33rd Budapest Wine Festival Opens

The 33rd Budapest Wine Festival opened this Thursday with Georgia as guest of honor, featuring wines from numerous Hungarian and international producers, gastronomic specialties, panel discussions and other events on the terraces of the Buda Castle Palace until Sunday.

In his welcoming speech, Hungary’s Agriculture Minister István Nagy was of the view that the festival will give visitors the chance to learn about the traditions of thousands of years of Georgian wine culture, but also to meet many of the best Hungarian producers.

Quoting Hungarian writer Sándor Márai, he stressed that wine not only has taste, smell and alcohol content, but also spirit, which the producer gets from the winegrowers and winemakers.

István Nagy told MTI that the government will allocate more than EUR 100 million to support the wine sector through the Hungarian implementation of the EU’s CAP Strategic Plan until 2027, the largest share of which will be spent on investments to increase the efficiency of viticulture and winemaking.

He also drew attention to the resources for promoting Hungarian wine and strengthening its presence on the domestic and foreign markets, with EUR 6 million available for this purpose until 2027.

Georgia's Ambassador to Hungary, Tamuna Liluasvili, stressed that Georgian winemaking has its roots in the past 8,000 years and that wine culture is still a cornerstone of their national identity.

The Wine Festival will showcase Georgia's wine regions and its many indigenous grape varieties. The world of Georgian wines will be presented in master classes each afternoon at the Georgian stand under the Market Hall statue, while the stage opposite will offer visitors a chance to learn about Georgian culture," the Ambassador added.