Tokaj Wine Tour from Budapest

About this tour

What this tour is

A full day in the Tokaj wine region, about 2h15 north-east of Budapest by car each way. That travelling time is the honest headline: this is roughly eleven hours door to door, of which four and a half are in the car.

If wine is a real interest, it is worth it. If you are looking for a light half-day out, Szentendre is the better trip.

Why Tokaj is different

Tokaj is one of the oldest classified wine regions in the world — vineyards here were graded by quality in 1737, well before Bordeaux. It is a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape, and the reason is aszú: wine made from grapes deliberately left to be infected by noble rot, then picked berry by berry.

The result is sweet, but sweet in the way a good Sauternes is sweet — held up by acidity rather than drowned in sugar. Sweetness is measured in puttonyos, from 3 to 6, and the difference between a 3 and a 6 is genuinely worth tasting side by side.

Tokaj also makes serious dry wine from Furmint, which is what most Hungarians actually drink and what most visitors do not expect.

The day, roughly

Morning. Leave Budapest around 08:00. The drive goes through the Great Plain and then into the volcanic hills of the Zemplén.

Cellars. Tokaj’s cellars are cut into volcanic rock and kept at a constant 10–12°C with a black mould on the walls that is part of the process rather than a hygiene problem. Some cellar systems run for kilometres. We visit cellars that take small groups properly rather than running conveyor-belt tastings.

Lunch in the region, with wine that belongs to it.

Afternoon. Vineyards, the village of Tokaj itself at the meeting of the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, and a second tasting if there is appetite for it.

Back in Budapest in the evening.

Practical notes

• Transport is included — this is a private car with a driver, not a coach. Maximum six people, which is a vehicle limit rather than a preference.
• Tastings and cellar fees are arranged on the day and are not included in the tour price; expect to spend on what you taste and what you take home.
• Buying wine is straightforward and you can bring bottles back in the car. Check your own airline and customs allowance before committing to a case.
• 72 hours’ notice minimum, because the car, the driver and the cellars all need arranging.
• Best season. September and October for harvest, when the region is at its most alive. Winter cellars are atmospheric but the landscape is bare.

Who this suits

People who plan trips around wine, and anyone who wants one day out of Budapest that goes somewhere genuinely distinctive rather than somewhere merely nearby.