A. Gere, Kancellár and Sauska will be there

The most vibrant wine thing today – this is the tasting, where participants can indulge themselves in unknown varieties, fruits of remote, historic terroirs, ancient cultures. From Armenia to Poland, CEE Wine fair showcases novelties even for the seasoned British wine trade. Regarding Hungary, A. Gere from Villány, Kancellár from Somló, Gilvesy from Badacsony, Sauska from Tokaj and Villány have already confirmed their participation along with a Szekszárd regional table. Save the date!

“There’s almost nowhere left in the wine world that hasn’t been fully discovered – apart from the heart of Europe. The central and eastern end of Europe, from the Danube to the Black Sea, is home to a long, authentic wine history; a myriad of unique grapes; amazing personal stories and many dynamic winemakers producing great wines in all sorts of styles.
The Ultimate Central & Eastern European Wine Fair aims to give buyers, merchants, distributors and writers the chance to discover why Central & Eastern European wines should be on the radar of anyone seeking the next big wine story.”

Experts about the 1st edition CEE Wine Fair

The wines from the cover photo

Gere Kopar 2021, Villány
More

Kancellár Nagy-Somlói Juhfark 2021, Somló
More

Sauska Furmint 2025, Tokaj
More

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE AS AN EXHIBITOR, CONTACT US!

Pre-booking has begun

October is the month when the autumn becomes truly autumn, and when the pr-booking of the Villány icon wine begins. The 2022 vintage of the legendary red blend is to be released in May, but wine enthusiasts can order it now, until the supply lasts. The minimum order is 12 bottles, but it is worth doubling the bet – when ordering 24 bottles, a Gere Kopar magnum 2021 is granted as a gift.

Triple selection

Kopar has been released for nearly three decades, but it is not made in every vintage. As Andrea Gere explains, the fruit for the wine undergoes a rigorous triple selection method: only the most beautiful 5-6 bunches are left on the vines, there is a hand selection at harvest, and then a berry selection by machine.
Kopar is a Bordeaux blend, for which the base wines are aged separately in barrel for 16 months. Then comes the most exciting part: a two months’ period of tasting and re-tasting, the process of creation. “This process requires a lot of time and concentration, we get to know every tiny detail about the wines, since it is not only the variety that influences the wine, but many other factors as well, like the concrete location on the vines in the vineyard or the toasting of barrel.”Bottle ageing is also crucial, the winery keeps the bottles in its cellar for several months before releasing it.

Pre-book the wine here

New precious wines in the portfolio

Tokaji Eszencia is a heavenly wine collected drop by drop – hence the price. Yet, once in a lifetime you deserve it! While Gere Kopar is a stunning red wine, a true icon from the opposite corner of Hungary, Villány. Both available at Taste Hungary in the EU and in most of the states of the United States.

What is Taste Hungary and what do they do?

Read our interview with Carolyn Bánfalvi, co-owner of Taste Hungary

The Hungarian ‘wine dealers’ of two continents

Festive season in Villány

Villány Red Wine Festival is on 30 September – 2 October, a great opportunity to enjoy the atmosphere of the harvest and taste the great red wines of Villány. Gere A. Winery with its Crocus Hotel and Mandula restaurant in the very centre of Villány is an ideal place to stay and discover the wine region.

Villány red Wine Festival attracts a great deal of visitors every year. Live music, wine tastings all over the town and challenges like “rolling a barrel”. The so called “harvest manifestation” is one of the most spectacular costume marches in the country (see photo below), it will take place at 2 pm on Saturday (1st October) and the march begins at the row of cellars.

Mandula restaurant is a peaceful oasis in the buzzing festival, a stylish place to sit for a prolonged lunch or a pampering dinner to put the crown on the day. If you cannot find available room at Crocus Hotel during the festival, do not worry, Villány is beautiful all the autumn. November, for example, another ideal month to visit and Crocus Hotel offers a special Saint Martin Day’s weekend package including Saint Martin’s degustation dinner with goose courses and wine pairing.

And if you just visit the restaurant and the hotel on an average weekday, the meals will make it a celebration. Some examples from the menu:
– duck liver, fennel, orange, onions
– mangalicza pork chop, forest mushrooms, noodles
– stuffed cabbage (suitable for vegetarians)
– saddle of veal, squash stew with dill, sour cream foam
– ekler donuts, vanilla, white chocolate
At Mandula you can find Gere wines which are hardly available anywhere, like Fekete Járdovány, a limited production red wine made from a rare grape saved by Gere A. Winery from extinction.
See the full menu here

The official program of the festival (in Hungarian, but google can help)

More about Gere Crocus Hotel

More about Mandula restaurant

A. Gere Winery: new menu, gratis hotel night, retro vineyard tour

Gere Winery founded by Attila Gere is worth visiting in itself, for the world famous wines including Solus Merlot and Kopar blend. The estate however also boasts a 4 star wellness hotel, a restaurant called Mandula offering wine dining based on local traditions and may other extras from the grape seed cosmetics to the “retro” vinayard tours with Frici bus.

