Why You Should Visit Tokaj
The Tokaj region is located in Northeastern Hungary and is known for sweet white wines called “Aszu”. While Tokaj might not be considered well known to the rest of the world, it is famous in Hungary. Hungarians are so proud of their wine regions and we loved tasting and learning more about the wines. Now that I know what to look for, I have actually seen some Tokaj wine in some major wine stores in the US.
Why did we visit Tokaj? I am interested in seeing as many different wine regions of the world as I can. With this region being so important and popular in Hungary I knew we had to make a trip out.
Where to Stay in Tokaj
I highly recommend staying overnight in Tokaj (you’re going to be drinking after all). We stayed at the most wonderful spot. Andrássy Kúria & Spa was close to everything and was so beautiful. They started us off early with our first glass of wine upon arrival. Our room was large, clean, and quite well maintained. The spa area was huge and SO beautiful. They had a little cave/river that you could spend time in off of the pool. They had numerous spa services, and a nice gym. They also had a HUGE spread for breakfast and we had dinner there as well. The dinner was fantastic and included a number of courses. This was so perfect and filling after a full day out tasting wines.
Guide for the day
I am so happy that I was able to find the guide we used for the day. I actually found him by reaching out to a Tokaj tourism website. They were able to connect us and I am so thankful that they did. Now I can make that step easier for you.
Here is the link to find Gergely click here This is not an affiliate link.
Gergely was so easy to work with from planning all the way through the actual trip. He was so detailed in laying out the itinerary of our day and describing each place. We were able to tweak the itinerary to our liking and work out the perfect day (which will be detailed below). Of course you could visit these places on your own, but I felt it was SO valuable to have a guide throughout the day. We learned so much about the region and the wines, it was nice to be driven around from place to place and be deposited safely at our hotel at the end of the day. It is also another great way to really immerse yourself in learning about a new place. I can’t say that we knew much about Hungary or Hungarian wine before visiting. It was such a positive experience learning from, and being taken around by a local who is so passionate about the area. It truly makes a difference to be able to connect in this way when you’re visiting somewhere.
Stop 1: Wine Tasting at Barta Pince
Described by our guide as : established in 2003 | very traditional style with natural yeast fermentation mostly in oak | unique historic vineyard site, organically farmed since being planted| winery and tasting room housed in a listed heritage building | a streamlined portfolio of very clean, elegant wine [tasting cost: 4 wines for 8000 HUF / 23 USD, card taken].
Described by me as : This was a very charming space. It was nice to see the beautiful building and tasting room. We also got to see the cellar which was very special as it is partially carved into the bedrock of the land. This winery is organic and very proud of that fact. You can find a lot more information about this on their website. This was our very first introduction to Tokaj sweet white wines so they definitely felt a little extreme to us starting out. We came to quite enjoy them and understand them throughout the course of the day. Gergerly actually held the tasting here and we appreciated all of his different insights about the wines.
Stop 2: Wine Tasting at Demeter Zoltan
Described by our guide as: one of Tokaj’s leading individual winemakers | elegant single-vineyard varietals | few but unique sweet wines | Champagne-method sparkling wine | music continuously played in the winery to help wines ferment and age to perfection J
[tasting cost: 5 wines for 7500 HUF / 22 USD per person, cash only]
Described by me as: An absolutely stunning property, we could have spent all day sitting and sipping wines in their beautiful tasting room or incredibly charming outdoor space. We got to meet the winemaker briefly and we were able to do a tasting guided by his wife. The pride that they had in their wine, their process, and their region was so evident as we spent time there and it made the time spent so much more enjoyable. I love when people are passionate about what they do. These wines were very impressive, we enjoyed the “roze” here immensely! We also got to try their “aszu” which is their sweet white. We also learned a lot about the different soils and what soil each wine grows in. While that might not sound thrilling at first thought, it was quite interesting and neat to learn about. All of the wines here were very nice and we enjoyed tasting here very much!
Stop 3: Lunch in Tokaj Town
We stopped for lunch at “Labor Bisztró” in Tokaj town and it was a great stop. The food was wonderful and we managed to try some wines during our time here too! This is a wine day after all.
Stop 4: Wine tasting at Abraham Garage Winery
Described by our guide as : ‘garage winery’ established in 2006 | dry, elegant single-vineyard Furmint wines with striking acidity and residual CO2 | run by ambitious philosophy graduate and self-taught winemaker, Róbert Péter
[tasting cost: 5 wines for 9000 HUF / 26 USD per person, card taken]
Described by me as: one of the most memorable wine tasting experiences I’ve had. It’s definitely not every day that you get to sit in the home of a winemaker and chat with them about their process, taste their wines, and talk all things travel and life. We enjoyed meeting Robert so much. He let us tour through his garage winemaking process and see where the magic happens. He then invited us into his home to taste his wines and we spent hours chatting and tasting. It was so special and his wines were fantastic. I am not sure how we could have ever managed to get ourselves into this experience without the knowledge and help of Gergely. Which is another important reason to book a guide!
This one I couldn’t find a website for (not surprising) but should I see something come up I will be sure to add it.
Practical Information for Visiting Tokaj, Hungary
How Long to Visit: We only spend 1 day in Tokaj and then carried on to taste wines in Eger, Hungary the following day. If we had more time we could have easily spent another day or two here and tried many wines.
Cost of the day: I do feel that Gergely gave us an absolutely amazing and well rounded experience. The cost of the tastings are listed above in each section. Having Gergely take us around for the day was $200 total.
When to go: We visited in March and it was such a nice time to visit. It was very quiet and beautiful in the area. I imagine things get much more lively moving into the summer months when many more tourists are likely to be visiting.
How to get there: We drove from Budapest and it was a very easy and smooth drive. You can also take a train that takes between 2-3 hours. The downside of the train in my opinion is that Tokaj is still a region that is best explored by car, so you may want to consider that.
If you’re interested in other wine regions of Hungary, check out my post about —> The Wine Region of Eger, Hungary
My posts will sometimes contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO COST to you. This helps me to keep sharing out this awesome info! I also will FULLY recommend things that I acquire NO commission on and I just think are truly good recs. You will always get the truth from me here I would never recommend something I didn’t love.