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Do You Know Csókaszőlő?

 

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Possibly a better title for this would be, “Can you say Csókaszőlő?” LOL. I happened to be in Budapest on what was a national holiday. 

Furmint, Olaszrizling, Kadarka, Kékfrankos…maybe even to a lesser degree Juhfark and Hárslevelű are grapes many of us wine enthusiasts are accustomed to hearing (and even better, drinking!) when speaking about Hungarian wine. But Csókaszőlő? That’s a new one to many. Although, “new” is not exactly the best word to describe this ancient grape.

Csókaszőlő Then and Now

And yes, this storied grape is a mouthful to say! According to Taste Hungary, Csóka means jackdaw and szőlő means grape. Essentially then, the grape takes its name from its color as the berries have an almost black color, similar to the jackdaw black bird. Berry clusters remain relatively small on the vine with round, waxy, and thick-skinned berries. Csókaszőlő does not produce much sugar and averages low yields, not helped by the grape’s sensitivity to disease. Per to Wines of Hungary, this grape once widely planted in the Carpathian basin exists now in less than two hectares. Those limited plantings sit mostly in Etyek-Buda, but a few vines hang on also in Villány, Zala, and Badacsony.  

Like many native grapes around the globe, Csókaszőlő fell out of favor for a variety of reasons and its current (if limited) resurgence comes thanks to one person. In this case, Jozsef Szentesi. A winemaker with a penchant for making wine from old and forgotten grapes, Szentesi first heard about Csókaszőlő in 2001 in relation to an old Budai Vörös blend that contained the grape. Intrigued by this almost unheard of variety, he partnered with the University of Pecs’s Vine and Wine Research Institute to plant 300 Csókaszőlő vines. Then in 2004, with just enough grapes to make a mere 40 liters of wine (in glass demijohns!) he created with first 100% Csókaszőlő wine in, according to Taste Hungary, 130 years.

Bravo, sir.

I’ve only been able to get my hands on one Csókaszőlő wine so far, the Bussay Csókaszőlő. Like many of the interesting Hungarian wines that come home with me, this was also a discovery courtesy of Taste Hungary. Initially, I feared that would interfere with my ability to do wine shopping! However, luckily, a friend who worked at Taste Hungary opened it up for me. 

Owner Gábor Bánfalvi happened to be in working on paperwork. Very soon, I found myself in the midst of an informal wine tasting! Most of the grapes, and even a few of the wines, were familiar old friends. Then, Gábor pulled out a bottle of Bussay Csókaszőlő and every thought I’ve had about Hungarian red wine turned on its head!

Bussay Csókaszőlő, 2018

I was seduced the instant Gábor poured a splash of this clear, ruby wine into my glass! Well, who are we kidding? The name alone seduced me. But rare grape with a fun to say name aside, what a wine!

Imagine a Grimmsian fairy tale in which you’re walking through a cedar forest carpeted by red fruits while spice aromas linger in the air. Raspberry, sour cherry, and red currant burst on the tongue, brightened by a dash of bitter citrus before mellowing into earthy black tea and sweet hay flavors. Silky, just barely there tannins continue the flavor journey and carry black pepper and forest spice into a lingering finish. 

The late Dr. Laszló Bussay fell in love with Csókaszőlő and made sure to add it to his vineyards in Hungary’s Zala region. After he passed, his daughter, Dr. Dorottya Bussay, took over the winery. She shares her father’s love of this grape. In fact, she and her husband Tamás Kis both believe in it to the degree that they have planted even more of the variety, grafting over their Sárgamuskotály and Pinot Gris to increase their .7 hectare holding of it. According to Kis, Csókaszőlő does better in Zala than elsewhere in Hungary. Zala sits at a higher elevation (800 m), gets lots of sunshine, has unusually high rainfall compared to the rest of the country, and the grape likes Zala’s clayey, highly calcareous soil.

This wine was spontaneously fermented in an open tank. Two-thirds of it was aged for 10 months in a 1,000 liter previously-used oak cask, and the rest was aged in stainless steel tanks

You might not be able to say it, but if you ever see a bottle of it, drink it!

*Banner picture from Wines of Hungary https://winesofhungary.hu/