Helyszín címkék:
Organic wines around Lake Balaton
Szabó Vivien
What is organic winemaking?
The essence of organic winemaking is that the process of growing grapes and making wine takes place completely without prestige materials: no chemicals or pesticides are used in the vineyards, and no synthetic additives are used during winemaking. In addition, the special technology of winemaking also operates according to strict regulations, which do not allow technological manipulation or the addition of additives to the wine.
In practice, this can be done with many different methods, in the Zelna winery in Balatonfüred, for example, they spray with copper, sulphur, and orange oil instead of absorbable pesticides, and the emphasis is placed on prevention and conditioning. In addition to natural agents, this also means that they pay extra attention to soil cultivation, adequate nutrient supply and the preservation of biodiversity, says Barabás Barna, co-founder and winemaker of the Zelna winery.
In such a system, almost everything is connected to everything else, organic cultivation and thinking fundamentally interprets the relationship between the natural environment and the economy in a different way - explains Szásziné Dr. Horváth Henrietta, one of the owners of the Szászi Estate.
“A good example of this is the protection against gopher, which we do not do with human rodent control, but let nature do its job: the aigrettes living in the reeds come up to the grape rows to hunt gopher, and the kestrels fly over the rows in search of rodents. This is a completely natural phenomenon, which then comes in handy at the end of the growing season, when the arriving starlings are scared away by the sight of the bird of prey.”
Searching for balance
The organic approach requires significantly more attention, work and perseverance, yet many winemakers choose this path: it not only serves to protect the environment, but also enables the preservation of natural flavours and characters in the wines.
Barabás Barna was looking for a new way of life when, leaving behind the everyday life in the capital, he ventured into winemaking in Balatonfüred, the place of his childhood memories. The goal of the Zelna winery has become the creation of an organic, sustainable system, which can be a reliable background not only for them, but also for future generations.
“The close-to-nature approach permeates our everyday life, and organic farming and winemaking are an important part of this.”
Thanks to her education, Szásziné Dr. Horváth Henrietta was familiar with organic farming, as she took her doctor's degree as an agricultural engineer and nature conservation engineer, and she kept these principles in mind already at the time of establishment. Organic cultivation and winemaking were evident to them from the beginning and they were among the first ones to start dealing with this in the area.
“It is possible to reconcile the economic interests with organic cultivation, the quality grape harvest with the preservation of the local flora and fauna, and the maintenance of the cultural landscape. From a winemaking point of view, the most important goal for us is to make terroir wines that beautifully reflect the growing area, therefore we do not use special yeasts, the must ferments spontaneously, so all our items carry the characteristics of the vintage year.”
The part of the Szent György Hill, where the Szászi Estate also farms, is cultivated almost entirely in organic manner: the vineyard owners here have a similar approach, so almost everyone carries on organic or biodynamic farming. Gilvesy Winery also takes advantage of the special features of the hill to make its excellent organic wines, from classic local varieties, from old areas with vine-plants, with organic cultivation and spontaneous fermentation.
Sources of Balaton organic wines
The consumption of organic wines is becoming more and more popular among conscious consumers, as they value a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, and the region of Lake Balaton is a real treasury of special organic wines.
If you want a truly authentic experience, you can taste their organic wines on the mountainous downhills of the Szászi Estate while admiring the vineyards. Their wine shop is open every day of the year, and perhaps the greatest experience, personally recommended by the founder, is tasting the Italian Riesling of the Szent György Hill standing next to the grape land under the wine shop, as this is when you can see the grapes whose wine you are tasting up close.
You can also visit the Zelna wine bistro in Balatonfüred, where you can taste the entire range of the winery, accompanied by a pleasant dinner. What is recommended by the owner and not to be missed from tasting is the vineyard-selected Farkó-kő Italian Riesling, which is harvested in one of their most exciting areas in Balatonfüred: a deep golden, subtly spicy, truly flavourful ORGANIC wine.
The items of the Gilvesy Winery can also be tasted at a truly special location: at the foot of Szent György Hill, in the B-plant, opposite the Nemesgulács-Kisapáti railway station, which awaits its guests with a huge terrace and entertains its guests with music and other programmes.
So, let's go to Balaton, let's taste the true power of naturalness in these special organic wines!
