Kadarka

Although not a Carpathian Basin variety in terms of origin, it has now become so important in Hungary that we can say it’s our other black Hungarian variety alongside Kékfrankos. It was probably brought to the country by Serbs fleeing from the Ottomans. It is strongly associated with the settlement of Shkodra in present-day Albania; although the variety’s exact origin is unknown, it is most likely a Balkan variety. It has many synonyms, such as Törökszőlő and Fekete Budai, Skadarka in Serbia and Gamza in Bulgaria. Kadarka has become a real national treasure and many producers have stood by it, devoting time and energy to shaping the variety’s identity. Old documents mention it as the most common variety in the 19th century.