Etyek-Buda runs along the hills west of Budapest, close enough that the city's suburbs reach the edge of the vineyards. The ground is limestone with a shallow covering of loess, the sites are open and exposed, and the climate is cooler and windier than the Hungarian average, which keeps acidity high and ripeness moderate.

That combination made the region the country's main source of sparkling base wine. Commercial production began in the nineteenth century when József Törley returned from Reims and built a cellar at Budafok, and the chalky cellars dug under that district still hold a large part of Hungary's sparkling stock. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Királyleányka and Olaszrizling make the still whites, which are lean and high in acid. Proximity to Budapest has also made it the easiest wine region in the country to visit, and a number of small estates now sell almost everything at the gate.