What inspired a Swedish brother and sister to produce wine in Hungary?
The taste of the Rhine Riesling produced on the beautiful landscape of Badacsony is so heavenly that the special wine has been awarded several domestic prizes so far. But what is the secret of the divine flavour and what inspired a Swedish brother and sister to produce wine in Hungary?! Now, it all comes to light.
The four special Rieslings of Villa Sandahl are grown in the unique climate of the Rhine and Moselle areas, with its constantly humid and cool weather, which is not the first thing that comes to mind about the volcanic soil of Badacsony and its dry and warm weather. This region inspired the Swedish brother and sister, Christer and Thord Sandahl, who decided to spend their retirement years making special wines in a truly challenging climate.
As the Hungarian news portal Turizmus Online reports, all this happened in 2003, when the siblings hiked from Budapest to the landscape of Badacsony, visiting wineries, and after getting there, they decided that this was the place they were looking for. In 2004, they bought only 3 hectares of vineyards, which was continuously expanded until it reached its current size of 10 hectares. Today, the vineyard produces 10-15 bottles of wine a year. In the meantime, an excellent professional team was established, led by the Hungarian chief winemaker, Zsolt Palkó.
Within the framework of a virtual wine tour, the wine expert and his Swedish partners presented their most delicious wines.
Gourmands could choose among the following special Rieslings:
- Rabbit Periscope Rhine Riesling – this mid-category wine among the four Rieslings has been chosen as the best at the Grand Prix awards in the category of dry white wines. The award-winning Riesling was harvested in 2017 and bottled soon after. According to Zsolt Palkó, this wine represents best the style of their winery, their unparalleled, unique Rhine Riesling line that can be given as a gift with confidence to anyone, without even knowing that person’s taste in wine. We can never go wrong with a Rabbit Periscope.
- Rare Peak: a real top-ranked wine from 2019 that was created after an unforgettable October harvest.
- Crystal Cut from 2017 is also a top-ranking Riesling, with a honey-sweet flavour and a 14.5% alcohol content, as a result of late harvest.
- Oh Deer – the funny name speaks for itself, along with its label in which a deer falls from the depths on the road sign as a warning. The salty, yet slightly fresh Riesling was harvested in 2018.
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The Swedish owner, Christer Sandahl, revealed that without national and international awards, it is difficult to successfully promote a small winery.
After the Rhine Rieslings won two prestigious Hungarian awards, the demand for their wines – produced with German technology – increased significantly not only in their own webshop but also at Hungarian wine companies and sales points.
One of the prizes is the previously mentioned Grand Prix – considered to be the most prestigious award of Hungarian wines -, with which Hungarian wine experts rewarded their middle-class Rhine Riesling, and the other was the recently obtained Par Excellence Award of the Hungarian Sommelier Association. This award can be given to the Hungarian companies that produce wines at a consistently high level, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of domestic beverage consumption and the development of the quality of Hungarian restaurant culture.
The goal of the Sandahl siblings is to make world-famous wines in their winery in Badacsony. According to the owners, thanks to the special Rhine Riesling grown and harvested in their vineyard, there is a good chance that this goal will be successfully achieved.
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Source: turizmusonline.hu