Badacsony

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The dominant bedrock of the wine region is basalt, onto which fine-grained sedimentary layers of sand and clay fractions were deposited by the Pannonian Sea.
• The brown forest soils of the Badacsonyi vineyards developed on this geological formation.
• The vineyard area is situated on the slopes of the hills running along the shore of Lake Balaton — among them Badacsony, Csobánc, Szent György-hegy, Ábrahámhegy, Őrsi-hegy, and the Szigliget hills — which are the inselberg remnants (monadnocks) of the Tapolca Basin.
• The vineyard hills of the wine region are bordered to the north by the Bakony mountain range and to the south by Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake, which lends a sub-Mediterranean character to the otherwise continental climate.
• Average annual precipitation is 640 mm, mean annual temperature is 11.2 °C, and average sunshine hours amount to 1,934 per year.
• Badacsony is the largest deflation monadnock with a basalt cap in the Balaton-felvidék, located on the western part of the northern shore of Lake Balaton, in the heart of Transdanubia. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• Following the phylloxera crisis, varieties such as Olaszrizling and Szürkebarát were introduced into cultivation, and their names have since become inseparably linked with the name Badacsony.
• After the political transition, the once-celebrated, nearly forgotten indigenous varieties Kéknyelű and Budai were brought back into cultivation.
• During the post-phylloxera reconstruction, retaining walls were built to prevent soil erosion, and technological innovations were introduced. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The renewal of the vineyards saw low-trained vine forms once again permitted, and yields were significantly reduced, to a maximum of 100 hl/ha.

• The character of the wines is defined by well-integrated acidity, a subtly sweet impression derived from high glycerol content, a gently saline note traceable to the basalt subsoil, and the bitterish taste profile characteristic of the local varieties.
• A hallmark of Badacsonyi wines is that, despite their complex aromatic structure, their aromatic intensity is moderate, while in the white wines distinguished by a specific vineyard-hill name, primary floral and fruit aromas are complemented by secondary and tertiary elements arising from maturation.
• In the case of ice wine, deep colour is accompanied by dried fruit aromas and high residual sugar, while wines made from shrivelled grapes show dried fruit alongside pronounced aged notes such as walnut.

• The moderating thermal influence of Lake Balaton, the additional heat storage provided by the basalt caps of the monadnocks, and the reflection of sunlight back onto the hillsides from the lake's surface together produce one of the most intense solar radiation exposures in the country; the basalt caps of the vineyard hills and the proximity of Lake Balaton jointly guarantee exceptionally high must weights even in the most unfavourable vintages.
• Minerals released from the basalt, including potassium, magnesium, and calcium, as well as trace elements, contribute to the wines' mineral character and saline impression.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Hungary

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• National product specification (PDF) — agrarminiszterium
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-HU-A1506
• Official trade body site — Badacsonyi Borvidék Hegyközségi Tanácsa