best of them, in 1882, which continues to their beers on offer at festivals
however, is szilva produce excellent sparkling and some pubs and restaurants.
(plum) which comes wines and has an international
from the Szatmár reputation. Today, Hungary
district and is much has several other factories Hungarian Wines
favoured by the producing pezsgő, mainly The choice of good wine
Hungarians. concentrated around Budapest, available in Hungary has
Pálinka is not the Pécs and Balatonboglár. As well increased dramatically over the
Barack only spirit indigen ous as Törley, Hungaria is another past few years. This is thanks to
pálinka to Hungary. Other good label to look out for. the ever-improving wines being
examples include
Törköly, a spirit distilled from
grape residues left over from
winemaking, which
posses ses a very delicate
flavour, and Vilmos, a brandy
made from Williams pears.

Sparkling Wines
Sparkling wine, called pezsgő
(the Hungarian word for
“sparkling”), enjoys a good
reputation in Hungary. The
classic method of producing
these wines was introduced
to Hungary from France by
József Törley, in 1881. It was
Törley (see p165) who built the One of Budafok’s cellars, where wines are aged in barrels

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
What to Drink template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.2)
Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm