Earlier this year, I did a thing. Actually, three friends and I did a thing: our first Viking River Cruise. None of us considered ourselves cruise-types but we were interested in a river cruise, in particular, the Eastern Europe cruise by Viking that went from Bucharest to Budapest, traveling through five countries on the Danube River. We added on Instanbul for a pre-tour excursion, all to help my friend Kate achieve her long-term goal of visiting 100 countries before she dies. We added six new countries to her list!
For the rest of us, we had never been to these countries and were ready to explore. Of course, I selected the upgraded wine package on the boat and chose winery visits for my on-shore excursions. Here is a snapshot at what to expect from these Eastern European wine regions.
Turkey
One of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, Turkey is known for its black grape varieties including indigenous varieties as well as international grapes. A white wine drinker, I found a bright white to enjoy while cruising to the Asian side of Turkey!
Emir is one of the indigenous white grapes of Turkey and makes an austere white wine with a lot of minerality and acidity.
DLC Sultaniye Emir 2022 – my first (and probably favorite) wine of the trip, this white has mineral, bruised green apple, apricot, lemon and smoky notes
Kalecik Karasi is a lighter-style red like Pinot Noir or Gamay and is used to make not only red wines but also sparkling.
At the Michelin-star Milkla restaurant in Istanbul, we enjoyed the Yasasin Kalecik Karasi 2020 Methode Traditionnelle, Turkish bubbles with lemon, oxidized red apple and almond notes with hint of ginger on finish.
Öküzgözü is Turkey’s most planted red grape and produces big red wines with higher tannins.
Prestige Kavaklidere 2019 – a red wine with perfume, red cherry, raspberry, red plum and herbal notes with a minty finish
Romania
Another ancient wine-making region, Romania today is focused on quality and integration with European standards. It ranks 5th in Europe in terms of vineyard acres.
Fetească Albă, or White Maiden, is an indigenous white grape mostly found in Moldova and Transylvania that is used to make still and sparkling wines.
Jidvei “Maria” Fetească Albă 2022 – we enjoyed this white with traditional Romanian fare at the well-known Caru’ cu bere restaurant in Bucharest; notes of floral, honeysuckle, ripe apple, lemon-orange citrus with a hint of salinity
Hungary
Among wine enthusiasts, Hungary is best known for the sweet white wine Tokaji, but its rolling hills and limestone soils produce beautiful fine red and white wines of both indigenous and international varieties.
The highlight of my Viking cruise was the excursion to the European Coopers Ltd. to see hand-crafted barrel-making, taste the wines from Tűzkő Birtok winery and take a Jeep ride through the vineyard! This is one of the oldest wineries in the country with vineyards planted to indigenous grapes; in 2000, Tűzkő Birtok was acquired by the Antinori family that encouraged its expansion into more international varieties like Riesling and Gruner Veltliner, cool climate whites that do exceptionally well here.
Cserszeg Fűszeres is an aromatic white grape with floral, honey, perfume and distinct spicy notes.
Tűzkő Cserszegi Fűszeres 2022 – a featured wine on the Viking ship, this white had lemon zest, underripe peach-mango, daffodil, flint and spicy ginger notes.
Kékfrankos, also known as Blaufränkisch, is a red grape found in Hungary and Austria with red and black cherry fruit, spicy notes and notable tannins.
Tűzkő Birtok Kékfrankos Rosé 2023 – pretty raspberry, strawberry and mineral notes
Tűzkő Birtok Kékfrankos 2020 – another regional selection on the boat, tart blackberry, black cherry, black plum, black pepper spice
Tűzkő Birtok Grüner Veltliner 2023 – always a Gruner fan, I loved the citrus, peach and white pepper notes with great acidity
Tűzkő 7Frankos 2019 – a beautiful Kékfrankos red that is aged in seven oak barriques and then blended (thus its name) with notes of red fruit, cherry and spicy peppercorns.
Bulgaria
The temperate climate near the Danube is good for many varieties such as Rubin, Gamza, Pamid, Merlot, Traminer, Muscat and Sauvignon Blanc. My winery visit to Dos Alamos included pulling a sample of aged Rubin (hybrid between Nebbiolo and Syrah) from a barrel that had notes of red plum, rose, perfume, mint and baking spices.
Dos Alamos Sauvignon Blanc 2022 – notes of lemon, pineapple, faint grassy notes and nice minerality
Croatia
We visited the Iločki Podrumi winery as part of a cruise excursion, visiting the beautiful underground cellar and tasted their impressive whites from Graŝevina, Traminac and Gruner Veltliner as well as reds from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon. The biggest surprise of this trip: I bought six bottles of wine for about 40 Euros!
Iločki Podrumi Graŝevina 2023 – 60 percent of the vineyard is planted to this grape that offers pear, yellow apple, lemon and minerality notes
Iločki Podrumi Chardonnay 2023 – this unoaked Chardonnay has note of ripe apple, pear, apricot and lemon with a yogurt-like mouthfeel
Iločki Podrumi Rosé Frankovka 2023 – a rose of Cabernet Franc with notes of raspberry, strawberry and ruby red grapefruit
Iločki Podrumi Kapistran Crni 2021 – a blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this red has black cherry, cherry and anise notes.
Loved learning about many new-to-me grapes and seeing first-hand the beautiful wineries and vineyards along the Danube. Here’s to more cheers on a boat!
Denise Clarke is an avid wine enthusiast who loves sharing and teaching people about wine. She is a Certified Wine Educator, Certified Sommelier, WSET Advanced graduate and an expert on Texas wine. Owner of Denise Clarke PR, she currently represents Texas Fine Wine and the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Wine Marketing Program. She has lived in Austin for more than 30 years and when she is not swirling and sipping wine, she can be found on her bike, climbing every hill she can find.
Follow Denise on IG at @deniseclarkeTX for more wine recommendations.
