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Hungary reports challenging harvest despite optimistic official data

Despite positive OIV data for 2024 Hungarian wine production, industry insiders tell Sophie Arundel why they aren’t feeling so celebratory. 

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine’s (OIV) recently released statistics for global wine production highlighted Hungary, as well as Georgia, as one of the few bright spots in an otherwise challenging year globally. With production reportedly reaching 3 million hectolitres, a 19% increase from 2023, Hungary appeared to buck the global trend of declining outputs. However, Hungarian producers have painted a different picture, revealing a vintage marked by early harvests, fluctuating yields, and complex winemaking conditions.

For context behind the unrepresentative data, the discrepancy in the recent wine production report essentially boils down to a classification error. The 3 million hectolitres of production provided to the OIV by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture included ‘musts’, unfermented grape juice that may or may not be turned into wine. Typically, OIV reports focus on vinified production, which refers only to wine that has been fully fermented. This oversight inflated the reported figures compared to what was actually turned into wine.

The National Council of the Wine Communities in Hungary (HNT) has provided db with the correct figures, which also include unregistered wineries, that align more closely with producers’ on-the-ground experiences. The revised data from HNT shows a 7% decline in production since 2023, not a 19% increase.

After explaining the data mishap, Péter Gál, head of the department for winemaking and agrarian marketing in Hungary at the Ministry of Agriculture, summarised the year as “difficult for wineries all over Europe,” noting both supply and demand-side challenges. “The harvest period was incredibly hard as it was shorter than ever,” he explained to db. “But the quality of the new wines is promising, and we can be sure that winemakers worked hard to get the best out of this difficult vintage.”

Weather woes and harvest hurdles

Hungary faced a barrage of climatic challenges in 2024, as extreme heat and erratic rainfall disrupted the typical growing season. This led to early ripening across many regions, requiring rapid and intense harvesting efforts.

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Kurt István Taschner, owner of a medium size family winery from Sopron, highlighted difficulties with fermentation, stating, “We are still struggling with one of the red lots; the volatile acidity is too high.”

Similarly, in the Mátra region, producer Ágnes Dunai noted the dual impact of drought and heat: “2024 was a very challenging vintage first because of the drought, then due to the extreme heat all the varieties ripened at the same time, forcing us to pick everything together. While many estates saw a 20–30% decline in quantity, we just about managed to maintain previous levels.”

Some producers reported slightly better experiences. Andrea Gere, a producer in the Villány region, described the harvest as “fast and intense,” but came out with high-quality red wine grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon showing exceptional ripeness. Similarly, Ákos Kamocsay, a producer at Fehérvári Wine Estate, Somló, echoed this sentiment. He told db that, “all in all, it was a very early and very quick, but good harvest.” 

Staying positive

Despite reduced quantities in some areas, many Hungarian winemakers are optimistic about the quality of their 2024 wines. László Romsics, CEO of Csányi Winery in Villány reported a 10–20% reduction in yields but emphasised the exceptional quality of black grapes. “Outstanding red wines will be released from this vintage,” he predicted. Tamás Borbély, a producer in Badacsony also pointed out that despite the “challenging” hot and dry summer, the careful timing of harvests helped deliver musts with “great flavours.”

Borbély family winery, Badascony

Meanwhile, the Béres Vineyards team in Tokaj took proactive steps to preserve acidity in their white wines by starting the harvest earlier than usual, a strategy they deemed successful.

The Béres Vineyards team in Tokaj

Global context

Hungary’s challenges reflect a broader narrative of climatic disruption across the wine industry in 2024. OIV data shows that global wine production fell to its lowest level since 1961, with Europe suffering the brunt of the decline. While Hungary’s initial registered output offered a note of positivity, the reality for its producers aligns more closely with the struggles seen in neighbouring countries.

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