Who are we?

Why organic?

Terroir

The land of Lake Fertő is pervaded by the mystic number three.

The soil is characterised by three determining soil types, the most interesting is the mica-schiest, which can be discovered on the surfacing layers only here within the whole country. Mica-schiest is complemented by limestone and forest soil rich in hummus. Our microclimate is mostly influenced by the saline Lake Fertő: even though Sopron wine region is on the northest border of grapegrowing areas, due to its body of water Lake Fertő eases the cold in winter and moderates the heat of the summer. The excessed humidity coming from the lake is mitigated by the constant winds coming from the mountains of the Alps – like Schneeberg.

Traditions

According to written evidences, the Celts were the first to make wine in the land of Lake Fertő.

The Celtic heritage was enriched by the Romans, who handled the knowledge to the generations of the following eras. In the epoch of Queen Gisela (the first queen of Hungary in the 11th century) Bavarian settlers came, and later, under the reign of King Sigismund (15th century) and King Matthias Corvinus (15th century), more Bavarians, the so called „poncichters” settled down and carried on the ancient tradition of winemaking up to the most recent days. Steigler Cellar aims to carry on these millenial traditions creating organic wines in the most ancient wine region of Hungary.

People

„I am Bálint Lőrinczy, the owner of Steigler Cellar.

My family on my mother’s side originates from Rust (Austria) and Sopron, and as a well-to-do bourgeois family, they used to own vineyards as well. As I child, during Sunday lunch I used to hear the same complaint: „Oh, when we could drink our own wine form Rust! How great it was as opposed to this…” This piece of memory burnt into my brain, plus we always appreciated quality wine. My ancestors had been making wine in this land for centuries, then due to the severe times of history, 100 years were left out. I was more and more interested in reviving this tradition thus Steigler Cellar was born with its organic vineyards.”

„I am Tamás Varga, the winemaker of the estate, a Sopron born person.

Besides the respect of traditions, organic winemaking has a special importance for me. Like the young poncichters used to do in the old times, I visited some significant foreign vineyards. I passed several years in well known estates in Austria, California and New Zealand. After gaining comprehensive knowledge of organic viticulture, new vinification techniques and the latest trends, I returned to Sopron. I took over the complex professional management of the Steigler winery and estate in 2018. Since then, we have been building Steigler Cellar together with Bálint.”

Vineyards

The grapes for the outstanding wines of Steigler Cellar come from our own 21 hectare organic vineyard.

The estate owns parcels in the best areas of Sopron wine region in Steiger, Frettner and Spern Steiner vineyards.
As for the grape varieties, the backbone of the estate is given by Zöld Veltelini (Grüner Veltliner), Zweigelt, Kékfrankos, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by recently planted varieties: Cabernet Franc, Syrah and the „crown jewel” Furmint.
Furmint plantation is an exciting project of ours, since this variety was the most important in Sopron wine region until the beginning of the 20th century. Few people know that it was Sopron, well 200 years ahead of Tokaj, to create the first Aszú wine of Furmint. The new plantation started to give crop in 2019, to justify our expectations. Mica-schist soil makes Steigler Furmint unique and unparalleled. It has more pronounced nose and absolutely different merits than those grown on volcanic soil.

Cellar            

Steigler Cellar is situated in the heart of the poncichter district on Balfi road, at the rim of downtown.

Poncichters (when joking also called beangrowers, because they used to plant beans between the rows of vines) thought that the safest place to store wine during hard times of history was under their houses. As a consequence, selling wine became easy, and they created special signals to let the town citizens know whether they had wine for sale or not. Steigler Cellar is a remaining of this era, though all the different generations left their mark on it as well. After significant renovation works, in 2020 the cellar opened its gates wide again to welcome customers, wine travellers and winelovers.

Contact
9400 Sopron, Balfi u. 13-15.

Tamás Varga
estate manager
Tel.: +36-20-269-4677
Email: info@steigler-wines.hu

Steigler Zöld Veltelini 2019

Steigler Premium Zöld Veltelini 2019

Steigler Premium Bio Furmint 2019

Steigler Kaméleon white blend 2019

Steigler Kaméleon red cuvée 2019

Steigler Kékfrankos 2019

Steigler Premium Merlot 2019

Steigler Premium Kékfrankos 2019