The Fizzy Fröccs: A Game-Changer for Wine Spritzers

Summer evenings in Budapest are best enjoyed in the city's cozy kerts, laid-back outdoor bars that pop up this time of year. Picture yourself relaxing in a hammock with a plastic cup of fröccs (pronounced “froetch”). In Budapest, fröccs, a sparkling mix of wine and soda water, becomes the quintessential summer drink, offering a refreshing escape from the heat. Though enjoyed year-round, fröccs truly shines in the warmer months, whether you're at a high-end restaurant, a casual picnic, or a trendy ruin bar.

What is a fröccs?

A traditional fröccs is a simple blend of soda water and wine. While the type of wine can vary, the best fröccs are made with a Hungarian unoaked white or rosé, such as a crisp olaszrizling or a richly tannic kékfrankos. The chilled wine is mixed with soda water—never ice—and that’s how you get a perfect fröccs.

If you think this sounds like a typical wine spritzer, there’s a good reason: These effervescent, blush or golden-hued drinks are actually the original wine spritzer, predating modern frosé and even your mom’s sweet wine coolers by over a century. The tale goes that Hungarian inventor-engineer-priest Ányos Jedlik, who was also behind one of the world’s first electric motors and industrially carbonated water, created the drink at a dinner party in 1842. It was here, among other distinguished Hungarians like poet Mihály Vörösmarty, that Jedlik reportedly became the first to mix soda—then a novel beverage served from old-fashioned siphon bottles—with wine. The concoction was an instant success.

Jedlik initially named the drink “spritzer,” a term from Austrian-German for sparkling water. However, Vörösmarty, displeased with the German name for a Hungarian creation, used his linguistic skills to rename it “fröccs,” from the Hungarian word “fröccsen,” meaning “to splash.” The new name and the drink itself quickly became popular, spreading to bars, cafes, and restaurants, and eventually becoming a symbol of national pride. In one poem, Vörösmarty even compared the rising bubbles of fröccs to Hungary’s quest for independence.

Why Should You Try Them?

Hungarian wine is often celebrated as one of the world’s best-kept secrets. Its history dates back to Roman times, with the first vines likely planted in the Carpathian Basin, encompassing present-day Hungary and neighboring regions, in the first century A.D. Louis XIV of France and Thomas Jefferson were among its admirers (Jefferson’s priciest wine purchase was a Tokaj, from a northeastern Hungarian region now a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Although it hasn’t reached the global fame of French and Italian wines, Hungary’s wine industry—boasting 22 distinct regions and hundreds of varieties, from sweet Tokaji Aszú to robust Egri Bikavér—is the 17th largest in the world, according to the 2015 book Hungarian Wine.

Why dilute a national treasure? That was my exact reaction when I first arrived in Budapest about a year ago, just as summer was beginning. I was eager to unwind from my grueling 30-hour journey with some renowned local wines. Guided by my cousin, my host for the coming months, we headed west toward the Danube River. Our destination was Kiosk, a stylish outdoor bar with a stunning view of Buda and the Citadel. As boats glided by, I anticipated a glass of furmint or the rich kékfrankos. Instead, I was handed a small plastic cup of effervescent fröccs. What have they done to my wine? I wondered.

My initial aversion to fröccs stemmed from the memory of its sugary, neon-colored cousin: the wine cooler. A 1970s and ’80s American trend, these overly sweet, artificially flavored drinks with names like “splash” and “breeze” were notorious for their hangover-inducing qualities. Although craft versions are now making a comeback in stylish cans, many Americans still associate mixed sparkling wine drinks with this infamous beverage, myself included.

But fröccs is a different story. The soda water in fröccs is designed to refresh, not mask or overwhelm; the bubbles and mild dilution enhance the wine's subtle flavors. My first fröccs, made with a house rosé, was gently sweet with a hint of strawberry and pleasantly fizzy. This effervescence pairs beautifully with hearty Hungarian dishes like goulash, chicken paprikash, or robust stuffed cabbage rolls. And with its lower alcohol content, you can enjoy it slowly and generously without overindulging.

How to Enjoy Fröccs

At many restaurants, you'll find bottles of soda water with vintage-style nozzles on each table, letting you mix your fröccs to your liking. Most wine bars, however, provide their own set of seltzer-to-wine ratios with unique names, often displayed on the wall with diagrams. The classic options include an even mix of wine and soda water (kisfröccs) or a 2:1 ratio (nagyfröccs), which is my personal favorite. For a lighter touch, try the sport fröccs with just 1 deciliter (3.4 ounces) of wine to 4 deciliters (1 ounces) of water. On the richer side, the Krúdy fröccs, named after famed Hungarian novelist Gyula Krúdy, features a hefty 9 deciliters (30.4 ounces) of wine and only 1 deciliter of water.

No matter your chosen ratio, expect your fröccs to be served in a simple water glass or even a plastic cup—no elaborate garnishes or fancy wine glasses here. Fröccs are meant to be as relaxed as the city itself. For the best experience, find a spot along the riverbanks, soak in the charm of Budapest, and let your worries, like the bubbles in your drink, float away. And don’t forget to order another one—you’re in Budapest, after all.

Special thanks to Offbeat Budapest