📍 Csongrád

Csongrád is a wine district in south-eastern Hungary, in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain, by the Tisza river. It belongs to the larger Danube (Alföld) region, which also includes Kunság and Hajós-Baja. The district is named after the town of Csongrád at the confluence of the Tisza and Körös.

The landscape is almost flat and the soils are sandy. Sand protects vines from phylloxera, so old own-rooted vines survived here for a long time. Summers are hot and winters cold.

The main red grapes are Kadarka and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch). Kadarka is a traditional Hungarian grape that used to make light reds and rosés. Whites are made from Olaszrizling, Irsai Olivér and other grapes.

The district's wines are everyday ones: light, fruity and often inexpensive. Csongrád is part of the Alföld, where grapes grow on sand. It is a very different picture from the hills of Eger or the slopes of Tokaj. The light reds and whites are usually served with fish soup (halászlé) and sausages. The name Csongrád on a label shows that the grapes grew in this very area, which makes it easy to look for similar wines.