ENJOYABLE FLAVOURS Adventurous quests for kadarka, brandy and beer DKMT Euroregion Introduction The tourism of the 21st century is characterised by the quest for adventures, the desire for cognition and the active participation in programmes. While ”discovering” a country, a region or a smaller geographical area – be it a city visit, active relaxation, recreation, participating in cultural, sports or other attractions – getting acquainted with local specialities is indispensable. And it is nothing else but the gastronomy of the given area. Our publication strives at collecting the local specialities of the DKMT Euroregion and hand it over to our dear guest as a euroregional guide. We have gathered a bunch of the local traditional types of drinks born during centuries on the territory of the DKMT Euroregion and we offer them to our guests. Kadarka, brandy (pálinka, rakija, cujka), beer: these are the beverages, made of different raw materials through different procedures, which have fulfilled an important role in the life of people living here. The history of alcoholic drinks prepared by fermentation, distillation, cooking and their combination is really equal in age with the history of mankind, because they were considered healthy compared to stale and infected waters. Those who consumed them did not catch the disease. This is why the wine has become a national beverage in the Mediterranean countries through thousands of years. But in places where the grapes could not properly ripen because of climatic factors, the art of beer brewing was raised to a masterful level, although the beer itself also started out from the eastern cultures to conquer the world. The preparation of different distillates is also long-standing. For example the further utilisation of the mate- rial remaining after squeezing the grapes resulted in creating the grape skin brandy, while crushing the law quality fallen fruits led the medieval man to the production of the ”water of life”, the predecessor of present day brandies. Now we know that the really good beverages can be produced of high quality raw materials, be it grapes, fruits, barley or hop. So, we offer local wine, pálinka, rakija, cujka and beer specialities in our publication, so that you could familiarize with and try the characteristic beverages of the area when you visit the DKMT Euroregion. 3 KADARKA ROUTE 4 KADARKA 1. Csongrád Several opinions have developed concerning the origins of the The town of Csongrád guards historic souvenirs dating back as kadarka grape. According to one notion the kadarka originates long as the Middle Ages. The thermal baths of the town or the in Asia Minor and others originate it from Albania. If we start back waters of the Tisza are popular excursion and angling desti- out from its name, we may render it probable that it can be de- nations of the area famous for its red wine production as well. rived from the Serbo-Croatian word ”Skadar”, that is the name The town, situated at the mouth of the Tisza and the Kris, has of an Albanian town, Shkodra. Everybody agrees that it arrived been inhabited since Neolithic times due to its advantageous to Hungary from the Balkan Peninsula with Serbian mediation. geographical position. The remnants of the Achilleus Monas- After driving out the Turkish in the 18th century it was produced tery (Ellésmonostor) are a noteworthy medieval heritage site in every wine region with some exceptions. But to our days its 3 kilometres north of the town centre. The excavation of the production areas have diminished to a great extent, primarily monastery built on a sand hill in the floodplains of the Tisza has due to its weak capacity of resistance against diseases. It is very been going on since 1990. The sand ridge situated to the west sensitive to powdery mildew and peronospora. And at the of the town is a favourable place for vine growing; there are same time it hardly tolerates precipitation coming about dur- traces of viticulture here from as early as the 11th century. The ing the period of its ripening. The thin skinned grapes crack as kadarka was first grown in the Turkish times. Even today the red a result of rain. Its place has been taken over by Kékfrankos in wines are mainly characteristic of the area. The town won the production areas, which is much more resistant against diseas- title ”International Town of Grapes and Wine” in Rome in 1987. es and humidity. The Kadarka grown in the South Great Plain Many visit the town because of its thermal bath. The 46 degree has become famous in the areas of Kiskőrös, Hajós-Baja, Kecel, centigrade alkali-hydrogen-carbonate medicinal water gained Soltvadkert and Csongrád-Bokros. from a 1 091 meter deep well can be applied in the prevention and follow-up care of rheumatic and gynaecological diseases. László Bodor Bio Wine House * 6640 Csongrád, Pacsirta utca 38. Contact: László Bodor Mobile: +36 30/234-0625 E-mail: [email protected] He is a wine-grower producing bio grapes since 2002, he has been processing bio grapes to wine since 2008. He has been a wine knight since 2004. He regularly participates at wine con- tests of the town, the county and the national BIO wine con- test as well. Wines produced with the traditional technology are ripened in oak barrels. 