Festival dedicated to wine « Bull blood » ( « Egri Bikavér » ) and the patron saint of winemakers to St. Donat, It is held in the Hungarian city of Eger and annually gathers more than one hundred thousand tourists as spectators and participants for several days.
According to one legend, the name of the famous Hungarian red wine « Bull blood » is associated with the times of Turkish domination. During the Turkish siege of the Eger Fortress in 1552 during the assault, the leader of the Hungarian soldiers, Istvan Dobo, ordered the tired fighters to distribute red wine to raise strength and courage. The wine flowed down his beards and the Turks took him for the bullish blood drunk by the soldiers.
According to another legend, in the Eger region, the Gentiles killed St. Eded, whose blood flowed down the local slopes, gave the local grape varieties a saturated red color.
« The parent » « Egri Bikaver » is considered the Hungarian winemaker Yenyo Greber ( 1869-1941 ). For the manufacture of « Eger Bull Blood » harvested ripened grapes of special varieties with a high sugar and coloring substances, carefully sorted it using only the most ripe and high-quality clusters. To prevent the wine from being too tart, part of the grapes is ground, and the rest is separated from the branches. Mass is placed in a large tub and regularly pressed during the day, stimulating the selection of a large number of dyes from grape skins. Pour it after keeping it in oak barrels – the wine matures in the second year and only then acquires the perfect taste and aroma.
« Egri Bikaver » is a four-grade grape blend: muffin-cat, savinon cabernet, merlot and cement. Thin proportions give individual guilt, and their ratio is kept in the strictest secret by winemakers. Fortress « Breath Blood » – 12 degrees, color – dark ruby, velvet, straight bouquet. Serving this wine is recommended at a temperature of 16-18 degrees. It is very popular among wine connoisseurs. The warm aromatic « Bull Blood » perfectly accompanies fried meat, spicy and spicy dishes of national Hungarian cuisine.
Terraces of restaurants and cafes on the small cozy Dobo Square and Secheni Street emit a Mediterranean atmosphere in the summer months. And the cozy inns and rows of wine cellars of the Sepasson Valley and in the Eger itself provide excellent opportunities for tasting Eger wines.
Eger Fortress, architectural monuments in the style of « baroque », thermal hospital, landscape with gentle slopes, fun reconstruction of historical events and warm local hospitality for a long time remain in the memory of those, who visited Eger during the festival.