BALASSA Tokaji Christmas Pudding Wine 2024

Balassa Tokaji Christmas Pudding Wine is a naturally sweet late-harvest white with tropical fruit, honey and fresh acidity for festive food and gifts.

Balassa Late Harvest Wine for Christmas Pudding

Made in Tokaj by István Balassa and selected for Best of Hungary, this wine offers an approachable introduction to Tokaji dessert wine. It combines Furmint and Hárslevelű, with a year of oak ageing before bottling.

Christmas pudding's dark fruit, citrus peel and warming spice complement the wine's tropical fruit and honeyed character. Its natural sweetness suits festive desserts, while fresh acidity brings balance to each glass.

Tokaji Late Harvest Wine

Late Harvest wine is made from grapes picked later into autumn, allowing their flavours and natural sugars to concentrate on the vine. These wines are often lighter, fresher and more fruit-forward than an intensely concentrated Tokaji Aszú.

Here, Tokaj's traditional white grapes, Furmint and Hárslevelű, bring lively acidity, floral character and generous fruit. The grapes come from vineyards with rhyolite-tuff soils, connecting this festive bottle with the volcanic landscape that makes Tokaj distinctive.

A Festive Bottle to Give

The Christmas-tree label was created specifically for the season, making this 375ml bottle a distinctive grown-up stocking filler, dinner-host gift or finishing touch for a food-and-wine hamper.

With Balassa's winemaking behind it and a style chosen for festive drinking, it is a thoughtful present for someone discovering Tokaji wine as well as a sweet-wine enthusiast looking for something different to share.

Tasting Notes

Bright and youthful, the wine opens with juicy tropical fruit, golden honey and a subtle mineral note. The palate is naturally sweet and rounded, with fresh acidity bringing lift and definition to the fruity finish.

Food Pairing – Chosen for the Whole Christmas Meal

We selected this wine after Monika cooked a roast to recreate Christmas dinner. Our team tasted different Late Harvest wines alongside savoury roast dishes, a cheese board, Christmas pudding and mince pies. This Balassa wine was our favourite across the meal.

We found it more versatile than its name suggests. Alongside pudding, we particularly enjoyed its balance of sweetness and freshness with cheese and roast dishes served with fruity accompaniments.

Try it with:

• Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, dried fruit, citrus peel and warming spice.
• Mince pies, fruitcake or a slice of poppy seed roll.
• Roast turkey, goose or ham with cranberry, quince or gently spiced fruit sauces.
• Blue cheeses such as Stilton, Roquefort or Gorgonzola, served with walnuts or dried fruit.

Serving and Keeping

Serve chilled at 9–11°C in a small white-wine or dessert-wine glass. Allow a little time in the glass for its fruit and honeyed aromas to open.

Once opened, reseal and keep refrigerated to enjoy over several occasions.

Technical Details

Balassa Winery, Tokaj

Founded in 2005 by István Balassa, Balassa Winery is a boutique Tokaj producer focused on wines that express their vineyard origins. Careful vineyard work, small-scale production and patient ageing underpin a range spanning dry Furmint, Late Harvest, Szamorodni and Aszú.

This Christmas Pudding Wine brings Balassa's approach to an accessible sweet style, selected for Best of Hungary with the festive table in mind. Explore more bottles from this historic region in our Tokaji wine collection.