 

Mandula Restaurant has recently introduced its new degustation menu with dishes like the mangalitza pork cheek (above in our cover photo) with soybeans, gratin and nutmeg. The wine is paired with Gere Fekete Járdovány, a rare grape varity revived from the extinction by Gere family. Another interesting plate is lamb with ‘lecsó’ (the Hungarian version of ‘ratatouille’), in which the lamb comes from the best lamb breeder from a village called Peterd.

Find the degustation menu here

 

Crocus Hotel is definitely the most stylish place to stay in your Villány visit. The hotel is always on the top list of every guide, the interior is well looked after – two years ago they replaced all the curtains and pillows with the works of Zoltán Varró designer, the owner of Varrodesign. The hotel offers a wide range of spa treatments so that not only our tasting buds, but also our skin can enjoy the blessings of the grape. Plus the staff is excellent: once we were in a difficult situation, pouring rain, heavy suitcases, no taxi – but the sommelier saved us! We are still grateful to him!

Now Crocus Hotel has a special summer offer: 4 nights for the price of 3 nights. The packaage also includes: welcome drink, 4 occasions rich, homemade buffet breakfast, 3 occasions Mandula Menu dinner or lunch, 1 occasion A. Gere Classic wine tasting with 7 wines in the Hotel’s Wine Bar, 1 occasion private Sky Spa jacuzzi use (90 minutes) by appointment in advance, unlimited usage of Wellness & Spa, bath robe, unlimited internet access, parking possibility.

 

More information and booking

Frici ‘retro’ vineyard tour: Frici is a nickname, the short form of Frigyes or Ferenc, and it can also refer to the bubbles (‘frizzante’), since Frici is the white and rosé aerated sparkling wine of the winery. The family invites us to an unforgettable tour: “Come and join us on an exciting and informative journey through time! Get to know the Gere Estate by taking part in an unforgettable tour of the vineyards with the iconic 50+ year old Frici bus and toast with friends at one of the most beautiful vantage pointsin the wine region!” Maximum 6 people can travel together, in this case the price is 10 000 HUF / person (25 euros).

More information here

Gere A Winery featured in an album celebrating her Majesty The Queen’s 95th birthday

When we have an elaborate plate of a noble venison, we cannot pair it with a light red wine, since both food and wine should “play in the same league”. The editors of the 448-page, hard cover new album called Strive for Perfection: The Royal Edition, published St. James’s House know it very well. The publication features a premium lifestyle guide with expertly selected top quality brands giving readers an insight into the world of luxury food, products and experience. Gere Kopar wine, the first fine wine of Hungary, Gere Crocus Hotel in Villány and Andrea Gere’ Skin Care cosmetic products are introduced in the album among other luxurious brands of the world.
The book was created in partnership by the International Club for Rolls-Royce and Bentley Enthusiasts (RREC). “The publication celebrates Her Majesty The Queen’s 95th birthday year with a host of articles on the close ties between royalty and Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars.” RREC is a prestigious car club formed in 1957 with more than 10 000 members worldwide.

“We felt privileged to honour the request of St James’s House to contribute to a book that celebrates the 95th birthday of Her Majesty The Queen and is hallmarked by a brand that stands for tradition and timeless values like Rolls-Royce. This is a company that has achieved success through its own unfaltering efforts and stands above the ever-changing and short-lived fads. We have always believed that commitment to uncompromising, long-term work, to perfectionism and quality is the only way to integrity and the only road worth taking”, relates Kristóf Csizmadia on behalf of Gere A Winery.

More about Gere A Winery

More about Gere Crocus Hotel

More about Andrea Gere’s Skin care line

More about Strive for Perfection: The Royal Edition

The pre-booking of the newest Kopar starts on 14th March and according to the winery’s  plans lasts for 1 month. The 2016 vintage of this Bordaux style blend has fewer bottles so the pre-booking quantity is limited. Based on the experiences of the previous years the winelovers make a dart quickly on the wood boxes fill with Kopars. This year it is worth doing it even quicker, because now it is not sure that the offer lasts until the end of the pre-booking period. Kopar Cuvée was in many ways a pioneer on the Hungarian market: it was one of the first wines to come with an invented brand name and since then it has become so successful that for many winelovers this is the first name to occur when they think of Villány reds. The introduction of subscription modelled on the Bordeaux en primeur system was also a novelty in Hungary and it enabled winelovers to secure the desired quantity at a favourable price before the upcoming vintage actually hit the market. The first vintage was from 1997.

Pre-booking