2. Bokros Bokros is the northest settlement of Csongrád County, 11 km from the eponymous town of the county and 24 km from Kiskunfélegyháza. According to certain sources it received its Kadarka wine name (the word bokros means bushy in Hungarian) from the The quality of kadarka wines also depend on the vintage and the thorn apple and wild pear bushes densely covering the steppe method of production very much. Every vintage and every win- belonging to the settlement. ery can bring so many differences and pleasant surprises. We can distinguish the classical red kadarka, the siller, the rosé and Bokros Viticulture Ltd. (Ruby Wine House) the white kadarka. 6648 Csongrád-Bokros, Tanya 1521. The colour of the classical kadarka is a more moderate ruby red, sometimes with orange tone. When overripe, it almost has the GPS: 46°45'46'' N, 20°2'45'' E colour of the ripe sour cherry. Contact: István Bodor The spiciness and the richness of flavours of the kadarka are due Telephone: +36 63/579-010 to the vanilla and the cherry fruit flavour, which can expressly Fax: +36 63/579-011 be felt. Mobile: +36 30/515-3783 Its acidity is accented but still discreet, which – harmonising with E-mail: [email protected] the moderate tannin content – renders a silky taste to the wine. www.rubinborhaz.hu All in all, this is a light, elegant beverage, easy to drink, coupled with a particular kadarka flavour. It used to be recommended for The winery has a storage capacity of 20 000 hl. The ripening of fish plates just because of its lightness, but at the same time, due wines is carried out in traditional oak barrels beside stainless steel to its hot temper it was an indispensable flavouring ingredient of tanks. They produce 10-12 000 hl of wine annually, marketed on shepherds’ dishes of the South Great Plain, like stews, goulashes, Hungarian and foreign markets. Due to the characteristics of the dishes with red pepper and roasts. area, their main wine types are the red and the rosé wines, pro- 5 KADARKA ROUTE duced with modern technology. 80% of their wines are red, 20% Kecskemét is a town with 108 000 inhabitants, it is situated be- are white. After the inner developments carried out in 2005, the tween the Danube and the Tisza. There were settlers on the ter- bottling of the wines has also started. The product line consisted ritory of the town as early as the Neolithic Age. In Turkish times of four types of wines. In the forthcoming years this capacity grew the inhabitants mainly dealt with animal husbandry in the sur- continuously, in 2009 as many as 11 types of wines are bottled rounding steppes. Keeping livestock in stalls spread from the under the trade name RUBIN BORHÁZ (Ruby Wine House). They 18th century onwards, which lead to the establishment and aim at increasing the amount of bottled wines, which they tend large scale spreading of farms. The sandy soil loosened and to sell more and more in their own wine-shops. They deliver wine became mobile as a serious result of the pasturing of herds of to the Czech Republic, to Slovakia and to Canada as well. Their swine and flocks of sheep. An important momentum of tying products are acknowledged with the shiniest of medals. the sand was that the steppe around Kecskemét was planted with fruit trees and grapevine. Gulyás Cellar * 6648 Csongrád-Bokros, Tanya 1531. The plantation of grapevine cultures was accomplished on Contact: Ferenc Gulyás significant areas due to the phylloxera disaster at the end of Telephone: +36 30/356-7928 the 19th century. The pest ravaging on areas with hard ground E-mail: [email protected] almost entirely devastated the Hungarian wine districts by set- tling on the surface of the grapevine. The pest could not settle on the sandy soil becoming hot. A sad day in the more than one hundred years’ history of Kecskemét: 8 June 1911 when the town was destroyed dur- ing the night by an earthquake lasting about 20-25 minutes. Churches, towers, old buildings and houses under construc- tion were damaged. The József Katona Theatre was inaugurated in 1896, the colony of artists was established in 1912, the Kodály Institute became citadel of training teachers of music, and the opening muse- ums elevated Kecskemét to become the cultural centre of the region between the Danube and the Tisza.