Instructors

Gabriella Mészáros DipWSET

Originally a lawyer Ms. Mészáros was the first Hungarian to receive a diploma at WSET. She has been closely following the developments of the Hungarian wine scene since the 1990s. Her tasting notes and observations were made widely available through the publication of 16 editions of Borkalauz which were all edited by her. She was the founder of Hungary’s first wine school and for almost 30 years one of its preeminent lecturers. For the last twenty years she has been the chairperson of the annual wine selection program of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Relations. The tastings and courses conducted by her have been major contributions to the advancement of Hungarian wine culture and wine quality.

Mátyás Szik

Mátyás Szik is a three-time winner of the Hungarian Sommelier Championship. Following his studies at a Secondary School of Economics he graduated as a historian. As his interests turned to wine he entered the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Best Young Sommelier of the World competition, became a certified sommelier at the Court of Master Sommeliers, he is a tutor at Borkollégium, he is the host of Agrármarketing Centrum’s video series exploring 22 Hungarian wine regions, he is also a spirits expert, professional advisor and consultant.

His clients include numerous domestic wineries, large and small, and he provides them with strategic advice including international trade opportunities. He is a dedicated advocate of quality catering and wine culture in Hungary.

László Angermann

For over a decade now he’s been in the enviable position of making a living out of his hobby. He’s particularly interested in indigenous Hungarian varieties. One of his favourite ideas is „You are what you drink”. In recent years there has been an upswing in organic viticulture and this means, among others, scaling back sulphur use and shunning chemicals. He shares the belief that the proper reaction to hurried, technological and anonymous modern winemaking is the return to ageing wines in classical amphorae or in barrels but with moderation. To his mind what makes a wine special is its ability to express a wine region or a specific terroir. He considers a top-notch Villány Portugieser as something truly precious. Another trend he is interested in is the return to the age-old practice of making „orange wines” and also pét-nat. Sparkling wine is also close to his heart and he hopes that step by step Hungarian examples may get closer to the exalted levels of Champagne.

András Horkay Dip WSET

Mr. Horkay is the founder and director of the Central European Wine Institute (CEWI) which offers WSET wine education courses. He is a WSET graduate and a WSET certified wine lecturer. He’s been promoting Hungarian wines and wine regions both at home and abroad since 2010. He fulfilled the position of the Chairman of the National Wine Expert Comission between 2013-2018, starting from 2016 he acts as an advisor for the Villány wine region and since 2021 he is an advisor for the Mátra wine region as well. In 2019 he was awarded the Par Excellence Lecturer title by the Hungarian Sommelier Association.