Maiden voyage – the first Bujdosó sparkling

Balaton, sunshine, sailing, good wines and food. This is our idea of a perfect holiday at the „Hungarian Sea”. To crown, the experience Bujdosó Vineyards and Winery have now produced a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine in true South Balaton style.

There is no denying that Ferenc Bujdosó is head over hills with bubblies and he was among the first Hungarian winemakers to produce semi-sparkling wines. Memories of Rosecco and Frisecco are still fresh and these were the wines which formed the basis of the current Kék (Blue), Zöld (Green) and Bordó (Red) product line.

„Producing a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine has always featured in my plans and finally this year the first bottles are ready to hit the shelves”, says Ferenc Bujdosó. „Sparkling wine has always been a special interest of mine; few people know it but actually it was the topic of my thesis at university, I researched the role of various grape varieties in sparkling wine production. I spent my apprenticeship period, together with my wife Bea, at a German sparkling wine facility.”

At the time, in 1989 Ferenc Bujdosó was thinking of joining Balatonboglári Borgazdaság (better known as BB) and become their maître de chai but then things changed, the Bujdosó family decided to build their own estate and so for a while Ferenc drifted away from sparkling wines.

However in 2016 all conditions seemed right for the production of the winery’s first ever méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine.

They did their best to meet all requirements of a proper base wine: ripe fruit, moderate alcohol and of course racy acidity. Carefully calibrated yields, harvesting at the right moment and most of all vineyards specially dedicated to sparkling wine production were the main contributing factors to their success.

Pinot noir is the dominant variety of the cuvée and as a blending partner there is also some királyleányka added. The choice of grapes and the level of dosage were all carefully considered. The quantity of dosage is 7 grams and total acidity is 7 g/l.

„Our sparkling falls in the brut category, and that was a conscious decision because I prefer more generous, fruitier styles, zero dosage brut nature is not my cup of tea. The level of dosage we opted for highlights the fruity aromas and this way we ended up with our very own South Balaton style méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine. We did not aim at producing something in the Champagne mould. I must also admit that I was curious to see how one of my favourite varieties királyleányka would turn out in the final blend”, explains Ferenc Bujdosó.

Total production is 5000 bottles and vinification was carried out in the Budafok facility of Vencel Garamvári.

The first 500 bottles were degorged after 12 months and from now on 500-1000 bottles will be released at gradual intervals. There are also 500 bottles of magnums which will enable us to make interesting comparisons with regular bottlings. The label was designed by Géza Ipacs, and the inspiration for the colours and design came from, unsurprisingly, a sailing signal. As always the Bujdosó Winery has countless ideas in store so watch this space.

Photo: Furmint Photo

Source: MTI