lasting flavours, full body and a long shelf-life with minerality and ideas in harmony with the production areas (sites). The difference between them is usually manifested in the fullness and duration of the aroma. Blend Egri Bikavér is a blend that has varied over the years, although the blend is anchored by the ancient Kékfrankos variety. Officially Egri Bikavér must contain at least three of the following 13 grapes: Bíbor kadarka, Blauburger, Cabernet franc, Cabernet sauvignon, Kadarka, Kékfrankos, Kékoportó, Menoire, Merlot, Pinot noir, Syrah, Turán, Zweigelt Origin of the name According to legend, the name originates from the invasion of Suleiman the Magnificent around 1552. "To motivate and support the small group of soldiers during the Siege of Eger castle they were served delicious food and a lot of red wine. Among the Turkish soldiers it was rumored that bull's blood was mixed into the red wine, as otherwise the strength and firm resistance of the town and castle of Eger could not be explained. Finally the enemy gave up." It has been suggested that the term Bikavér was coined by poet János Garay in 1846. In Finland, the wine is colloquially known as Erkin pikakivääri (Erkki's Automatic Rifle). History Under the Turks, the Hungarians' traditional white grapes were replaced by Kadarka and its relatives. In the 18th century German immigrants brought with them the Blauer Portugieser. Hungary did not escape the effects of the phylloxera epidemic in 1882, after which Kékfrankos and small amounts of the Bordeaux varieties were introduced. At this time the different varieties were often grown together as field blends in the vineyard, and vinified together; towards the end of the 19th century they began to be processed separately into wine and then blended. Under Communism, Kadarka was largely replaced by the Bordeaux varieties and in particular the easy-to-grow Zweigelt. This and the industrialisation of production saw Egri Bikavér become a much lighter, simpler wine during the 1970s and 1980s. Following the fall of Communism, much Kadarka has been planted and since the mid-1990s there has been a return to a more traditional, much darker style of wine. In order to eliminate some quality problems, a stricter regulation was planned in the mid 90s. The regulation was introduced in 1997, thus Hungary's first Districtus Hungaricus Controllatus - DHC was created (similar to the French Appellation d'Origine Controllée (AOC) or more like the Austrian Districtus Austriae Controllatus