In this area, it was fish that brought many people back to wine, mainly to spicy Kadarka, Kékfrankos, aromatic Irsai Olivér and spicy Cserszegi Fűszeres. Its vines, wine, landscape and architecture add to the wealth of the wine district. However, for those unfamiliar with them, surprisingly lush waterfront, green floodplain areas are also connected to the region. Its two independent, eponymous settlements, Baja and Hajós, have their own unique culture to offer, as well as very approachable wines.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The Hajós-Baja wine district is in the southern part of the area between the Danube and the Tisza, on the western slopes of the so-called Bácska loess ridge. It forms a transition to the north and east towards the sandy-soiled Kunság wine district. Administratively, it is part of Bács-Kiskun County. The total production area of the Hajós-Baja wine district is 14,874 hectares, but the current area under vine is 1,636 hectares.
SOIL
Its soils are more favourable than those in the Kunság wine district. Loess settled on Danube alluvial sediments to a depth of 1-3 metres on the Bácska loess ridge. Soils formed on loess and loess sands have a higher proportion of loam than in the Kunság. The soils that occur here are mostly loess loam and calcareous chernozem soils.
CLIMATE
Its climate is similar to that of the Kunság wine district. The summers are extremely hot, with high heat summation and solar radiation, and hard winters. The region is one of the warmest areas in Hungary. Annual precipitation is low, but vines tolerate its relatively dry climate well. There is a significant risk of frost, especially in winter and early spring.
GRAPE VARIETIES AND TYPICAL WINE STYLES
The area planted with white varieties is about double that of black varieties. The most cultivated varieties are Cserszegi Fűszeres and Bianca, followed by Chardonnay, Királyleányka and Riesling (Rajnai Rizling). The most important black varieties are Kékfrankos, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zweigelt, although there are also some beautiful wines made from Kadarka.
The area's traditional varieties were Ezerjó, Piros Szlanka, Sárfehér, Kövidinka and Mézes Fehér in the case of whites, and Kadarka in the case of black varieties.
The wine district's soils yield relatively soft wines that are low in acidity. This softness is successfully compensated for by the region's reds, some of which are comparable in quality to those grown in hillier regions.
The region's most highly regarded wines have always been red wines. This wine district and its soils "stand out" somewhat from the other wine districts of the Great Plain. The characteristic rock of the Hajós-Baja wine district is Pleistocene loess, compared to varying versions of sand. It is also a wind-blown sediment but has much finer grains than sand, is slightly clayey and also has a carbonate content that is particularly beneficial for viticulture. Well-informed wine drinkers are aware that loess soils generally produce high-quality wine elsewhere, e.g. on the slopes of Tokaj Hill, in Villány, Neszmély or Szekszárd. Its terroir is also well reflected in the area's wines, as these, so long as they are not high-volume wines, are somewhat different from the wines of the other two wine districts on the Great Plain. They are generally more full-bodied and spicier, while the reds are warmer in character.