Hungary’s warmest and southernmost wine region, Villány is known for rich, bold red wines. This wine region was the first to become successful within Hungary in the 1990s with its full-bodied reds. Over the past years, winemakers have started to tune down the alcohol content and strong barrel aging of their wines, focusing on elegance and finesse instead.

One of the biggest surprises of the region is Cabernet Franc, which is a variety that, in other wine regions, usually gives harsh, tannic wines on its own. In Villány, though, Cabernet Franc has turned out to be the best fit for the area, and wines made from the grape are usually rich, well-balanced and juicier than their international counterparts. Other red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) and Merlot are also grown, along smaller amounts of Chardonnay and other white grapes.