Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe, with its shores spanning dozens of villages over a length of 200 kilometers. It’s Hungary’s most popular vacation resort, and each summer, half of the country storms its beaches to take a dip in the lake. It’s also home to five different wine regions and is probably the fastest-developing culinary destination in Hungary. (Check this map if you don’t believe us.)

The northern shore of the lake is mostly known for its crisp white wines full of minerality.  Most of the area is a chain of of extinct volcanoes, and the rich volcanic soil and fresh breeze from the lake produce wonderfully crisp and clean white wines. Many indigenous varieties grow in the area, including almost-forgotten (and often tongue-breaking) white varieties such as Kéknyelű and Juhfark, but the most commonly grown white grape variety is Olaszrizling. While these are technically three different regions (Badacsony, Balatonfelvidék and Balatonfüred-Csopak), we’ve simplified it to North-Balaton on our website.