Wine tasting at Faust Wine Cellar
Let us introduce you to Hungarian wines and Gábor Nagy, owner and wine sommelier of Faust Wine Cellar in Budapest. We met Gábor in 2010 when we first visited Faust Wine Cellar and were so pleased he invited us (and Emma) to stop by for a tasting when we were in Budapest just before Christmas.
Faust Wine Cellar is part of the vast labyrinth system winding beneath Buda Castle. The inhabitants of the castle carved the labyrinth out of the chalk stone to provide an escape route during a siege in the middle ages. Faust Wine Cellar offers a wide selection of Hungarian wines from the country’s best wine growing regions as well as traditional fruit brandies called pálinka.
Hungarian wines are tough to find, hard to pronounce, and delicious to drink! The history of Hungarian wine actually dates back to Roman times, yet outside of Hungary, only the dessert wine Tokaji is widely known. Gábor and his wife Barbara travel all over Hungary’s 22 wine regions (and throughout Europe) to find only the very best wines to supply their cellar with.
Hungary Wine Regions
We love tasting at Faust Wine Cellar because of Gábor’s knowledge. As he pours each new bottle in our glasses, he sets it on the table and points out on the wine regions of Hungary map exactly where it came from. On our latest visit, we had a 6 wine tasting, 3 whites and 3 reds, with some special Christmas varieties. The tasting has the option to “call back” (have another glass) of your favorite wine at the end. Or if you’re lucky, Gábor has something special he’ll pull out for you to taste!
We first cleanse our palette with a glass of pálinka and then began with the whites. First up, Móri Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Bozoky Winery) from the Mór region is a dry white with fruity character. It’s great well chilled as an apertif or also goes well with salads, vegetables dishes, and fish. Next, Gábor notes that the “John’s Bless ” Tokaji Furmint (Bene Winery) is a personal favorite. Made from a grape of the same name in the Tokaji region, is an early budding, late ripening variety and is particularly susceptible to noble rot. It’s characteristics are slightly dry and clear with scents of apricot and a hint of honey. We brought home 2 bottles of “John’s Bless ” Tokaji Furmint (Bene Winery).
On to the reds, the Egrikék ‘Blue from Eger’ 2007 (Winery of Ferenc Tóth) is a medium-bodied red with scents of cherry and raspberry. Szekszárdi “Prison Guard” 2009 (Németh János Cellar), a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend, followed. We finished off with Szekszardi “John’s Bless” 2006 (Hetényi Winery) which is a sweet, fortified red and bought one bottle. We really liked the Szekszárdi “Prison Guard” 2009 (Németh János Cellar) and wanted to purchase a bottle to bring home, but a limited number were produced and none were available for purchase.
Faust Wine Cellar is such a romantic and relaxed setting and you will leave with a rich understanding of Hungarian wine with Gábor’s kind guidance.
Know Before You Go
- Faust Wine Cellar is located at 1014 Budapest, Hess András tér 1-3. It is beneath the Hilton Hotel Budapest; enter through the lobby and follow the signs down several staircases.
- Faust Wine Cellar is open Monday – Sunday: 2-9 pm; closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- A 6 wine tasting is €17 per person. The tasting comes with seltzer water and 3 pieces of Pogácsa, a savory scone with cheese on top.
Larry says
I like visiting individual wineries because you can learn so many intereing facts about the wines they produce. Reviews like this one are a great start but only the vinter can really explain how the grapes were grown and the wine produced. Great job on this article. Looking forward to next Wednesday’s piece.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I’d like to visit some of the wineries themselves in Hungary. I’m sure it would be quite interesting to learn even more about Hungarian wines.
Cathy Sweeney says
It’s true that when I think of wine, I don’t think of Hungarian wine — until now, anyway. This is a great eye-opener about Hungarian wines. I’m hoping to get to Budapest very soon. Perhaps I’ll have to make time to visit Faust Wine Cellar.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Thanks, Cathy! I’m happy we could peak your interest in Hungarian wines. Definitely visit Faust Wine Cellar and there are even some wine festivals right in Budapest in April.
Amanda says
I had NO idea Hungary produced so much wine until I was there last year. I don’t really even like wine, but I was impressed! Especially when we visited all the little wine cellars in Eger… I loved it!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I would love to visit some of the vineyards and cellars in Hungary! Hmm…I feel a trip coming on…
D.J. - The World of Deej says
Hungarian wine? That’s a new one on me. Awesome looking cellar!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It’s really surprising how many countries produce wine! Next week we report on Finnish wines made from arctic berries.
Matthew Hirtes says
Great article, Jennifer. I love to read about Hungarian wine.
Mária Bilková says
Hi Jennifer. We are travel agent for Slovakia and we also providing the wine tour trought Slovakia. We are closed to you. Would you like to be a partner with us? we can provide combined tours Slovakia-Hungary. It will be interesting for 3 countries. If you are interested about my offer, pleas contact me [email protected] I speak also Hungarian language!
Malgorzata Lubowicka says
Tokai Asu – my favourite.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Tokai Asu is a delicious wine!
Debbie says
Will be traveling to Budapest in September for a river cruise & plan to add this to our must do list!
John Teets says
Can we participate in wine wednesday tomorrow, 21/05/2015? We’re staying at the Hilton.
Regards
John Teets
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi John,
We’ve been traveling, so apologies for the delayed reply. I hope you reached out directly to Faust as we do not do any bookings for readers. We’re simply an online travel magazine.
Andrew says
Silly question. But…
Is there a lot of wine cellars in/under Budapest?
Is this particular one often busy with slighty more affluent tourists and it’s more of a 5 star service due to its location bring under such a fancy hotel?
Thanks.
We are just back-packing and trying to keep things cheap and cheerful…
Cheers Andrew
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Andrew,
No, Faust Wine Cellar is unique. The hotel really has nothing to do with the wine bar, aside from you need to go through the hotel in order to access the stairs down in to the cave. Faust Wine Cellar definitely isn’t cheap, but it’s certainly not pretentious. If you enjoy wine, we recommend going.