KOLONIA BIRTOK

Balatonfüred, Hungary

Despite their young age, Annamária and Attila have a lot of winemaking experience under their belt. The couple used to work – separately or together – for natural icons like Gut Oggau, Heinrich or Michael Gindl. The most influential was the philosophy and work of Horst Hummel, whom they remain very close with and consult on a regular basis. Their vineyards are located on different places around the hill, resulting in a true mosaic of soil and sun exposures that the pair works with savvily. The winery name comes from the very first place where they made their wine together back in the day, a tiny cellar in Kolonia Street n. 52 in the Villányi area.

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The labels are inspired by a local folk tale (St. George killing the dragon) and feature two heads and two tails to symbolize that there are two people making the wine. It’s a linocut by Attila’s friend from Pecs, printed in their local risograph printshop with natural soy-based color on locally made organic-craft paper. Each is hand-stamped with their logo, as Annamária and Attila believe that “each bottle should pass through our hands, just like each grape!”

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Vineyard area: 3 ha (= 7 acres), estate-owned or in long-term rental + occasional purchase of fruit from local organic growers

Vineyard management: practicing organic (in the certification process with Bio-Kontrol) and biodynamic

Soil: volcanic soil (basalt) with limestone layers, sand and clay in between

Main varieties: Pinot Noir, Kekfrankos (=Blaufrankisch), Welschriesling, Chardonnay + indigenous grapes like Furmint, Keknyelú, etc.

Winemaking: manual harvest, spontaneous fermentation only. Aging on lees in neutral oak barrels and amphoras. No pump used during the process, racking and bottling by gravity only. No sulfur added

Annual production (approx., as of 2022): 10,000 bottles