The audience will be welcomed with productions in all genres: from jazz to folk music, literary programs, and theater performances.Continue reading
160 winemakers will welcome guests at the Szeged Wine Festival for eleven days, the managing director of Szegedi Városkép és Piac Kft., the organizer of the series of events, told MTI.
Attila Rácz said that at Hungary’s largest wine festival, starting on Thursday, visitors will have the opportunity to meet representatives of almost all Hungarian wine regions on Széchenyi Square in Szeged (southern Hungary). Winemakers from across the border will also be present, and over twenty caterers will join the wine producers, offering cheese and other specialties to accompany the wines.
In order to reduce the ecological footprint of the wine festival, since 2022, wine can only be served in glass bottles. A larger glass with the festival logo can become an ornament to everyone’s home glass collection after the event. The smaller glass with the Szeged coat of arms can be returned at the end of the day. In addition, a limited edition of 100 glasses will be added to the range this year.
In keeping with tradition, a wine competition will be held in conjunction with the festival.
The judges, chaired by Sarolta Bárdos, founder of Tokaj-Nobilis Vinery and last year’s winner of the “Winemaker of the Winemakers” award, will evaluate 140-150 wines in a blind tasting, using a 100-point system. The results of the competition will be announced on May 19.
In addition to wines, pálinka (Hungarian fruit brandy) and cheeses, gastronomic specialties will be on offer. The wine festival, starting on Thursday afternoon with a spectacular parade by the Pavane Dance Ensemble and the wine-growing community, will coincide with the launch of the Gastro Courtyard on Klauzál Square, Kincs Square, and Dugonics Square.
In addition to wine and pálinka, these downtown venues will also offer craft beers and gastronomic specialties, and almost a hundred craft exhibitors and small producers will be selling their wares.
On Széchenyi Square, two small stages will host a variety of musical programs. In Dugonics Square, there will be concerts, as well as live German, Serbian, and Greek dance houses.
On each day of the festival, a charity wine auction will be held, where you can bid for bottles and wine selections donated by winemakers. The proceeds will go to the National Foundation for Premature Birth and Child Welfare.
The wine festival is traditionally organized in connection with the Day of Szeged. On May 21, the city celebrates its regaining of the title of free royal city in 1719, in Laxenburg near Vienna, “as an outward testimony and reward of royal goodwill and mercy.”
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán