Hungarian Wines Decorated with Medals at Global Competition

Tamás Vaski 2022.06.09.

Aszú from Tokaj, Olaszrizling from Balaton, and Cuvée from Eger can all be found on Decanter’s list of the top wines around the world. Upon the completion of the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, Hungarian brands took home 4 platinum, 9 gold, 57 silver, and 70 bronze medals.

Every year, Decanter’s competition brings wine experts from around the globe to judge the world’s current stock of wine. This year, a whopping 18,244 wines from 54 different countries were judged by 250 international wine experts, among them 41 Masters of Wine and 13 Master Sommeliers. 164 Platinum, 677 Gold, 5,900 Silver, and 8,074 Bronze medals were awarded to various vineyards.

Three of Hungary’s best performing wines, reaching the platinum level, are from the prestigious Tokaj region: Gróf Degenfeld’s Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Juliet Victor’s Sweet Szamorodni, and Derczó-Lovas Winery’s Aszú. A fourth wine from Balaton, Zelna’s Olaszrizling, was also awarded platinum. All the top performers are white wines.

Fact

Tokaj is a world renown Hungarian wine region, its tradition of viticulture spans centuries, and has had historical impacts well beyond Hungary’s borders. It is the location of the world’s first wine classification system, established in 1730, the same century that King Louis XV of France described the region’s Aszú as “Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum’ – the Wine of Kings, King of Wines.” Tokaj’s viticulture spans 30 villages and towns, who first cut their cellars from the volcanic soil of the area more than 500 years ago.

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The majority of Hungary’s gold was also won by white wines from Tokaj, with the one red wine being Thummerer’s Vili Papa Egri Cuvée Superior. In the silver and bronze categories, a mix of red and white can be found, featuring Hungary’s various wine regions: Tokaj in the north, Eger in the north-east, Balaton and Dunántúl in the west, and South-Pannónia.

Further details of the best wines around the world can be found on Decanter’s website.

Featured photo illustration by Attila Balázs/MTI