Hungarian wineries won gold, silver at CSWWC Championships: here are the 4+1 best!

The CSWWC is the most professional, focused and selective competition for all serious-minded, quality-conscious Champagne and Sparkling Wine producers. Therefore, it is a great honour for the 4+1 Hungarian wineries to have won gold and silver medals with several products in the 2024 world championships. The +1 stands for a Hungarian winery in Romania’s Transylvania region, a territory populated by more than a million indigenous Hungarians.

Puskás, Rubic’s cube, Hungarian wine

If a foreigner were to name some typical Hungarian things, one would probably say Puskás, the footballer, the Rubik’s cube, or the ballpoint pen. But sooner than later, you will find the Tokaj or Balaton wine regions on that list since Hungary’s sparkling wine products are increasingly acknowledged worldwide.

Thus, it may not be surprising that 4+1 Hungarian wineries won gold and silver medals in the world’s most prestigious wine contest, the CSWWC, short for “Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships”.

The judges. Photo: CSWWC

Of course, Hungary could not precede countries like France, Italy or Spain, dominating the contest in terms of the number of their entries, the diversity of entries and medals won. But we preceded India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, and Portugal, a traditional winemaking great power.

Hungarian winery from Romania exceptional

Furthermore, from Romania, only a Hungarian winery could win medals. The Carassia Sparkling Winery (Kárásztelek, Szilágy County, Transylvania), bagged four gold medals on this year’s CSWWC. You may check out the details of the winning products by scrolling down in the long chart of the winners HERE.

Located in the Crișana Region (Körösvidék in Hungarian), which is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Transylvania, the Carassia Sparkling Winery covers a 22-hectare south-faced territory. It was planted in 2011, sits on clay-rich soil, and was built from the ground up for sparkling winemaking, and it is managed from pruning to harvest accordingly.

The products. Photo: CSWWC

“The grape varieties have been chosen based on the terroir and the mission of the winery, that is, to produce high-quality sparkling wines with traditional methods. The Pinot Noir is the flagship variety (10 ha), the backbone of our sparkling wines. It adds depth, complexity and body to the sparkling wines in blends, fruitiness for rosé sparkling, and it is mirroring the terroir as petillant and still red wine, as well. The indigenous feteasca regalia (Royal Maiden) used for petillant wines and Rhein Riesling for crispy still wine are also part of our 22-hectare vineyard”, they wrote on the winery’s official website.

Hungarian wineries on the top

From Hungary, the Sauska Winery won only gold, bagging two with their Sauska NV Brut Magnum and Sauska NV Brut. The Sauska 2017 Furmint Brut took home a silver medal. The winery is located a few kilometres from Mád and is part of the Tokaj Wine Region. We wrote about their new, ultramodern winery in THIS article. Read about what you should know about Sauska products HERE.

The new, ultramodern winery. Photo: Sauska/FB

Three more Hungarian wineries returned from the London championships with silver medals. The Hungaria won two silvers (Hungaria NV Grande Cuvée Brut and Hungaria NV Sauvignon Blanc & Zenit Brut Limited Edition). The Kreinbacher Estate bagged silvers for their Kreinbacher Birtok 2019 Extra Brut Magnum and Kreinbacher Birtok 2017 Égoïste Magnum. The latter covers 60 hectares of the slopes of the sole volcanic hill of Somló. “In addition to the main Somló grape varieties such as Juhfark, Furmint, Olaszrizling and Hárslevelű, Syrah and Chardonnay were also planted, which also found their home here”, they wrote on their website.

Unforgettable experience

While Kreinbacher’s history started in 2002, Hungaria Sparkling Wine is the fruit of over 60 years of compassionate professionalism and daring experimentation. “This product is distinguished from other sparkling wines by its ability of continuous renewal. Sparkling wines produced under the auspices of the brand established in 1955 have always been of exceptional quality, which is guaranteed by the accumulated professional knowledge and skills of the brand owner Törley Group”, they write on their website.

Finally, the Szentpéteri Winery won two silvers with their Szentpéteri Borpince 2020 Chardonnay Methode Traditionelle and Szentpéteri Borpince 2021 Methode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine. The winery is close to Kiskőrös, covers 65 hectares and is proud of an experience gained by three generations. “We aim to make varietal, premium wines while providing value for money and to make thrilling, special wines for our customers. Besides these we wish to contribute to the reputation of the Kunsági wine area and to provide an unforgettable experience for our visitors”, they stated on their website.

The judging process. Photo: CSWWC

Read also:

• Here are the best Hungarian wines of 2022
• Hungarian cider winery won a prestigious prize! – PHOTOS and more in THIS article