Budapest Wine Festival: thirty years for the culture of wine

Budapest Wine Festival is the largest celebration of European and Hungarian wine culture, located in the breathtaking World Heritage Site of Buda Castle. This parade of 200 wineries and 60 performances, where one of man’s oldest cultivated products is embedded in the broadest interpretation of culture, is a wonderful combination of wine culture, performing and visual arts, cuisine, folklore and traditional craftsmanship. The event is visited by 40,000 people from around the world every year.

Foundation: 1992

Date: 2nd weekend of September (in 2022: September 8-11)

35-40 000 visitors / 4 days

200 exhibitors

In 1992, Hungary’s iconic wine festival opened its doors to the public on Vörösmarty square, in front of only a few hundred curious local visitors.

At first, conditions were modest, a few winemakers trying to find their place, exchanging shy smiles with the wine-consuming public just beginning to discover the renascent wine culture. As the years passed, the demand for quality and knowledge grew: we began to pay attention to how we hold our wine glass; when, with what food and at what temperature do we open each wine; and how to pronounce those darn French expressions correctly. We put together from countless experiences what wine culture is about.

 Wine University

Traditionally, the Wine University is the first professional program preceding the Wine Festival: 2 days of master classes for the public

A Couple of Wine Couples

A Couple of Wine Couples – playful wine tasting program at the Budapest Wine Festival. Available throughout the whole duration of the event, guests can master the art of wine tasting through interesting wine pairings (announced in advance) and professional help. The wine pairs of this „two for the price of one”-style promotion only differ in one crucial characteristic, allowing participants to get a clear understanding of how the peculiarities of a vineyard and vintage, or the length and type of aging can shape the taste of wine.

VinAgora Taste of Hungary

The main goal of this special professional event is to draw attention to the delicious diversity of Hungarian wines, and the characteristics of local grape varieties and wine styles through a number of carefully selected items. The more than 150 Hungarian wineries present at the festival cover all of the wine regions in the country, showcasing almost all grape varieties and types of wine. The Taste of Hungary selection helps you navigate this astoundingly rich assortment of wines by presenting the cream of each category – items that have earned a medal at the VinAgora International Wine Competition. These excellent wines capture all that we love about a great Welschriesling, Bläufrankisch, Bull’s Blood, rosé, Villány franc, or Aszú wine. The wines of Eger are the highlights of this year’s VinAgora selection.

Wine Festival Premier

Through the Wine Festival Premier programme, we could be introduced to wines that are making their debut on the market. The list and location of the products included in the programme can be found in advance on the festival’s website or in the exhibitor catalogue that you will receive on entry.

VinAgora Talents House

Each day, at the VinAgora Talents House a smaller winery will be showcased that does not have its own stand at the event but has achieved outstanding results in the VinAgora International Wine Competition.

The primary goal of our company is to develop the domestic wine culture and to increase the popularity of Hungarian wines abroad. This has been our mission since the foundation in 1992, and we subordinate all our services to this commitment, let it be a tasting event for wine lovers, or support in the promotion of wines of local wineries. Our major events for wine enthusiasts are Budapest Wine Festival and Rosalia Festival; while we target domestic and foreign wine producers with the VinAgora International Wine Competition. We also organize joint sample delivery for Hungarian winemakers to every major international wine competition.

Our major event to date, Budapest Wine Festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the Buda Castle from all over the world, and it is a unique festival even by European standards. We believe that the combination of the world heritage setting, and the assortment of premium local wines can greatly contribute to the acknowledgment of Hungarian wines in the world market and to a more pronounced image of the country as a popular travel destination.