Hungarian Sparkling Wine

Hungarian Sparkling Wine

Discover our specialist collection of Hungarian sparkling wine, bringing together some of the country’s best-known producers with exciting modern and low-intervention styles.

The range is built around two names that have played an important role in Hungarian sparkling wine: Törley, whose history stretches back to 1882, and Kreinbacher Estate in Somló, a leading name in modern Hungarian traditional-method sparkling wine.

Alongside them, we have selected distinctive bottles that show how diverse Hungarian sparkling wine has become, including an organic Tokaji Furmint Brut from Gróf Degenfeld and naturally sparkling organic Pet-Nats from Steigler in Sopron.

Hungary’s Sparkling Wine Tradition

Hungary has a much deeper sparkling-wine tradition than many UK drinkers realise.

József Törley founded his sparkling-wine business in 1882 after learning the craft in France. He established production in Budafok, where extensive limestone cellars provided stable conditions for sparkling-wine maturation.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, Törley had become synonymous with Hungarian sparkling wine, with bottles exported across Europe and beyond.

Today, Hungarian producers combine this historic tradition with native grapes, volcanic terroirs, traditional bottle fermentation and modern natural-wine techniques.

Törley – Hungary’s Historic Sparkling Wine House

Törley remains Hungary’s most famous sparkling-wine producer and an important part of our collection.

Our Törley Sparkling is an accessible dry sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, with green apple, pear, toasted brioche and a gentle touch of sweetness.

It is produced by tank fermentation, a method designed to preserve freshness, fruit and immediacy. The result is a lively, approachable fizz suited to celebrations, aperitifs and everyday drinking.

Our Törley Selection Rosé offers a fruitier rosé expression, bringing bright berry character and an easy-drinking sparkling style to the range.

Kreinbacher – Traditional-Method Sparkling Wine from Somló

At the premium end of our collection is Kreinbacher Estate, based on the volcanic Somló Hill in western Hungary.

Kreinbacher has become one of Hungary’s most respected producers of traditional-method sparkling wine, combining native Furmint with international varieties such as Chardonnay.

Our Kreinbacher Prestige Brut is the estate’s flagship blend, made from 57% Furmint and 43% Chardonnay. Furmint contributes crisp acidity, structure and mineral character, while Chardonnay adds elegance and breadth.

The wine is made using the traditional method and spends a minimum of 24–30 months ageing before release, developing fine bubbles alongside citrus, stone fruit, brioche and a subtle saline finish.

Champagne Expertise at Kreinbacher

Kreinbacher’s sparkling-wine programme was developed with the close involvement of Christian Forget, cellar master at Champagne Paul Bara in Bouzy.

Forget has advised the estate’s sparkling-wine production from its early stages, bringing decades of Champagne experience to Somló.

His involvement has extended to areas such as pressing technology, blending, dosage and the development of the estate’s sparkling-wine style, working alongside Kreinbacher’s own winemaking team.

The estate even adopted specialist Coquard presses, widely used in Champagne, allowing whole bunches to be pressed gently and the different fractions of juice to be carefully separated.

The aim is not to reproduce Champagne, but to apply its technical expertise to Somló’s own varieties and volcanic terroir, creating sparkling wines with a distinctly Hungarian identity.

Traditional Method vs Tank Method

The production method strongly influences the style of sparkling wine.

Traditional-method sparkling wine undergoes its second fermentation inside the individual bottle. Extended contact with the lees can create finer bubbles, added texture, and more complex savoury, brioche-like aromas.

Tank-method sparkling wine undergoes secondary fermentation in a pressurised tank before bottling. This method is particularly effective at preserving fresh fruit and floral aromas and generally produces a lighter, more immediate style.

Neither approach is inherently better: they simply create different drinking experiences. Our collection deliberately includes both.

What Does Lees Ageing Do to Sparkling Wine?

One of the biggest differences between premium traditional-method sparkling wine and fresher, tank-fermented styles is how the wine develops through lees ageing.

After the second fermentation takes place inside the bottle, the wine remains in contact with the spent yeast cells, known as the lees. Over time, these cells gradually break down through a process called autolysis.

This adds texture, complexity, and a finer mousse, while developing flavours often associated with premium bottle-fermented sparkling wine, such as brioche, toasted nuts, biscuit, cream, and citrus.

Organic Tokaji Furmint Sparkling Wine

One of the most distinctive wines in the range comes from Gróf Degenfeld in Tokaj.

Our Gróf Degenfeld Organic Tokaji Brut Sparkling Wine is made entirely from Furmint, one of Hungary’s most important native white grapes.

Furmint’s naturally high acidity makes it particularly well suited to sparkling wine, providing freshness and structure alongside the mineral character associated with Tokaj’s volcanic terroir.

The wine is fermented in stainless steel before spending approximately 26 months ageing in bottle, developing grapefruit, citrus and green-apple flavours alongside subtle bread and yeast notes from autolysis.

Gróf Degenfeld has cultivated its Tokaj vineyards organically since 2009, making this a particularly interesting bottle for customers looking for both organic sparkling wine and a distinctive alternative to more familiar European styles.

Explore the grape across dry and sweet wines in our Furmint Wine collection.

