Hungarian wine is also an excellent choice for a Christmas gift

(Photo: Freepik)

While this autumn everything was about the fight against the spread of golden yellowness of the grapes in Hungarian vineyards, the harvest fortunately went without any problems. The harvest was healthy and of extremely good quality thanks to the dry summer weather. The quantity is close to that estimated at the end of June, approximately 410-430 thousand tons. Approximately 2.9-3 million hectoliters of new wine were made from the harvested quantity, which is 10 percent higher than last year’s level, but overall around the average of the past ten years. According to the overview prepared by the National Chamber of Agriculture and the National Council of Mountain Communities, the golden yellowness of the grapes has not yet affected the harvest, and there is no visible crop loss in the most affected wine regions compared to previous years. The diseased vines detected this year still produced fruit in this harvest, but will not next year. The epidemic-like spread and the accelerated infection rate have created a crisis situation, and next year the vines will have to be cut out in most of the affected areas. The time required for fruiting after replanting is greatly influenced by the weather, primarily the amount of precipitation. In consecutive drought years, the vines develop slowly, and the fruiting of new plantings can even double even with continuous vine replacement and can take 6-7 years. This means that crop loss is definitely to be expected in those wine regions where phytoplasma infection is more significant. However, since it is not possible to know what kind of vintage will be expected next year, it is possible that the higher yield of healthy plantations will not make this loss noticeable. The phytoplasma that causes golden yellows has been present in plantations for a long time, and some producers have learned to live with it and manage the losses. And for those producers who have only just encountered the disease for the first time, they have provided a lot of help.

Demand in the Hungarian market is mostly determined by purchasing power

In recent years, easy-to-understand, fresh, fruity wines and sparkling products have become increasingly popular, and the consumption of products with reduced alcohol content is increasing among young people. Along with the strengthening of environmental awareness, a production structure that prioritizes sustainability aspects has become an expectation for manufacturers, but in the specific purchase decision, these are easily relegated to the background, and financial considerations prevail. Wine tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years, and there is a growing demand for wineries offering complex experience packages. At Christmas, more expensive, special wines come to the fore, which can even be used as gifts. And although the end of the year primarily increases the demand for sparkling wines, the turnover of wines also increases at this time.

NAK