Miraculous land with wine in the air

Is it fiction? Is this land real? Yes it is, all the photos in this article are taken around lake Balaton, the largest lake of Central Europe, mainly in Badacsony wine region, on the north coast of the lake. Professional photos can make a place more attractive – you may think. Well, we will tell the truth: these photos are taken by a fireman, who is not a professional photographer. He simply loves his homeland and wants to show the miracles of this wonderful region.

A passionate young man

A few weeks ago I came accross with the above photo shared by a friend of mine ( thanks Zsuzsa Toronyi 🙂 What a photo! – I thought and I asked the person who took it. Norbert Varga replied immediately and allowed us to use his photos. He was somewhat ignorant when I promised him to credit the pictures. „It doesn’t count, I have never earned anything with them” – he answered. So here we go sharing these amazing pictures, enjoy them and think of this young man, who rides his motorbike to reach the best viewpoints, who spends hours to capture the most amazing moment and who sends his drone to let us see this land with the eye of a bird. Of course we will mention some wineries as well which are more than worth visiting!

Fabulous Olaszrizling wines – Borbély Family Winery

A real family winery in which every single member has his or her own duties. They concentrate on local varieties only, for example on Kéknyelű, a variety that exists only around Badacsony mountain. 2018 was an fruitful year for them: they achieved severalnational and international acknowledments, and the winery was especially delighted because the flagship variety of the cellar, Olaszrizling received a lot of appreciation (the name of the variety is written together, but in the name of their wines Olasz rizling is written in two words following the archaic ortography). Karós Badacsonyi Olasz rizling Limited Selection 2015 is a concentrated wine with characteristics of the variety, subtle oak spices and deep reflection of the terroir. The grape for this wine is selected from the fruit of a vineyard with more than 60-year-old traditional goblet vines. This rarity is available only at the cellar.

Sabar – a hill among the mountains

Little hill, big wines – says Gábor Ádám, owner of Sabar Wine House, and it may sound boasting, but the wines have already proved their merits. The winery takes its name from Sabar Hill of 217 meters high, just near the village of Káptalantóti – it’s one of the smallest of the mountains of Balaton National Park, however regarding the terroir, it’s one of the best with great potential.  The centre of Sabar estate, and the majority of its vineyards are located here. Their objective is not only to sell as many bottles as possible, but also to attract visitors to the venue and to share this unique feeling, the sense of terroir with them. One of their latest success is Olaszrizling Single Vineyard Bács-hegy 2017 – indeed stunning, we have checked! And re-checked and re-checked again… „Fruity wine with birch and pear, accompanied by a hint of marzipan. The spiciness coming from barrel ageing makes the overall sensation more complex and gives the palate a pleasant smokiness, which is nicely retained in the aftertaste.”

 

Organic and delicious – Dobosi Winery

Dobosi Family Winery is situated a bit farther from Badacsony mountain, in Szentantalfa, which belongs to another wine region called Balatonfüred–Csopak (though both of these wine regions belong to Balaton broader region and both of them are on the north coast of the lake. The huge water surface has a temperating effect, which is the other main influence besides the mainly volcanic soil. „Our business objective is to familiarize our customers with our products and our company’s commitment to organic products and their quality, values that span over several generations. ”Dobosi is probably the only winery which is outside Badacsony, and still cultivates Kéknyelű– with great success. „Wines made of Kéknyelű grape usually have greenish colour even after years, but for Dobosi Bio Kéknyelű 2016 the grape was left longer on the vines, thus the resulting wine has a concentrated, oily, yellow texture. Blossoming trees and other white flowers on the nose with some figs. Wonderful acidity dominates the palate with notes of birch. Beautiful, long finish. It needs some areation so that the wine could fully show aromas typical of the terroir.”

Want more of these photos?

If you liked the photos and want more of the beauties, click on Norbert Varga’s Facebook page with more photos and videos. And of course we hope that you will feel the temptation to visit this fabulous place personally. All of the above wineries have a guest house, so feel free to contact them or us and have a nice time in Badacsony!


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