The grapes and wines of Eger
In the Middle Ages Eger and the surrounding area originally belonged to Felvidék where mainly white grapes were grown. From the beginning of the Turkish reign to the end of the 19th century, mainly those grape varieties that produced red wine dominated. However from the middle of the 19th century there were more and more areas growing white grapes. This tendency of having more white grapes became dominant after the grape-louse epidemic.
We only have records about the grapes that were grown in Eger from 1828, the middle of the 19th century. Considering the fact that the grape-louse epidemic did not have really great effect upon the variety of grapes grown in Eger we may say that these records are also true in connection with the 18th century.
According to records from the beginning of the 19th century, the most popular kinds were the so called flat-footed (lúdtalpú) and the so called round-leaved (kerek levelű). From the early years of the 19th century it was well known that one of the basic fundamentals of making quality dark red wine was to fully grain all the gathered grapes, because it is the only way to have the colour and flavour of the core and the jacket dissolved during the fermentation on marc.
 The gathering was held later in the year than usual. They also made muscatel using those grapes that were capable of it. Records from the 18th and 19th centuries mention red muscatel in the cellars of the bishop and other landowners. This kind of wine disappeared from the varieties of wines of the 20th century. By putting off the gathering as long as they could they were able to produce outstandingly high quality red wine in those years when the weather was really good. More and more stemmed red grapes were used to produce red wine, which illustrates that the wine producing methods became better.
During the 19th century the idea of making white wine spread very quickly. It was even possible to produce white wine from Kadarka (a variety of grape), in such a way that the filtered grape-juice was poured into barrels right after it was pressed so its colour was white. Apart from the fact that white wines spread very quickly, the red wine was still able to beat them in exhibitions. János Joó’s red wine got the bronze medal at the World Expo in Hamburg in 1869.
In 1825 János Erdélyi wrote about a vineyard that gave wine whose colour is like the colour of the bull’s blood. The red wine called Bull’s Blood is first mentioned in 1851:
“Bull’s blood… It is the name of the strong red wine, for example the one produced in Eger.” This Bull’s blood is not exactly the same as the one we know today because those kinds that are required to produce the quality Bull’s blood had not been able to acclimatise before the grape-louse epidemic.
The grape-louse epidemic was a dividing line in the history of the red wines of Eger. During the reconstructions the variety of red grapes were greatly changed, and a new method of producing the Bull’s blood appeared. After the reconstruction, the Kadarka, which had been grown in large quantities from the Turkish era, stayed but many others like the Nagyburgundi, Kékfrankos, Cabernet, Medoc noir, Merlot and Oportó spread.
The effect of grape growing upon the economy of the town
The economic foundation of the population of Eger was based on grape and wine growing until Eger fell into the hands of the Turks in 1596. We have records from the 16th century showing that craftsmanship also improved during those years but it was always connected to grape growing in large scales.
During the 18th century most part of the population lived from grape growing, but craftsmanship was also developed. The industry and the agriculture were not separated during that century. Most craftsmen had their own small, or some larger, vineyards.
The commerce of the wine
During the 18th century until the beginning of the 19th century the commerce of the wines of Eger was very significant. The high quality red wine was taken partly to the neighbouring counties as well as abroad mainly to Poland. The trade was mainly done by the Rác people, who had great experiences in trading and had many connections.
The council of Eger answered to the survey of the governor’s council in its meeting on 18th January 1817.
“The wines of Eger are famous and well known all over the country because we have such good bearing here that can be transported without having to afraid that they may break or change colour. As there are so many vineyards around Eger the amount being produced is very high. Only 10 percent of it is the local consumption. Our wine, as far as we know, is taken to several neighbouring counties such as Jászság and Kunság and mainly to Gömör, Dukla, Krakkó, Lemberg, Varsó, Bécs and sometime to Saxony. The best trading route to the north is, without doubt, the road to Kassa as the conditions of the roads are the best on that way.
