Nádas Borműhely, GV Brut Nature Sparkling Wine, 2021

Nádas Borműhely, Etyek-Buda Region

This 100 percent Grüner Veltliner (Zöld Veltelini, as it is known in Hungary) comes from vines planted in 1986. Grüner Veltliner is neighboring Austria’s flagship variety, and is a natural cross between Traminer and very likely an obscure Austrian vine, only one of which survives today in the Leithagebirge region (which is near Eisenstadt, in Burgenland). This versatile variety is capable of producing anything from base wine for Sekt though light, peppery, everyday wines to concentrated, ageworthy, mineral expressions of the terroir of its home regions along the steep slopes next to the Danube. This sparkling wine was made in the traditional method (which means the second fermentation took place in the bottle), and shows the serious side of Grüner Veltliner. Fermentation took place 50 percent in oak barrels and 50 percent in steel tanks. Half of the batch was aged for one year in used Hungarian oak barrels, and it was then aged for one year in the bottle. The bubbles are delicate and dense, and it has a nice citrusy lemon color. The short barrel aging comes through in the nose, along with green apples, lime, and some yeastiness and grapefruit. On the palate, the wine has a bracing acidity with loads of citrus (lemon, lemonade, lime), fresh gooseberries, green apple, and a yeastiness that helps tame the Etyek acidity. This wine goes down nicely, and these flavors have a nice long lingering finish. This is a completely bone dry wine, with high acidity, and a nice bit of lingering spiciness. The vibrant acidity calls for fatty and salty foods, like Jamon Serrano (or Mangalica, if you can source it), hard cheeses, potato chips, or fried chicken. It is also wonderful paired with a crispy Wiener Schnitzel—or Bécsi Szelet as it’s known in Hungary. And it’s a great match for all manner of seafood.

Read About The Etyek-Buda Region

Nádas Borműhely 

Winemaker Szilárd Nádas and his wife, Veronika Rajnai, both horticultural engineers, are the team behind Nádas Borműhely (“Wine Workshop”). They both worked in Bordeaux, Yarra Valley, and Okanagan Valley, before starting their own winery. In 2011 they bought a crumbling 19th-century press house on Etyek’s Öreghegy (“Old Hill”), and they now have six hectares of vineyards—mainly the white varieties typical to Etyek, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Szürkebarát (Pinot Gris), Királyleányka, and Zöldveltelíni (Grüner Veltliner), as well as some PInot Noir. With their newest plantation (finished in 2019), they also have some rarities, such as Viktória Gyöngye (Pearl of Victoria), Pinot Meunier, and Chenin Blanc. They produce up to 14,000 bottles annually, and receive many visitors. They like to experiment with local varieties, while also showing their international grape varieties in a different light, unique to the Etyek region.