Best of Budapest & Hungary

Hundreds of exhibitors, including 160 winemakers, are awaiting guests at the Szeged Wine Festival, the country's largest wine festival, which starts on Thursday and will last eleven days this year, said  the organizer of the series of eventsmanaging director of Szeged Cityscape and Market Ltd.

     Attila Rácz said that visitors can meet representatives of almost all Hungarian wine regions at Széchenyi Square, and winemakers from across the border will also be present. Almost thirty caterers will join the wine producers, offering unique cheeses and gastronomic specialties, and you can also taste domestic brandies.

     In order to reduce the ecological footprint of the wine festival, from 2022 onwards, wines will be offered exclusively in glass bottles. A larger glass with the festival's logo will become an ornament to your home glass collection after the event. The smaller glass with the Szeged coat of arms can be returned at the end of the day.

     In keeping with tradition, a wine competition will be organized in conjunction with the festival. The judges, chaired by Tamás Günzer, the Villány winemaker and winner of the 2023 Winemaker of the Year award, will evaluate 140-150 excellent wines in a blind tasting, using a 100-point system. The results will be announced on May 21.

     In addition to wines, pálinka and cheeses, gastronomic specialties will also be on offer. The Wine Festival, which starts on Thursday afternoon with a spectacular parade by the Pavane Dance Ensemble and the wine-growing community, coincides with the launch of the Craft and Gastronomic Courtyard on Klauzál Square and the Kincs Square on Dugonics Square. In addition to wine and pálinka, these downtown venues will also offer craft beers and gastronomic specialties, and almost a hundred craft exhibitors and small producers will be on hand to offer their wares.

    The festival, organized as part of the Szeged Day of Celebrations series, will entertain visitors with a variety of musical programs. Among others, the Belmondo acoustic, Pál Feke, Bálint Gájer, Róbert Gergely, Gábor Heinz Biga and Ádám Nagy, Andrea Malek, Dénes Pál, the Péter Sárik Trio with Tamás Berki, Tamás F. Sipos, Adrienn Szekeres, Viktor Varga and Gyula Vikidál will perform on the two stages at Széchenyi Square.

     At the fountain on Dugonics Square, the Kincs Square will be transformed into a casual promenade, where various programs, a play house and concerts will be held every day, and those who feel like it can also join in the live music German, Serbian and Greek dance chazas. In the run-up to the Vilmos Zsigmond International Film Festival, the Hungarian film Legyényanya ('The Pregnant Papa') will be screened in the open air on May 16, courtesy of the Belvárosi Cinema, and the Hungarian film The Lefkovics are in mourning will be screened on May 23.