Hungary's largest wine district and its potential vineyard area, if it were really all under vine, could become one of the biggest in the world. It produces wonderful, light everyday wines in all three colour variations and is home to fresh, appealing sparkling base wines. Two of its traditional varieties, now somewhat in the background, Kövidinka and Sárfehér, also boasted significant planting on a national level.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
It is the largest wine district on the Great Plain and in Hungary as a whole. Its name is misleading as it does not cover the whole of Kunság, but only the historic Kiskunság region. Most of the wine district is located between the Danube and the Tisza, only extending beyond the Tisza in the Tiszaföldvár area. The wine district is also part of the Kiskunság sand bank in the strictest sense, the southern part of the Pest Plain, the Solti Plain, Csepel Island and the Jászság loess ridges. The vineyards of 95 towns and villages divided into eight subdistricts are legally included in the wine district. The Kunság wine district is the most extensive in Hungary. Its total potential planting area is 103,863 hectares, of which the number in under vine is now less than 19,200 hectares.
SOIL
Soils are mostly calcareous sand, with patches of secondary loess-loam, grassland and meadow soils. In some places, cohesive loam and clay subsoils are covered with a thin mantle of sand. There are areas of pale, dry drifting sands with low humus content, while there are also darker sandy soils rich in humus and nutrients, mixed with loess as well as acidic sandy soils of Tisza origin.
CLIMATE
The climate of the Great Plain is varied and extreme during the growing season. It is characterised by a continental climate, i.e. hot, sunny summers and cold, dry winters. It has high heat summation and a high number of sunshine hours, especially along the lower reaches of the Tisza. Droughty summers, frosty cold winters and spring and autumn frosts are also quite common. This is one of the Hungarian wine districts with the highest risk of frost. It is common for vines to experience sun scorch and heat stroke on very hot days. Precipitation is extremely low, receiving around 100 mm of rainfall in many years. Yield reliability is the worst of all the Hungarian wine districts.
GRAPE VARIETIES AND TYPICAL WINE STYLES
The wine district's traditional white varieties were Kövidinka, Kunleánya, Arany Sárfehér, Piros Szlanka and Pozsonyi Fehér. Nowadays, there are also plantings of Bianca, Cserszegi Fűszeres and Ezerjó as well as small quantities of Riesling (Rajnai Rizling) and Olaszrizling. Large amounts of Zalagyöngye are also grown, but these are rarely bottled on their own. Kadarka is the traditional red variety, but Kékfrankos and Zweigelt are equally popular.
Most of the country's low-cost wine is produced in the Kunság wine district. The area's so-called "sand-grown wines" are made from a wide palette of different grape varieties. They are usually light and soft, poorer in aromatics and not as full-bodied as wines grown in hilly wine regions. They are generally simple table wines that age quickly. The region's white wines are generally soft, light and low in alcohol, depending on the soil. Its reds are one dimensional and often lacking complexity. Both a reduction in yields and the use of quality wine grape varieties can also produce higher quality wines. The wine district is best known for its simple, reductive white and rosé wines for early consumption. Large quantities of aromatic wines are produced in the area, targeted as an everyday wine for younger consumers. Most producers' top wines are made from Ezerjó or Riesling (Rajnai Rizling), while Kékfrankos, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are also connected to higher-quality categories. As sandy soils are less able to retain any mineral content, wines from here are less likely to win fans due to their concentration, but rather because of their purity and lightness.