Presidential opening address at the Winemaker of the Winemakers Awards Gala

Without excellent winemakers, not even the most ancient grape varieties or the most favourable vintages will yield high quality wines. – stressed President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok in his speech delivered as Chief Patron of the 18th Winemaker of the Winemakers Awards Gala in Budapest on Saturday. 

The Head of State spoke about the significance of the sacrality of wine in the history of humankind and Hungary, and pointed to the outstanding position of wine among alcoholic beverages. In his speech, President Sulyok recalled that the vineyards near Lake Balaton were already mentioned in the 1055 founding charter of the Abbey of Tihany, that Roman law included provisions and regulations on how to guarantee the good quality of, among other products, wine, and that half a millennium ago, Stephen Werbőczy wrote about the value and the rich revenues derived from vineyards in his lawbook Tripartitum.

The President of Hungary thanked the Hungarian winemakers for their work and congratulated the winner of the wine competition.