I did not understand why the guy next to me was so giddy. Our plane was late, the cabin was hot, and he was in the cramped middle seat. When we finally landed, he got up from his seat, unzipped his backpack and pulled out a gigantic European flag. It was 13 April 2026, I was on my way to Tokaj to taste and bottle NR6, and Orbán had lost the election the night before.

It is quite a thing to make wine under fascist rule. Under Orbán, the wine industry became a prime example of state endorsed land grabbing, institutional favoritism and the rise of a politically connected capitalist class. Premium vineyards and wine estates in Tokaj and around Lake Balaton, were “sold” to Orbán loyalists, and EU and state funds were channeled to big wine estates.

Small independent winemakers like Erika faced an exorbitant institutional tax, making it difficult to survive of making and selling wine. They were forced to look abroad to sell their wines. Without the help of a sophisticated well-oiled state-sponsored marketing machine putting Hungarian wines on the map, that was no small feat. The fact we know Hungarian wine at all in Belgium is largely thanks to a couple of tenacious individuals standing up to a system rigged against them.

And so it was that on a cold October night in 2022, a young Hungarian-Belgian woman knocked on the door of Stijn, organizer of epic blind tastings in Brussels, asking if she could showcase some bottles. Armed with nothing but a backpack full of wines, a head full of knowledge and a heart for independent Hungarian producers she gave us all a masterclass in Hungarian wines. We have been friends ever since. Her name is Maria Crab and she runs her own export agency from Hungary, called Borett. In many ways, she is the one who got me into winemaking.

Maria told me to call Erika to see if she would be up for making a Nova Radix wine from Hárslevelű in Tokaj. What was supposed to be a short intro call, lasted an hour and half - Erika and I talked about what wine we would make, the state of the wine industry under Orbán, what it was like for women in wine and the future of wine as a culture carrier. It was an instant match. 

When we got to the cellar to see how our Hárslevelű had turned out, Erika was shattered: she had been up partying as well until very late. But she was joyful and hopeful - just like Maria. We tasted the wine and she said: “It’s good. It tastes like freedom.”