What to Bring to Your Next Themed Wine Night (That Nobody Else Will Have)
Themed Wine dinners in Singapore follow a pattern: the host pops a Champagne, someone brings a Burgundy, another brings a Bordeaux, and five other people show up with Pinot Noirs.
Hungarian is the move nobody will see coming.
Here are four bottles are serious enough to earn their place alongside anything else on the table, and you'll almost certainly walk away with the most surprising wine of the night.
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1. For the Volcanic Wine Night: Hangacs Egri Bikáver, St. Andrea
Eger's vineyards sit on rhyolitic tuff – the same volcanic bedrock that runs beneath Tokaj – and St. Andrea's Hangacs Egri Bikavér Grand Superior shows it in the glass. Every bottle spends a minimum of 16 months in oak, developing a profile of dark berry fruit, graphite, and a long mineral finish that tells the story of terroir plainly.
And fun fact, an Egri Bikavér from the Nagy-Eged slopes won Decanter Best in Show in 2021, the first Hungarian red to receive that distinction.
So bring this to a volcanic wine night and you'll be the most discerning person in the room.
2. For the Best Merlot Blind Tasting: Solus 2021, Gere Attila
A 100% Merlot from the Kopár vineyard in Villány, aged 16 months in Hungarian oak, with a profile of plum, dark chocolate, coffee, and a saline mineral edge.
In a blind tasting, Solus 2003 and 2002 finished first and second against La Fleur-Pétrus and Masseto. Falstaff later ranked the 2021 vintage among Europe's nine highest-scoring Merlots, alongside Masseto, Le Pin, and Pétrus.
Nobody brings Hungarian Merlot to a blind tasting, which is precisely why you should.
3. For the Oaked Reds Night: Kopar, Gere Attila
Kopar is a Cabernet Franc-dominant Bordeaux blend from Villány, built around dark fruit, graphite, cedar, and firm structured tannins that reward ageing. It reads like a disciplined left-bank Bordeaux right up until someone asks where it is from.
We covered Gere Attila's story and how Kopar came to be in our profile of the winery.
4. For the Discovery Night (or the Wines Starting With F Night): Dry Furmint
Nobody brings a Furmint to a themed night, which is exactly why you should.
It combines the acidity of Riesling, the aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc, and the body of white Burgundy, a combination almost no other single grape achieves. It handles raw fish, clams, and delicate preparations as naturally as anything French.
Curious about Furmint? We covered the grape in full in our Furmint article.
All four wines are available through The Wine Key. If you want pairing ideas for the food side of your evening, our hawker food pairing guide covers what works with Hungarian reds in a Singapore context.