Debrecen4U May 21, 2025

FestiWine will take place this week

The Debrecen Wine Festival, FestiWine, will be held on Déri Square between May 29 and 31, 2025. The organisers had a press conference on the site on May 20.

At the press conference, Deputy Mayor Diána Széles said this event will be held for the fifth time since 2018. It was launched a few years ago under the Downtown Wine Festival (in Hungarian, Belvárosi Borünnep). The initiative was launched by the former DiVino wine bar in Debrecen. When the idea was formulated, the local government had the common goal of giving the city’s caterers a space to show that another quality community event can be organised and enhance Debrecen’s reputation. 

With new chief organiser Gergő Gulyás, the wine festival, which has built on a long tradition of summer outdoor hospitality events in the city, has always filled Déri Square with wine drinkers and festival-goers. Its special feature is that it is not only focused on the weekend, as it starts on Thursday, offering a multi-day programme for the people of Debrecen, but also a long weekend for tourists visiting the city. Diána Széles stressed that “this is another example of how business and local government can work together for the benefit of the whole community of Debrecen.”

As highlighted by the main organiser, Gergő Gulyás, “FestiWine is a wine and cultural festival that combines quality gastronomic experiences and high-quality music programmes in an elegant yet intimate outdoor event. During the three-day festival, guests can taste more than 140 types of special-quality wines, the offerings of dozens of excellent wineries, and meet excellent winemakers, and family-friendly and cultural accompanying programmes await visitors. The music programme will be of similar quality to the wine programme, as Imre Rakonczai will perform on the evening of May 29, Charlie Horváth will give a one-and-a-half-hour concert on May 30, and Bálint Gájer will entertain the audience on May 31. He said the goal of FestiWine is further to strengthen the city’s cultural and tourist appeal.

Sommelier Béla Vállai pointed out that the special feature of the event will be the first Debrecen sabrage championship. Sabrage is a technique for opening champagne by striking the cork with a knife, dagger, sabre, or any other tool, even with the high heel of a woman’s shoe. Entries for the championship can be made on all three nights of FestiWine by purchasing a bottle of champagne and registering with a number. The sabrages performed will be recorded on video, judged by judges, and the results will be announced on the Wednesday of the week following FestiWine, with three winners. Béla Vállai emphasised that they would like to add some excitement to the cultural life of Debrecen with this special championship.

The municipal representative of the district that includes Déri Square as well, Csaba Papp, expressed his joy that Déri Square, this amphitheatre-like venue with special features, is filled with life during the event. “It is also gratifying that the organisers have thought of families, and as part of the event, which otherwise has an entrance fee, they are waiting for the younger generation with free children’s programmes (face painting, balloon clown, cotton candy, glitter tattoos, crafts, and the “Pitypang” children’s orchestra) on Saturday, May 31, between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.” Csaba Papp said, referring to adults, that wine culture in our country has a vast tradition, which has been strengthened again in the last decade. Drinking wine in moderation is good for our diet and can also be good for our health. The latter is confirmed, for example, by the long life expectancy of people in Mediterranean countries.

The organisers invited wineries and cellars to this event so that they could represent the elite in their segment, style, and wine region. Wines can be purchased by the deciliter or bottle, but the wineries will also offer their products in tasting packages.

More information about the event can be found online at https://festiwine.hu/ and https://www.facebook.com/festiwine.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu