Importer of the Month: PaTrioVin, Denmark

Based on the company’s name, I had imagined an older Hungarian expatriate behind the Danish import firm and wine merchant PaTrioVin—and how wrong I was! A young woman, Patrícia, wrote back; she runs the business with her husband, and they represent wines from six Hungarian wine regions with tremendous enthusiasm and energy.
Author: Ágnes Németh
Photos: PaTrioVin

Wineries represented: Bock Winery (Villány), Dúzsi Family Winery (Szekszárd), Feind Winery (Balatonfüred–Csopak), Gróf Degenfeld (Tokaj), Kovács Nimród Winery (Eger). (Konyári wines and Etyeki Kúria wines are not currently available in the online store.)

PaTrioVin
Olesvej 354040 Jyllinge, Dánia
patriovin.dk
info@patriovin.dk

It’s much more than a hobby—it’s a true passion

“Delicious food, a friendly atmosphere, a pleasant ambiance, and best of all: excellent wines. I was very pleasantly surprised. Patrícia is a wonderful host who knows a great deal about Hungarian wines”—this is just one of the positive reviews on the website, and speaking with Patrícia on the phone, it quickly becomes clear that there are plenty of opportunities to meet her; she’s constantly either before or after tastings. When we spoke, she had just finished a Bock masterclass, and Dániel Konyári had already arrived from Lake Balaton—naturally, for another tasting. Of course, I’m curious to know if they run the wine business full-time.
“It’s more than just a hobby for us, but it’s not a full-time job; we’re not yet at the point where we can make a living from it, and it would also be risky because of our children,” says Patrícia, who currently works at an acoustics company.

Danes vacationing at Lake Balaton have their wish fulfilled

“We import all our wines ourselves, and thanks to our close relationships with the wineries, we guarantee our customers the best quality at the best price.”
That’s where they are now, but how did it all begin? A good ten years ago, Patrícia was working in the hospitality industry, and guests would often ask her, upon hearing her distinctive accent, where she was from. Whenever Hungary came up, guests would regularly share their experiences of what a wonderful vacation they’d had, what delicious wines they’d drunk, and what a shame it was that these weren’t available in Denmark.
“Back then, you could only get Tokaji dessert wines, or dry Szepsy wines, but at very high prices. Anyone who hadn’t heard of Furmint wouldn’t buy such an expensive wine.” The idea became a plan, and the plan—not quickly, but rather thoughtfully—finally gave birth to PaTrioVin in 2015.
When putting together their portfolio, they were careful not to encroach on anyone else’s business; under no circumstances did they want to work with a winery that already had a representative somewhere in Denmark. The wines of Bock from Villány and Kovács Nimród from Eger were already represented by someone Patrícia and her team knew, and since that person had just retired, PaTrioVin took over these two wineries from them.

Danes tend to drink red wine

Patrícia remembers how it all began with each of their partners. Gróf Degenfeld in Tokaj is one of their oldest partners, while they sought out the Dúzsi family in Szekszárd because of their wide variety of rosés. They found Feind at Lake Balaton through an acquaintance, while they discovered Etyeki Kúria and Konyári wines through Bortársaság. And what sells best for them?
“The Danes primarily drink red wine, though light whites are also very popular in the summer. The Etyeki Kúria Frizzante and the Feind Irsai Olivér were very popular, but Hungarian varieties aren’t typical here.”
PaTrioVin focuses on international varieties because they believe their customers are more likely to try a wine made from a familiar grape variety. The Kovács Nimród Battonage Chardonnay is a real star, but Nimród’s Pinot Noir is also popular, and they love Etyeki Kúria’s Pinot Noir as well. As for Hungarian varieties, there’s Furmint, of course, and Sárgamuskotály, but it’s not their goal to stock wines from every domestic variety.

He drinks water, but thankfully preaches wine

The current ambassador representing Hungary in Denmark isn’t exactly a wine lover, but thank goodness he understands just how important the wine industry is, and the economic attaché is active, putting principles into practice. One example of these actions is the recent Bock masterclass, as the Bock family happened to be in Denmark for a PaTrioVines tasting and wine dinner. The masterclass was a success, and Patrícia hopes that as a result—and generally speaking, thanks to their work—their wines will find their way into larger wine retailers; they are currently working tirelessly toward this goal, and we wish them every success.