Italy to Be this Year’s Guest of Honor at the Balaton Wine & Gourmet Festival

In addition to more than 50 restaurants and wineries of the Balaton region, this year Balaton Wine & Gourmet will present the culinary specialties of Italy between September 6-8 in Veszprém (western Hungary). The festival includes family activities, free tastings, professional workshops and Michelin-starred chefs’ dinners.

Balaton Wine & Gourmet aims to present Veszprém and the Lake Balaton region as a gastronomic region in its own right, with six wine regions, quality gastronomy and a vibrant cultural life, said the festival’s executive director at a press conference on Wednesday. Zoltán Mészáros added that at the third edition of the Balaton Wine & Gourmet the guest of honor will be Italy, following Japan and Spain two years ago, and Argentina and France last year.

This year, Veszprém will also be home a “mini Italian gastronomic festival.”

Gyula Porga, Mayor of Veszprém, recalled that the third phase of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture (VEB2023) program is heritage-driven, with many initiatives aiming to be sustainable in the longer term. “One of these innovations is Balaton Wine & Gourmet, which is strongly characterized by the same features that defined the VEB2023 program: regionality and internationality,” he said. Alíz Markovits, CEO of the VEB2023 program, noted that

Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica in Slovenia will become European Capitals of Culture in 2025, and the twin towns will also make their debut at Balaton Wine & Gourmet.

Manuel Jacoangeli, Italy’s Ambassador to Hungary, said that they plan to showcase the best of Italian gastronomic traditions. “Italian cuisine, the Italian lifestyle and Italian food products are also very popular here, in Hungary,” he said. He also drew attention to

the Italian experts who will be present at the festival, with menus, demonstrations and seminars on Italian wine and prosecco, aperitifs and cocktails, coffee and extra virgin olive oils.

Gianni Annoni, host of Balaton Wine & Gourmet, and Péter Tungli, festival program director, added that the main stage will be joined by a new stage evoking the world of Italian merchants.

Here, demonstrations and tastings will take place, offering a taste of the basics of Italian gastronomy and a taste of the universe of pizza, pasta, ice cream and coffee.

In addition to free public lectures, the festival will offer a taste of Italian gastronomy through food, workshops and guided tastings, with Michelin-starred Italian chefs presenting experiential meals. Guided tastings and the CEWI wine tasting tent will showcase Italian and Lake Balaton wines, while the children’s tent will also offer gastronomic activities for youngsters.

Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay