Mátra

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soils of the appellation fall into two broad zonal groups: meadow soils (mezőségi talajok) on the lower slopes, and forest soils that developed on the upper areas where woodland was cleared.
• The soils of the appellation are partly volcanic and partly sedimentary in origin, the latter being rich in nutrients.
• The climate of the growing area is shaped by the continental climate that fundamentally prevails across Hungary, characterised by hot summers and cold winters.
• In the Mátra foothills, annual sunshine hours range from 1,900 to 2,000, and during the growing season the 1,250–1,500 sunshine hours that vines require are available in almost every year.
• The appellation's five-year mean temperature is 10.5 °C, rising to 17 °C during the growing season, while annual precipitation in the Mátra foothills ranges between 356 and 903 mm.

• The earliest written record dates from 1042, when a Benedictine monastery founded by Aba Sámuel was endowed by royal grant with a vineyard estate.
• In 1536, King János Szapolyai granted the people of Gyöngyös the right to sell wine freely, which was indicated by a hanging wine-sign displayed outside.
• After the Second World War, the small wineries disappeared and were replaced by large cooperatives, and the area under vine in the appellation grew to nearly 8,000 hectares through rapid planting.
• Vine-grafting production in Abasár and Nagyréde became a defining agricultural activity by the 1960s, laying the foundation for the appellation's current range of grape varieties.

• The aromatic profile of the white and rosé wines is intense, while the red wines are characteristically fruity, lighter in body, and less deeply coloured.
• The wines typically develop more quickly; they are generally light-bodied, soft, quick to develop acidity, and in certain vintages rich in alcohol, with a notable mineral content.

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-A1368
• Official trade body site — Mátrai Borvidék Hegyközségi Tanácsa