Master of wine shines spotlight on Hungary for ’07Master of wine shines spotlight on Hungary for ’07

Stephen Beaumont

Toronto-based John Szabo, Canada’s only accredited master of wine, has gone on the record suggesting that one Old World wine country to watch in 2007 is Hungary.

“Watch out for Kékfrankos, the grape of the future,” Szabo says in his year-end newsletter highlighting the “best and worst of all things.”

Although he says he has a personal interest in the country, having purchased a small vineyard in Eger in late 2003, Szabo is effusive in his praise for the Hungarian wine industry as a whole.

“Almost three years after Hungary joined the EU, government subsidies and foreign investments are finally starting to pay dividends,” he says. “Newly planted or renovated vineyards are yielding more concentrated fruit, and winery handling techniques have reached world-class standards.”

Szabo, a wine writer, consultant sommelier and director of the Center for Vine Affairs, may be reached at www.thecva.ca , the organization’s website.