The spa town of Balatonf\u00fcred is a bucolic gem for sailors, hikers \u2026 and wine lovers. A new hop-on, hop-off bus tour offers a chance to get a taste of its little-known wineries<\/p>\n
The 90-minute train journey south-west from Budapest to the spa town of Balatonf\u00fcred unveils a landscape that segues from gritty industrial compounds to long sweeps of golden sunflowers and fields of pale grain. The carriage is pleasingly retro, with thick velour upholstery; windows that open, awkwardly, with a stiff metal lever; and a bushy eyebrowed conductor replete with ticket machine slung over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
But the real retromania is yet to come. Arriving at Balatonf\u00fcred station, I board a 1984 DAF bus, painted an almost audacious shade of green. From the open-air rear, I take in the view over Lake Balaton, central Europe\u2019s largest freshwater lake, often referred to as the \u201cHungarian Sea\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spa resort town since the late 18th century, Balatonf\u00fcred is a popular place for sailing and swimming, while the hilly countryside to the north is great for mountain bikers and hikers. It\u2019s also home to hundreds of wineries, many of which have traditionally been difficult to access \u2013 especially without a car. The bus I\u2019m on \u2013 the hop-on, hop-off 46\u00b0 Balaton Borbusz that launched this summer \u2013 has changed all this, by taking visitors on day trips to local vineyards.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the brainchild of Vir\u00e1g Szab\u00f3, who has spent summers in the region since childhood. \u201cThe idea first came to me when I was travelling in South Africa, on the vintage wine tram that runs between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe that nobody had thought to do something similar here.\u201d The 46\u00b0 moniker is a reference to the fact that this area occupies the same latitude as Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rh\u00f4ne.
\n She found the bus in the Netherlands and, by May this year, had signed up 22 wineries along two distinct routes \u2013 one focused on better-known growers and the other on more remote ones. Since then, seven more have joined and many more are eager to get involved. \u201cI have three criteria. Is the wine good? Are there nice views? And is the winery able to offer some form of hospitality?\u201d she says. Many of the wineries are family-owned and run, with no previous thought of opening up to visitors. Very little of Hungary\u2019s wine is marketed, and only around one-third is exported. Less still has it ever been the stuff of tourism.<\/p>\n
The bus departs Balatonf\u00fcred about every two hours from 11am, with the final drop-off at 9pm and the option to visit four wineries. Guests can either choose these in advance or pick en route \u2013 and, if the bus returns for you and two hours have flashed by before you\u2019re ready, you can simply ask to be collected two hours later. While tourism in Hungary is booming, with Budapest the country\u2019s primary draw, the Borbusz hopes to lure visitors further afield, offering an alternative insight into the country \u2013 and the chance to meet local people. Originally, it was planned to run only until September \u2013 but will now operate until mid-October, thanks to its early popularity.
\n Our first stop is M\u00f3rocz Pince (\u201cpince\u201d is the Hungarian for \u201ccellar\u201d), reached via a moderately steep, rocky path from the main road. Founded by former musician Tam\u00e1s M\u00f3rocz, it produces between 4,000 and 5,000 bottles each year, with traminer and merlot ros\u00e9 among its specialities. \u201cDuring Soviet times, the emphasis was on quantity, for exporting to eastern bloc countries, rather than quality,\u201d he says. \u201cFortunately, that\u2019s no longer the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although just 38, M\u00f3rocz has been making wine for 15 years. \u201cI wanted to approach it differently,\u201d he says. \u201cIn a way that was lighthearted, irreverent and down to earth.\u201d One way he\u2019s achieved this is through his labels, with each vintage given a different theme. The 2025 bottles show photos, taken from family albums, of his grandfather, who introduced him to wine. \u201cHe died in 2012, so he doesn\u2019t know he\u2019s famous,\u201d says M\u00f3rocz, with a smile. Over charcuterie platters on the terrace, with rows of vines and the expanse of the lake as a backdrop, it feels less like a tasting, and more like we\u2019re drinking and chatting with friends \u2013 and the wine is delicious.<\/p>\n
We continue on, and some of the group jump off at another winery, Balogh, just down the hill from M\u00f3rocz. But Szab\u00f3 has told me about the charismatic owner of Gazdag Pince, and I\u2019m keen to meet him, so I remain on the bus for another 15 minutes as we pass neatly combed vineyards and pretty villages. \u201cWe only make wines that we want to drink,\u201d says G\u00e1bor Gazdag, welcoming us to his winery. \u201cI used to play badminton, but then I got too fat, and I started worrying about being bored in retirement. I wasn\u2019t interested in hunting, fishing or collecting stamps \u2013 but I like wine, so I bought this land. It\u2019s a hobby for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Gazdag, this may be a way to stave off lethargy in older age; for J\u00e1nos Fogl, at next door\u2019s Madaras Pince, \u201cit\u2019s my life\u201d. Szab\u00f3 tells me that Fogl \u2013 who has been making wine since 1994 \u2013 is a genius, cross-breeding grapes to create unique varieties that shouldn\u2019t work in this region. Shaded under a vine-tangled trellis, we start with a cherry liqueur before moving on to a dizzying selection of wines. Each time I think we\u2019re finished, Fogl shuffles off to his cellar and produces another bottle.<\/p>\n
Music spills from the Borbusz speakers as we travel back, picking up passengers \u2013 couples and groups of friends \u2013 from other wineries along the way. Everyone is in an unmistakably ebullient mood; this will almost certainly turn to somnolence later.<\/p>\n
The next day, floating in the warm, shallow waters of the lake, I watch families playing ballgames and the slow glide of sailboats. Novices wobble uncertainly on paddleboards; the more experienced strike confidently away from the shore. It\u2019s hard to imagine that this was once undesirable marshland, and that the older buildings in Balatonf\u00fcred were constructed to face away from it. Thanks to large-scale civil engineering, the lake reinvented itself; now, the area\u2019s wineries, with the help of the 46\u00b0 Balaton Borbusz, seem poised to do the same \u2013 opening up their terraces, and their stories, to new generations of visitors. The trip was provided by Visit Balaton 365 and 46\u00b0Balaton Borbusz. A full day ticket on the 46\u00b0Balaton Borbusz is \u20ac42<\/p>\n