Dunántúli

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soil of the designated growing area of Dunántúl is Ramann's lessivé brown forest soil, which ensures adequate water supply to the vines even during summer heat.
• The sub-Mediterranean character of the continental climate is shaped jointly by the highland-oceanic airflow arriving from the west and the Mediterranean airflow arriving from the south.
• The mean annual temperature is 9–11 °C, the annual sunshine hours amount to approximately 1,900 hours per year, and annual precipitation ranges between 600–800 mm.
• In terms of relief, the Transdanubian landscape is an area articulated by hills and medium-altitude mountain ranges, with smaller streams, larger rivers, and occasionally lakes found near most settlements.
• Medium- and late-ripening grape varieties such as Kadarka, Kékoportó, Olaszrizling, Kékfrankos, and Szürkebarát are typically cultivated on south-, southeast-, and southwest-facing hillsides and mountain slopes.

• Viticulture in Dunántúl already played a defining role for the Hungarians arriving in the region, and represented significant economic income for the local population, as large quantities of an important traded commodity were shipped to surrounding countries.
• Wineries in the designated growing area have been producing carbonated semi-sparkling wine (gyöngyözőbor) by the addition of carbon dioxide for several decades, and this style has gradually become associated with the Transdanubian region in the eyes of consumers.

• Transdanubian wines are generally characterised by a discreet, medium-intensity bouquet, rounded acidity, and a light, refreshing quality, regardless of wine type.
• Dunántúl semi-sparkling wines produced by the addition of carbon dioxide are harmonious, with at least medium acidity, lively freshness, and notes of fresh citrus, apple, and sometimes pear.

• Summer rainfall brought by westerly airflows and the water-retention capacity of the brown forest soils ensure adequate moisture for the vines during summer heat, which preserves the grape varieties' fine, harmonious acid composition and primary fruit aromas.
• During the sunny, extended autumn ensured by Mediterranean anticyclones, sunlight reflected off the surfaces of streams, rivers, and lakes at the foot of hillsides aids the ripening of the grapes, giving rise to rounded, ripe acids and, in the case of rosés and red wines, silky, elegant tannins.

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 PGI-HU-A1351
• Official trade body site — Hegyközségek Nemzeti Tanácsa — Dunántúli OFJ