ORGANIC VINEYARDS & WINERY
“There is an old saying that grapes thrive in beautiful places. And truly beautiful places produce exceptional wine. For those who visit us for the first time and glance around from our terrace, the panoramic view of Lake Balaton with vineyards stretching into the distance, the Kerekedi Bay, and the Tihany volcano is, without exaggeration, a memory for a lifetime. However this place is much more than just a viewpoint. The justification for the undisturbed spectacle lies in the cultivated vineyards that have been shaping the slopes leading to Lake Balaton for 2000 years. The past lives in the ruins of Roman villas from the era of Saint Donat, in the 7th century name of Paloznak referring to vineyards, in the first written Hungarian record mentioning grapes – the Guden donation letter with its Latin lines from 1079 – and last but not least, in the memory of 100 generations engaged in grape cultivation. Those who only see the panorama do not truly experience the place. This is a living space of vineyards and history, a true heritage that must be preserved for the next 100 generations. This is why we cultivate grapes, why we develop our estate. In the meantime, we feel the spirit of the ancients living in the wine, and our vineyard-patron St. Donat assists and helps us wherever he can.”
Tamás Kovács / @tom.stdonat – Owner & Winemaker
GREETINGS FROM THE ESTATE
“Lake Balaton is such a timeless region of the world, where people have lived in harmony with nature and enjoyed life for thousands of years. In 1994, our family laid the foundations of the wine mansion on Szitahegy in Csopak for this purpose as well.
We built up our winery slowly, making just as much wine as needed each year. From the mid-2000s, the vineyard grew by one hectare every year.
Today, we cultivate vines on nearly 16 hectares, engaging in organic farming, and bottling our wines with the least possible intervention, in many cases unfiltered and uncleared, to preserve most of what nature has given us.
On our estate, named after St. Donat, the patron saint of Csopak vineyards against summer storms, we strive to pass on with our wines and regional cuisine a little of what Lake Balaton and the Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region mean to us. “
TAMÁS KOVÁCS