The Ganging (bandázás)
 A grape grower in Eger feels a very special connection between himself and his cellar. He is proud of it and he is not ashamed in front of his friends because his cellar is always clean and tidy. Women do not deal with the cellar. They only keep the house clean and control the economy of the family. As the words say: “husband owns the cellar, wife owns the money.” A cellar is not only a workplace for a man but also his home where he can always hide. There are many households where only the husband has a key to the cellar. There are husbands who even take it with them to the vineyards and, on the way back home go into the cellar to drink a glass of wine. Elders of the town claim that before World War I it was impossible to go along the road of cellars without being stopped for a drink.
Before the grape-louse epidemic at the end of the last century, it was a common custom among hoers to go into each other’s cellar. This custom is called “ganging”. It was also a great way to the middle class people to compensate the lack of coffee houses. After the years of the War of Independence during the time of gripe, a so-called cellar song appeared that cried for the lost patriotism mentioning the wine of Almagyar. “Almagyar / Almagyar / from whom somebody / is good Hungarian, / good Hungarian!” The best-known reason of “ganging” was that the wine must be tasted to determine whose wine is the best. However women were not allowed to take part in these meetings, as there was an unwritten rule that a woman was not allowed to stay in the cellar if another man was also there.
A filoxéra előtti korban, vagyis
a múlt század végén bevett szokás volt a kapások között a pincézés,
helyi nevén a bandázás. Ám a középosztály számára is pótolta "a
kávéházi gőzélet fanyar időtöltéseit^- írják 1854-ben. A szabadságharc
utáni elnyomatás idején keletkezhetett ez a pincenóta, amely
az almagyari szőlők borára utalva keserűen idézi a tovatűnt
magyar haza-fiságot: "Almagyar, Almagyar, / Akitől az ember
/ Jó magyar, / Jó magyar!" A bandázás leginkább hangoztatott
ürügye az volt, hogy meg kell a bort kóstolni, melyiküké a
legjobb. A nők azonban nem vehettek részt ezen, mert íratlan
szabály szerint asszony más férfiak jelenlétében nem tartózkodhat
a pincében.
During winter times in old the world, a kind of travelling salesman appeared in such areas like Tihamér or Kőporos at the beginning of the last century. They were called “kocsiber”. They sold different things. Some of them were like butchers who sold sausages with horseradish. They carried small fireplaces on which they cooked the sausage fast using coal. These people were mostly old barmen who were fired because they were too old to work in pubs and bars. They knew a lot about serving people and sometimes they drank with the grape growers.
Almost a century ago it could have been the way that serving tourists was born in Eger, and probably in other places too. It all happened in the year of 1900 of our Lord, in the years of peace and calm.
Dr. Bakó Ferenc
Source: Egri Borok Könyve (Kossuth Kiadó, 2000)
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Hungarian and foreign travellers about the grapes and wines of Eger
Bombardus mentions the famous red wine of Eger in his notes about Hungary in 1750. He also mentions that, in his opinion, it is good for your health.
Rebert Townson English naturalist, who travelled through the town in 1793, wrote in his book titled „Travelling through Hungary”: „The wine of Eger has every right to be famous. It is really good, similar to Burgundi but probably slightly lighter.”
In 1796 András Vályi let us know that “There are so many prolific vineyards in the area,” and that “they give us the best red wine of the region.”
Demeter Görög wrote in 1829: “The red wine of Eger has a very affable taste, light and healthy, it is not too strong for the stomach and it has so many good characteristics that are hard to discover in many foreign wines.” He found the red wine so interesting and dominant in Eger that he simply forgot to mention the white wine of the Eger.
Elek Fényes in 1847 described the situation like this: “the population of Eger is mainly living on grape and wine growing. The red wines of Eger can easily compete with the red wine of Buda in its taste and durability.”
Dr. Nemes Lajos
Source: Egri Borok Könyve (Kossuth Kiadó, 2000) |
