Eger Hungary

In Short:

northeastern Hungary
region best known for its Egri Bikavér wine, popularly known as “Bull’s Blood”.
Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) is surely the country’s most famous red.
a complex blend of several dark-skinned grapes
first made in the late 19th Century, in Szekszard
Kadarka and Kekfrankos (typically the majority components), Zweigelt, Blauburger, Kekmedoc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir (Source 1).

About This Wine Region:

Eger, in northeastern Hungary, is a wine region best known for its Egri Bikavér wine, popularly known as “Bull’s Blood”. Although sweet, white Tokaji remains unrivaled as Hungary’s most famous wine overall, Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) is surely the country’s most famous red. The style – a complex blend of several dark-skinned grapes – was first made in the late 19th Century, in Szekszard (130 miles southwest ofEger). It rose to international fame in the 1970s, when the state-owned Egervin winery monopolized production of the style, and successfully promoted it on export markets.
The grapes that go into the robust Bikavér blend are Kadarka and Kekfrankos (typically the majority components), Zweigelt, Blauburger, Kekmedoc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. Wine laws introduced in 2005, just after Hungary joined the European Union, state that each of these varieties should be used to some extent in all Bikavér wines, and that none of them should constitute more than 50 percent of the final blend. Good-quality Bikaver is deep, purple-crimson in color, with softish tannins a middleweight body and plummy, spicy aromatics.

Eger has a long history of wine marketing success, having shipped wines around central Europe since the 13th Century. The greatest interruption to its prolific wine output occurred when the Ottoman Turks invaded Hungary in the 14th Century; their Sharia law forbade the production and consumption of wine. When the Ottoman forces reached the town of Eger, they met with such fierce resistance that they thought the local people must have been strengthened with the blood of bulls (bikavér). And so a wine legend came into being.

White wines are made in Eger vineyards, although they rarely rival their red counterparts in terms of general appeal. They are made principally from Olaszrizling (Welschriesling), Leanykaand Harslevelu.

Eger enjoys a relatively sheltered position, protected as it is by the Bükk range to the northeast and the Mátra foothills to the west. These hills do just enough to block cold winds that tumble down from the Carpathian Mountains. Eger‘s sheltered position and continental location means that summer temperatures regularly exceed 104°F (40°C). Winters are bitter, however, with regular snowfall. It lies at 47°N, A few hundred miles due west on this latitude lies another region whose red wines are based on Kekfrankos and the Bordeaux varieties: Austria’s Neusiedlersee-Hugelland.

Source:
1. https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-eger

Photos:
1. https://flic.kr/p/JT3kgL
2. https://flic.kr/p/U6pu9y