Furmint in Sparkling Wine

Furmint is one of the defining grapes of our premium sparkling-wine selection.

Its naturally high acidity gives sparkling wine freshness, tension, and structure, while its relatively restrained fruit character lets vineyard, lees ageing, and winemaking remain clearly visible.

In Tokaj, Furmint produces precise, mineral sparkling wine from volcanic soils. At Somló, it contributes freshness and structure to Kreinbacher Prestige Brut alongside Chardonnay.

Pet-Nat – Naturally Sparkling Wine

At the opposite end of the winemaking spectrum from polished traditional-method sparkling wine sits Pet-Nat, short for Pétillant Naturel.

Pet-Nat is made using the ancestral method. Rather than completing fermentation and then starting a separate second fermentation, the wine is bottled while the original fermentation is still underway.

Carbon dioxide produced during the remaining fermentation becomes trapped inside the bottle, creating natural bubbles.

The result is typically softer, fruitier and less formal than traditional-method sparkling wine, often with lively acidity and an expressive, slightly rustic character.

Steigler Organic Pet-Nat from Sopron

Our collection includes two organic Pet-Nats from Steigler Winery in Sopron.

The Steigler Organic Pet-Nat 2024 is made from Grüner Veltliner and offers green apple, ripe pear, lime, herbs and subtle yeast character with playful bubbles and a mineral citrus finish.

The Steigler Organic Pet-Nat Rosé 2024 is made from Blaufränkisch, producing a brighter red-fruited expression with strawberry, sour cherry, raspberry and vivid natural freshness.

Together they show a very different side of Hungarian sparkling wine: youthful, organic, naturally sparkling and deliberately expressive of the grape.

Why Is Pet-Nat Sometimes Cloudy?

If your Pet-Nat appears slightly cloudy or contains some natural sediment, this is not a fault.

Because fermentation finishes inside the bottle, yeast naturally settles after fermentation. Many Pet-Nats are bottled with minimal filtration and aren't disgorged like traditional-method sparkling wine, so some harmless sediment can remain.

You can let the bottle stand upright and pour gently if you prefer a clearer glass, or let a little sediment into the wine for a fuller, more textured style.

The key point is that natural haze or yeast sediment is a normal feature of many Pet-Nats and part of the style's low-intervention character.

Traditional Method, Tank Method or Pet-Nat?

Our collection deliberately covers three very different ways of producing sparkling wine.

Choose Törley when you want fresh, approachable and easy-drinking Hungarian fizz. Choose Kreinbacher or Gróf Degenfeld when you want finer bubbles, longer lees ageing and the greater complexity of traditional bottle fermentation.

Choose Steigler Pet-Nat when you want something more natural, youthful and unconventional, with vibrant fruit and softer natural carbonation.

Personally Selected by Zoltan

Best of Hungary co-founder Zoltan Kopacsi built our sparkling-wine range to show both the history and the modern evolution of Hungarian fizz.

Törley represents the country’s best-known historic sparkling-wine tradition, while Kreinbacher demonstrates how serious traditional-method sparkling wine has developed in modern Hungary.

Gróf Degenfeld adds an unusual organic Furmint expression from Tokaj, while Steigler’s Pet-Nats show the younger, low-intervention side of Hungarian winemaking.

The aim is not simply to offer one style of fizz, but to demonstrate the breadth of sparkling wine now being made across Hungary.

What Food Goes with Hungarian Sparkling Wine?

Sparkling wine is one of the most versatile styles to pair with food.

Fresh Törley works well with seafood, salads, smoked poultry and lighter appetisers. Traditional-method Furmint and Kreinbacher Prestige Brut pair particularly well with oysters, smoked salmon, caviar, seafood, creamy cheeses and risotto.

Pet-Nat is especially good with informal food such as grilled vegetables, salads, pizza, sausages and spicy dishes, where its acidity and lively fruit can cut through richer flavours.

How to Serve Hungarian Sparkling Wine

Most Hungarian sparkling wines are best served well chilled, generally around 6–10°C.

More complex traditional-method wines can be allowed to warm slightly in the glass, revealing greater brioche, citrus and mineral character.

Pet-Nat should also be thoroughly chilled before opening. If the bottle contains sediment, stand it upright beforehand and open it gently to reduce disturbance and excessive foaming.

Hungarian Sparkling Wine for Celebrations

Hungarian sparkling wine offers an alternative to more familiar Champagne, Prosecco and Cava, ranging from affordable celebratory fizz to serious bottle-aged wines.

Törley is ideal for parties and larger gatherings, while Kreinbacher Prestige Brut and Gróf Degenfeld Furmint make distinctive choices for special dinners, gifts and more serious wine occasions.

For customers looking for something more unconventional, Steigler Pet-Nat offers a lively natural-wine alternative.

Buy Hungarian Sparkling Wine Online in the UK

Browse our selection of Hungarian sparkling wines, including historic Törley, traditional-method Kreinbacher, organic Tokaji Furmint and naturally sparkling Pet-Nat.

The collection forms part of our wider Hungarian Wine range, personally selected for quality, provenance and distinctive regional character, with carefully packed delivery across the UK.