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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Veszprém
White wine from the kéknyelű grape, grown almost exclusively in the Badacsony wine region on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. The grape’s name means “blue stem.” The wines are usually dry with marked acidity, and there are also sparkling and sweet versions.
Traditional drink from Veszprém
Also known as: Kéknyelű
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Badacsonyi kéknyelű — Veszprém, Hungary
Kéknyelű is an old white grape from Hungary, linked for centuries to the Badacsony wine region on the slopes of ancient volcanoes on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. Almost the entire planted area of this grape is there. The name means “blue stem,” referring to the bluish color of the bunch stalk.
The vine has a particularity: it produces only female flowers and needs another variety planted nearby for pollination, usually budai zöld. Yields are low, but the grape is known for quality. In 1826, a collection of varieties established on Mount Badacsony reserved the highest terrace for kéknyelű. Around 2000, the planted area had fallen to a critical level, and since then producers in the region have been restoring the grape.
The most common wines are dry whites with lively acidity, which often improve with a few years in bottle. There are also semi-sparkling and sparkling versions and, in favorable vintages, sweet wines. Some Badacsony producers bottle kéknyelű in a blue bottle adopted to identify the region’s wine.
Badacsonyi kéknyelű was registered among national values in 2013 and entered the Collection of Hungarikumok in 2025. Wineries in the Badacsony region, near Tihany and other lake destinations, welcome visitors for tastings.
Veszprém
The grape is cultivated almost exclusively in the Badacsony wine region on the northern shore of Balaton, which is in Veszprém County.
Kéknyelű grape, cultivated on volcanic slopes in the Badacsony region.
Chilled, as a meal wine. Barrel-aged versions usually gain from a few years in bottle.
Meal wine, no fixed date. In summer, the Badacsony region often holds wine festivals.
Your questions
An old white grape of Hungary, grown almost exclusively in the Badacsony wine region north of Lake Balaton. The name means “blue stem.”
Generally it is a dry white with lively acidity that often improves with a few years in bottle. There are also sparkling versions and, in good vintages, sweet ones.
On the northern shore of Lake Balaton, on the slopes of ancient volcanoes such as Mount Badacsony, in Veszprém County.
Flavors of Hungary
Wine mixed with sparkling water (szóda), in proportions that have their own names, such as kisfröccs, hosszúlépés and házmester. White, rosé or red, it is the summer drink of Hungary’s bars, cellars and terraces.
Beef soup with plenty of broth, onion, paprika, diced potato and csipetke, a pinched noodle that cooks in the pot. It is made without thickening with flour. The name comes from the gulyás, the herdsmen of the Great Plain.
Sweet yeast dough rolled into a strip on a wooden spindle, baked while turned over embers and coated with caramelized sugar. It comes off the spindle in the shape of a hollow cylinder. It originated in the Land of the Székely in Transylvania and is sold at fairs and Christmas markets throughout Hungary.
Yeast dough hand-opened and fried until golden, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. The classic topping is sour cream, grated cheese and, if you like, garlic. A street food found at fairs, markets and beaches across the country.
Fruit brandy distilled in Hungary from plum, apricot, pear, apple, cherry and many others. By law the fruit must be grown in Hungary, and all stages from fermentation to bottling must take place in the country. It is a protected geographical indication of the European Union.
Christmas bonbon, usually a fondant candy covered in chocolate, wrapped in shiny colored foil and hung on the branches of the Christmas tree. The most common fillings are fruit jelly, marzipan, coconut and caramel.
Baja fish soup from the banks of the Danube, made with carp, onion and ground paprika cooked together in a cauldron, without straining the broth. It’s served over a thin noodle, gyufatészta, with the fish on the side and hot pepper.
Layered sponge cake with thin layers of sponge alternated with chocolate buttercream and topped with a sheet of caramel. It was created by pastry chef József C. Dobos, owner of a delicatessen in Budapest, and presented at the 1885 National General Exhibition.
Crepe folded and filled with walnuts, raisins and candied orange peel, flavored with rum and topped with chocolate sauce. It is named after the Gundel restaurant in Budapest’s City Park, which put it on the menu; the recipe is attributed to Ilona Matzner, wife of the writer Sándor Márai.
Bitter herbal liqueur, dark, produced by the Zwack family in Budapest with a secret recipe of more than 40 herbs and spices, aged in oak casks. The round bottle with a cross on the label is recognised throughout the country.
Szeged river fish soup, red from paprika, made with a thick broth of several fish, carp heads and bones, and onion, passed through a sieve. Carp pieces cook in that broth, and the soup is served with bread and hot pepper on the side.
Sweet wine from the Tokaj wine region in northeastern Hungary, made from grapes affected by noble rot and harvested berry by berry. The aszú berries are crushed and macerated in must or wine, and the wine ages in oak barrels in underground cellars.
