Wine and Politics: an uneasy pairing

There may be hope after the next election

In recent years, Hungarian wine has become far more visible internationally. The emergence of Wines of Hungary, alongside the work of the Magyar Bormarketing Ügynökség, has created a sense of structure and ambition that was previously missing. Hungary now shows up. It has a stand, a message, a presence.

From the outside, this looks like progress.

From within the trade — especially here in Switzerland — the picture is more nuanced, and less comfortable.

Visibility is not the same as market access. A well-designed stand at ProWein or Wine Paris signals intent, but it does not automatically translate into listings, distribution, or sustained sales. And this is precisely where the Hungarian system begins to show its limits. The current model excels at creating moments. It is far less convincing at building markets.

The reality many of us experience on the ground is simple. The presence may be national, but the cost is often private. Producers and importers still carry a significant share of the financial burden — travel, samples, logistics, and often even participation itself. The system provides a platform, but rarely a full pathway. It showcases wine, but does not consistently move it into the market.

This distinction matters.

Because when you compare it to Austria, the gap becomes very clear. The Austrian Wine Marketing Board operates with a fundamentally different philosophy. Their presence at international fairs is not an end point but a tool within a longer, structured process. Importers are cultivated over time. Sommeliers are engaged systematically. Listings are not left to chance but supported through coordinated follow-up. The market is not visited — it is built.

Just as importantly, Austria has spent decades refining a clear and consistent narrative. Grüner Veltliner is not a campaign; it is a position. Precision, freshness, and origin are not slogans; they are expectations. This consistency has translated into something measurable: strong export markets, stable demand, and a clearly defined place in the premium segment. It works not because it looks good, but because it delivers.

Hungary, by contrast, still struggles with this transition from presence to performance. The issue is not a lack of funding. European support exists, and national resources are allocated. The issue is how effectively that money converts into real market outcomes. Too often, the focus remains on what is visible rather than what is measurable. Events happen. Campaigns are launched. But the link between these activities and tangible results at producer level is rarely transparent.

At the center of the current system is Rókusfalvy Pál, whose role as a government-appointed commissioner reflects the broader structure: centralized, state-driven, and only partially accountable to the industry itself. This does not automatically invalidate the model — many countries operate with state-supported wine marketing — but it does increase the risk that visibility becomes the priority, rather than efficiency.

For those of us working in the Swiss market, the consequences are tangible. Hungarian wines are present, but not embedded. They appear, but they do not always remain. The burden of turning exposure into business still falls largely on individual producers and importers. And that is where the system, in its current form, feels incomplete.

This brings us to the inevitable question: what happens if the political framework changes?

A shift in government would not automatically bring more money, nor would it guarantee a better system. But it could open the door to a different approach. One that is less centralized, more accountable, and more directly tied to market outcomes. A model where support reaches producers and importers more effectively, where regional identities are allowed to develop on their own terms, and where success is measured not in appearances but in placements.

That said, there are no simple solutions. Wine marketing is always, to some extent, political. National branding carries soft power, and no system is entirely neutral. A poorly managed transition could just as easily fragment the message, dilute the brand, and reduce impact. Change alone is n

ot enough. Direction matters.

What remains clear is this. Hungarian wine no longer has a quality problem. Wines such as Tokaji Aszú, Egri Bikavér, and Olaszrizling from Balaton are not just competitive — they are distinctive, historically rooted, and in many cases genuinely outstanding products and brands in their own right.

The challenge now is structural. It is about how that quality reaches the market, how it is positioned, and how it is sustained.

At the moment, the system creates visibility. What it needs to create is presence.

And those are not the same thing.