Waltzing away with wine gold

By Tamás S. Kiss
HUNGARIAN cellist András Bruhacs visited London recently to receive an award for a classic composition. But this was not a music prize, but rather for his second great talent - wine-making.
Bruhacs, 56, is a partner in Tokaj Classic Kft, as well as a full-time artist in his other area of expertise.
His winery won a gold medal in London last year for its 1994 vintage 6-puttony (small barrel) Tokaj Aszu in the dessert wine category. The vintage sold out, virtually all going for export.
Tokaj Classic Kft’s winery again won a gold medal this year, for its 1996 vintage of the same wine, after a panel of independent judges did a blind tasting. "In the wine business very few companies can secure two consecutive gold medals," said Bruhács.
The last time a Hungarian wine won in the dessert category was in 1991 and 1992 (with a 1963 vintage).

Bruhács compared wine-making to teaching music students; "We take the risks which result in gold medals," he said. "But we don’t try to ruin them. We let them mature and develop themselves."
He continued, "Wine tasting is almost like music, one needs a tongue for wine as one needs an ear for music."
Bruhács studied the cello at Budapest’s Franz Liszt Music Academy and played with the Magyar Radió Symphonic Orchestra. He now commutes between Hungary and his home in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he has done his best to promote Hungarian wines.
Many Tokajs (at least 10) are available in Europe. French and Italian winemakers have produced a wine they happily call Tokaj, but Bruhács said the real stuff was indigenous to Hungary’s north-eastern region.
"Insiders know Hungarian Tokaj is different," he said.
He said that in Germany when the older generation tasted real Hungarian Tokaj their eyes lit up as they remembered the "good old days" of wine making before the war, when such drinks were highly cherished.
Bruhács added there were still many vintage wines available from the old Socialist-era Borkombinát (Wine Cooperative) producers. "But the younger generation are absolutely unaware of Tokaj," he said.
"In Hungary, my family always made wine, but only for home consumption. In those days nearly everyone in rural Hungary brewed their own."
In 1989 and 1990 he came back to Hungary to visit his childhood village and was shocked to see the neglected vineyards.
"The cellars had disappeared and the barrels were leaking. It was a terrible blow to me after nursing a romantic image for 30 years," he said.
The once-proud family "estate" had hardly a drop of wine to sample. "Luckily I found a private producer who gave me a sample of his white cuvée," Bruhács said. He took it to a local wine club in Germany and had some of the big tasters test it.
"I was amazed to hear these mature wine tasters express their satisfaction," he said. "They told me they had tasted some of the best wines in the world and that this white wine was excellent.
"I said we should immediately do something about it and that’s how the Bruhács Winery was established, to produce its Villa Maklár wines."
According to local wine experts, or sommeliers, the Bruhács wine is a standard-type good upper-level drink, but it is rare in Hungary as most of it is exported.
Bruhács said that in the first year only about 800 bottles were produced from grapes purchased from vineyards in the Szekszárd region.
He said he has since hired experts in wine making to control and refine the product and has grape producers grow the stock according to the experts’ requirements.
"In the beginning, when we had a smaller output, we bottled our own wines, but now demand has increased we have them bottled at one of the major local wineries," Bruhács said.
In 1993 and 1994 Bruhács visited the Tokaj region and met with local wine producer István Szepsi. "We decided we wanted to buy a large vineyard near Mád hegyalja (the foothills) in the Tokaj region.
"We met a gentleman there called Imre Galambosi and now he is the managing director of our German/Hungarian-owned company Tokaj Classic Borászati Kft, registered in 1998," said Bruhács, explaining his name was quite unpronounceable for a foreign tongue so they settled for Tokaj Classic.
Bruhács said there were about 28 villages in the region producing some of the world’s best wines. He said his company had acquired 8.5 hectares of prime vineyard. "Big can be beautiful, but the beauty of Tokaj is that you don’t have to be big to make great wines," he said.
However Bruhács added he did not have too much time to get sentimental when it came to his product. "There is too much work and documentation to be done and with new wine laws and taxes this has only increased," he said. He criticized the customs agency (VPOP) asking, "If wine is to be controlled, then why not let the consumers do the lion’s share of the controlling?
"If you put your name on the label then you should be responsible for everything," Bruhács said, adding that in Germany, the Mercedes company was responsible for its product and not the German Government. Germany’s alcohol tax was also more producer-friendly.
Bruhács said that laws in Hungary obliged him to go to the Hegybíró (vineyard registrar) and announce his quota. "I have to tell them exactly how much of a particular wine I plan to produce in the coming season," he explained. "Approval must also be obtained from the National Wine Institute (OBI) for our label and each bottle must be sealed with a special paper band (ellenôrzô jegy or borjegy).
"This way, we cannot use any of our bottles as samples as we would have to give account of any consumed in the marketing process."
Bruhács added, "If a restaurant orders 36 bottles of our wine, the paperwork is the same as for anyone who orders 1,000."
This year Bruhács has planned the sale of 20,000 bottles (or 16,000 liters) of wine, for which OBI approval has already been gained.
But, despite the red tape, Bruhács said Hungary was capable of making world-class wines. "Next to France, Hungarian wines are one of the finest in the world," he said.
Bruhács still works primarily as a musician, with wine-making coming second. He is a solo cellist with the Wiesbaden State Opera and also a member of the German Chamber Orchestra.
He said he generally considered himself a bohemian character and loved to travel and make the most of all his musical opportunities. He has been to many places including Japan, Korea, California and throughout Europe.