A Budapest food and wine tour, glass by glass

The Tokaj wine region covers Tokaj and 26 surrounding settlements in the northeast, and UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage site in 2002, under the name Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape.^8,1 Its two main grapes are Furmint and Hárslevelű, and the tourism agency recommends trying Furmint, Yellow Muscat and Szamorodni as well as the famous Aszú.^9,10

Aszú is made by adding hand-picked aszú berries to a base wine, during or after fermentation, so the wine ferments twice.⁷ Picking them takes weeks: one person harvests between 12 and 18 kg a day.⁶ The berries are shrivelled by noble rot, the fungus Botrytis cinerea, and descriptions of sweet-wine making in Tokaj go back to the 16th century.^5,11

The legends are part of the pour. Louis XV is said to have called Aszú the king of wines and the wine of kings.¹² A sweet Tokaji is a natural partner for dessert, and a good one has enough freshness to keep the sweetness lively. A Made in Hungary gastronomy alliance even paired duck liver with 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú as its first match.¹³

The tourism agency calls the spritzer essentially a national drink: a bubbly mix of sparkling water and wine.² Light wines with good acidity are the usual base, and dry white wine is the traditional choice, although rosé fröccs is now a favorite at festivals.^35,36 Never ask for it with mineral water: the agency calls that a big faux pas, since the water has a taste of its own.³⁰

Each mix has its own name. A kisfröccs is 1 dl of wine with 1 dl of soda water, a nagyfröccs 2 dl of wine with 1 dl of soda, and a hosszúlépés, the long step, 1 dl of wine with 2 dl of soda.^14,15,16 The janitor, or házmester, is 3 dl of wine with 2 dl of soda.¹⁷ The table on this page lists the full set, and bar staff will know every name, so ordering in Hungarian costs you nothing and usually earns a grin.

Fröccs is the drink to order when you want to stay sharp on a long walk. A sportfröccs is just 1 dl of wine topped with 4 dl of soda water.²⁰ In winter the same bars switch to mulled wine, which in Hungary can be red, white or even rosé, spiced with cinnamon, cloves and honey.³⁴ On a cold evening walk, a cup from a street stall between stops is as much a part of the Budapest food scene as any plated dish.

Beer is the easy companion to street food. At the Time Out Market, a Dreher bar taps unpasteurised beer.⁴⁴ For a deeper look, a tasting of 9 Hungarian and craft beers with snacks lasts 1.5 hours, in a small group limited to 10 people. In town, expect to pay around HUF 1000 for a glass of beer, according to the tourism agency.³³

A tipsy food tour in Budapest is a common search, but the point of a good tasting walk is balance. The walk on this site pours 3 drinks across 2.5 hours, a modest amount for an evening of eating. Drink water between stops, take the shot slowly if you take it at all, and remember that the walk continues after every glass.

If you go on to the bars afterwards, the UK government notes reports of drinks being spiked in Budapest bars, and advises buying your own drinks and keeping sight of them.^45,32 It also notes that some bars and restaurants might charge high amounts, and advises asking for the menu and price list before you order.^46,31 On a booked tour the stops and the menu are set in advance, which takes the guesswork out of the bill.