Wine list of 4 Hungarian restaurants among the most exciting in the world!

One of the most influential wine magazines in the world, Wine Spectator, has this year again awarded Hungarian restaurants wine lists – their awards are considered the “Michelin stars of wine” by the wine industry. Avalon Ristorante has made the prestigious listing for the second time this year: as last year, it has been awarded ‘2 Glasses’, the ‘Best of Award of Excellence’.

Every year for decades, the American wine magazine has published its Restaurant Award list, in which it rewards the world’s most exciting wine lists at three different levels, with one (Award of Excellence), two (Best of Award of Excellence) and three (Grand Award) glasses.

To be recognised, a restaurant must meet a number of criteria, which are personally verified by Wine Spectator representatives during their visit. The ‘Best of Award of Excellence’ can only be awarded to restaurants whose wine list is of a high professional standard, with at least 350 different items from the best producers of the best regions, with a wide selection of wines from several vintages. Another important criterion is that these restaurants also provide training and education opportunities for their staff to help guests make informed wine choices.

This is not the first time that the Michelin-recommended restaurant Avalon Ristorante and the Vino Salone below it, part of the Avalon Park in Miskolctapolca, have been on the list, having already been awarded the 2 glass rating last year as a new entrant. At the Vino Salone, sommelier Katalin Egri takes guests on a tour of the vineyards of thirteen countries on
five continents every day. The restaurant is committed to promoting quality wine and offers a selection of nearly 200 wines and sparkling wines (approximately 2,500 bottles).

“Together with our colleagues, we constantly monitor our guests’ needs, which helps us to make our offer really attractive to them. Not to mention the line-up of wines, new vintages, fresh lots and award-winning wineries that are renewed every year. It’s a daily learning experience for me too, learning about the beauty of the profession. This recognition is feedback that what we have envisioned is on the right path and that it is a path we must not abandon. I feel very proud that this fact has been confirmed again a year after last year’s recognition,” said Katalin Egri, sommelier at Avalon Ristorante. “It was important to me that an exceptional bottle of wine should not only be available by the bottle, if our guests just want to have a glass with a meal. So we offer many by the glass with Coravin, such as a wonderful Meursault from Laurent Boussey, Riesling from Mosel by Egon Müller or a great Tuscan wine, Antinori’s Tignanello,” she added.

This year, more than 3,500 restaurants from over 75 countries around the world were included in Wine Spectator’s list, and 4 restaurants in Hungary were also honoured. In addition to Avalon Ristorante, the Arany Kaviár Restaurant and Félix Kitchen and Bar received 2 glass ratings, while Kollázs Brasserie & Bar received 1 glass rating.

Arany Kaviár. Source: aranykaviar.hu

Felix Kitchen & Bar. Source: felixbudapest.com

KOLLÁZS Brasserie & Bar. Source: Facebook/KOLLÁZS – Brasserie & Bar

As the only award-winning restaurant in the Northern Hungary region, Avalon Ristorante is not only famous for its wine list, but also for its authentic Italian food, which was awarded a recommendation by the Audi-Dining Guide TOP 100 Restaurants 2023 this year and by Michelin last year.