Debrecen4U
June 3, 2026
Sabrage Championship to Return to Debrecen at 6th FestiWine
Debrecen’s downtown wine festival will be held for the sixth time under the name FestiWine Debrecen Culinary and Cultural Festival between 5 and 7 June 2026 on Déri Square. The organisers presented details of the event at a press conference held on site on 2 June.
As chief organiser Gulyás Gergő emphasised, the sixth FestiWine will feature all six Hungarian wine regions and all 22 of the country’s wine districts, representing a total of nearly 110 varieties of wine. This selection will be complemented by seven international wine regions (including those from New Zealand and Spain), offering a further 35 to 40 wines for tasting. As is traditional, the festival will also include musical and leisure programmes. On Friday, 5 June, jazz and swing will take centre stage: from 7.00 p.m., Swing à la Django will perform, followed at 9.00 p.m. by Imre Rakonczai’s The Blue Piano concert, after which DJ István Németi will entertain guests. On Saturday, 6 June, a Pilates session will be held between 3.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m., followed by a musical picnic atmosphere aimed primarily at Generations X, Y and Z – young adults – continuing until midnight, similar to that experienced at the Great Forest Picnic on 1 May. On Sunday, 7 June, the wine festival will be supplemented by a children’s programme under the name FestiSzörp, featuring a bouncy castle, balloon clown and, from 10.30 a.m., a performance by Brandnyúl. Admission to the wine festival is ticketed, with the exception of the Sunday children’s programme.
One of last year’s most distinctive attractions was the first Debrecen sabrage championship, which will also be held this year. Sabrage is a technique of opening sparkling wine by striking off the bottle neck, removing the cork with a knife, dagger, sabre or virtually any other object, including the stiletto heel of a woman’s shoe. The competition was outlined by sommelier and wine curator Béla Vállai. As he explained, entries may be submitted each evening at the Champagne House within the FestiWine grounds. Sabrage attempts carried out using a freely chosen implement – including a sabre provided on site – will be recorded on video, uploaded to social media platforms and opened to public voting, while a panel of expert judges will also evaluate them. Based on these assessments, winners will be announced after the festival, with substantial prizes offered by Borbolt.hu. He also stressed that, at visitors’ request, de-alcoholised and low-histamine wines will be available this year in a separate wooden pavilion. Naturally, the selection will also include wines made from indigenous Carpathian Basin grape varieties, while among the highly popular sweet wines there will be such specialities as Balaton wormwood wine.
Speaking as a guest at the press conference, Deputy Mayor Diána Széles stated that it is a particular pleasure that Debrecen’s city-centre wine festival originated from the passion of local entrepreneurs and has become a tradition promoting high-quality wine culture. This also includes teaching young adults who have reached legal drinking age how to enjoy themselves responsibly and safely. According to the Deputy Mayor, the city-centre wine festival initiated the process through which Déri Square developed into a high-quality culinary and cultural community space that local residents enjoy visiting. She expressed gratitude to Gergő Gulyás and his family for taking on the risks and tireless work involved in organising quality events for the people of Debrecen. In this regard, she highlighted that the Great Forest Picnic launched this year’s festival season, which continues with FestiWine, the Debrecen Gourmet Festival, the Campus Festival, the Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days, and the Debrecen Flower Carnival. Together, these events strengthen the city’s culinary and cultural offering, reinforce local identity among Debrecen residents, and support the local economy. The city council is pleased to support such high-quality initiatives and events that serve the local community.
Further information about FestiWine is available on its online platforms at festiwine.hu and facebook.com/festiwine.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
