A little winery in a little wine region – is it doomed to be consumed only locally? Not at all, Krisztina and Frigyes Machán-Csetvei are good examples to prove that stabile, high quality, authenticity and creativity can take any small winery far far away.

A drop in the ocean?

With a marketing degree in hand Krisztina Csetvei first generation winemaker from the smallest wine region, Mór knows how to maintain attention. She uses social media intensely, holds events frequently and a recent project: she is the brain behind the first International Ezerjó Day – a great initiative to dedicate May to indigenous Ezerjó variety with great potential. We came across a photo on Csetvei Instagram channel to picture Krisztina with a crate of wines on her head – she was just preparing an order to Italy! Yes, Italy. Why to send Hungarian wines to one of the leading wine countries in the world? Isn’t it a drop in the ocean? Maybe it is, but what a special drop! There is a market for exciting wines, people, especially members of the Y generation are happy to discover “exotic” varieties, unknown treasures. Csetvei wines are available in Italy at Vino Ungherese web shop, you can buy Csetvei Ezerjó H (Hordó = Barrel aged) and NapHoldCsillag (SunMoonStar), the flagship white blend of the estate made of Chardonnay, Ezerjó and Szürkebarát. Davide Bortone of Vino Ungherese discovered all of the wines of the web shop himself. After one year, what experience can he share?

Davide Bortone about Ezerjó

“Ezerjó is certainly one of the treasures of Hungarian viticulture. One of the autochthonous varieties on which vinoungherese.it selection is focussed. Italian market is reacting with growing enthusiasm to indigenous varieties with a “modern taste”, suitable for modern drinking opportunities (low alcohol, freshness, high drinkability). In fact we received great feedback from our customers, especially from professional sommeliers and WSET students: people that are looking for something special. In this respect, Ezerjó is one of the Hungarian varieties that allows the most careful and “quality oriented” retailer to speak a lot about Hungarian viticulture and its high prospective. A glass of Ezerjó is “storytelling” itself, as soon as you pour it. I chose the Csetvei one because it shows the best characteristics of this variety, but also because Krisztina is a great international example of “woman of wine” that rolls up her sleeves, works hard. And turns dreams into reality. A winery in the small Mór region, with Ezerjó in the middle and a smart young woman with a smart project: what else you need?”

More about Vino Ungherese

Over the ocean

Csetvei wines are available in several countries, even over the ocean, in the US by Rooted Selections. “Rooted Selections has turned a curiosity about the world and its wines into a business. We scour the earth from historic regions to the completely unknown searching for unique, delicious, hidden gems. We are a small company importing small handcrafted producers and that’s exactly how we like it. Although all distinctive our producers share some very important common threads: Family owned, environmentally conscious farming, natural winemaking techniques, & most importantly they offer something unique and completely needed in the wine market.” – this philosophy is underlined by the selection of wineries: small estates from Hungary to Estonia (don’t worry, from that northern country they import cider, not wine).

More about Rooted Selections

Csetvei wine importers: Italy (Vino Ungherese), Poland (Lutomski Vino), Slovakia (VinoBro Weisz), Switzerland (Boár Wines ), USA (Rooted Selections)

If you are interested in Csetvei wines, contact Krisztina Csetvei or us.