The Hungarian winery Jammertal Borbirtok from the Villány wine region (southwestern Hungary) caused a sensation by winning two gold medals at the Korea Wine Challenge 2025. The award-winning wines, the Koh-I-Noor Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 and the Koh-I-Noor Cuvée 105.6 2017, significantly increased the market opportunities for Hungarian red wine in the emerging East Asian region.
The winery, which was already a major exporter to China before the pandemic, is now rebuilding its presence in South Korea, where wine consumption is growing dynamically. “We export not only wine, but also an attitude. The key to long-term market success lies in quality and credible expert evaluation,” explained Dr. Róbert Szűcs, co-owner of Jammertal.
The Korea Wine Challenge (KWC), organized by Wine Review magazine, has been considered one of the most authentic wine competitions in the region for 15 years.
With over 1,200 samples submitted from 23 countries, the competition was fierce. The jury consisted exclusively of South Korean sommeliers and gastronomy experts, and the evaluation was conducted in a completely blind tasting. The judges were not aware of the origin, price, or name of the winery. It is precisely this credibility that made the competition so attractive to Jammertal.
We are not interested in the medals, but in the feedback we receive from different parts of the world. The fact that the judges awarded our wines gold medals based on their own cultural tastes is a huge endorsement,”
says Dr. Róbert Szűcs.
The philosophy of the Jammertal Borbirtok winery is clear: to produce world-class wines in commercial quantities. Since its founding in 2001, 85 hectares of vineyards have been planted in the best locations in Villány, producing 350,000 to 400,000 bottles of wine annually.
Wine harvest at the Jammertal Borbirtok winery. Photo: Jammertal Borbirtok.
The consistent quality strategy has also been rewarded internationally. The winery has won over 120 international medals in the last 15 years. For example, the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge 2024 brought great success, including two double gold medals.
Between 2014 and 2019, Jammertal was already Hungary’s largest red wine exporter to China (12-15 containers annually). Although the COVID pandemic caused these exports to plummet, the East Asian market is now beginning to revive.
The Hungarian winery Jammertal Borbirtok. Photo: Jammertal Borbirtok
South Korea is particularly promising. Although per capita wine consumption is only 1.2 liters, the annual growth rate is over 15 percent.
Wine is increasingly becoming part of South Korean gastronomic culture, and the younger generation is open to international styles.
Despite a global crisis in the red wine market, which according to the co-owner of Jammertal was caused by overproduction and poor quality, Dr. Róbert Szűcs now sees an opportunity. “Production would have to be radically reduced and quality multiplied. Those who make good wine now have the opportunity to stand out. We are not looking for short-term deals, but a long-term position in Asia,” he explained.
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Via Press Release; Featured photo: Jammertal Borbirtok
