Theloosetannin

November 19th-Kabar

Kabar is a Hungarian white grape that is a cross of Bouvier and Hárslevelű that was created in 1967. It became an authorized grape variety in Tokaj in 2006. It can be added to blends where it adds acidity or, in rare instances, it can be made into a varietal wine. In Tokaj, many winesContinue reading “November 19th-Kabar”

November 12th-Kövérszőlő

Kövérszőlő, also known as Grasă de Cotnari in Romania, is a rare white grape that is believed to have originated in Romania but is also grown in small quantities in Tokaj, Hungary. Both names translate to ‘fat’ or ‘fat grape’. The vines yield The age of variety is unknown but there are mentions that dateContinue reading “November 12th-Kövérszőlő”

November 5th-Bikaver

Bikaver is a blend of mainly Kekfrankos and Kadarka, both are red grapes, made in the Hungarian regions of Eger and Szekszárd. Bikaver translates to ‘bulls blood’. The legend of the name dates back to the Ottoman invasion in the 16th century. When the Ottoman forces arrived in Hungary, they were met by the HungarianContinue reading “November 5th-Bikaver”

October 29th-Zeus

Zeus (Zeusz) is cross created by Hungarian grape breeders in 1951. It was named after the Greek god. It is a white grape that is high yielding and susceptible to botrytis bunch rot. The grapes are usually left on the vines and harvested late. They retain their acidity and are usually sweet. The grape isContinue reading “October 29th-Zeus”

October 22nd-Irsai Oliver

Irsai Oliver is a white grape that is a cross created in Hungary in 1930. It is believed the grape got its name from the child of a friend of the man that developed the grape. The child, named Oliver Irsai (but in Hungary, the surname is stated first), was born the same year theContinue reading “October 22nd-Irsai Oliver”

October 15th-Budai Zöld

Budai Zöld is white grape that is indigenous to Hungary, likely from around Buda until Phylloxera swept through Hungary. Buda is the western on the western bank of the Danube River and was the capital city of Hungary until it merged with Pest and became what we now know as Budapest. Budai was once aContinue reading “October 15th-Budai Zöld”

October 8th-Rózsakő

Rózsakő is a white grape that was a cross between Kéknyelű and Budai Zöld that was created in the 1950s. Its name means ‘rose stone’ and gets this name from a basalt rock that Róza Szegedy, wife and muse of poet Sándor Kisfaludy, often sat on that overlooked Lake Balaton. It was only grown onContinue reading “October 8th-Rózsakő”

October 1st-Kéknyelű

Kéknyelű (Kek-nee-e-loo) is a rare white grape indigenous to the Badacsony region of Hungary. Its name means blue stalk and gets the because the petiole (the part that joins the leaves to the stalk) becomes a light blue color in the fall. Wines are commonly sold in blue glass bottles and many producers choose toContinue reading “October 1st-Kéknyelű”

September 24th-Kékfrankos

Kékfrankos is the Hungarian name for the red grape Blaufränkisch, an Austro-Hungarian variety. The grape has ample anthocyanins and is capable of producing deeply colored wines with high levels of tannin. With less extraction, it can also be used to make lighter colored wines. The wines with higher levels of extraction are capable of longContinue reading “September 24th-Kékfrankos”

September 17th-Vitovska

Vitovska is a rare white grape indigenous Slovenia. It is widely planted in the Karst/Carso region along the Italy/Slovenia border. It was found to be a cross between Malavasia Bianca Lunga (widely grown in Tuscany and used to make Vin Santo) and Glera (the grape used to make Prosecco). It is tolerant to the wideContinue reading “September 17th-Vitovska”