The wines of Somlo have a long and celebrated history; indeed, the region's fame at some point is said to have rivalled that of Tokaj. Its wine figures as medicine in old Hungarian pharmacopeias (Vinum Somlaianum omni tempore sanum).
This historic wine region was favoured by many royals, from King Sigmund to the Habsburgs. In the eighteenth-nineteenth century, Habsburg emperors/kings of Austria and Hungary, esp. Maria Theresia and Joseph II are claimed to have favoured Somlo wines. Wine was used to cure health problems and it was widely believed that if the husband drinks Somlo wine on the wedding night it assures the birth of a son. Wine from Somlo is aptly named the 'wedding night wine'.
Having son after drinking Somlo wine is not yet verified, but when you go to Somlo Wine Region and visit winemakers (they drink a lot of their own wine) you will see that all of them have sons and none of them has daughters. So somehow it works...
Hungary's smallest wine region lies on the slopes of the Somlo Mountain. This is the only wine region in Hungary where grapes are grown on the northern slope of a hill. Vineyards encircle this almost symmetrical, cone-shaped, dormant volcano rising from the plains of the Tapolca Basin. The traditions of winemaking can be traced back to roman times and the first written documents referring to winemaking in the region date back to the 11th century.
Only white wines are produced in the Somlo region from the following grape varieties: Harslevelu, Furmint, Juhfark (Sheep's Tail), Olaszrizling (Welschriesling), Tramini and Chardonnay.
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