Koch Winery, Hajós–Baja wine region

There is nothing more “insider” for a wine enthusiast, than a deep immersion in the harvest process. Koch Winery (Winery of the Year 2014 and Winemaker of the Year 2019) offers a complex harvest day full of wine and games on 5 September, and the programme is available with accommodation and Budapest bus transfer as well. The two hostesses are Pálma Koch, the founder, Csaba Koch’s daughter and Nati, a Hungarian wine influencer.

The land of happy grapes

Koch Winery is the home of “happy grapes”, since the founder, Csaba Koch uses special canopy techniques to make the vineyard as happy as can be. „The key is that we do not restrict the grapegrowing. We create big but airy leafage, which significantly triggers the photosynthesising capability of the vine-plant, and (boosts) the quality of the grape and wine.”

Koch & Nati Harvest Experience 2026

Make your own wine this year at Koch Winery and immerse yourself in the exciting world of winemaking – from the grape to the bottle! Experience harvest with Pálma Koch and Nati the winemaker this September in Hajós-Baja wine region. Don’t just taste the wine – make it yourself!
Hand-picked and selected grapes, a real experience where YOU experience what a real harvest is like! Of course, music will be playing all the time, and cold spritzers will refresh you between the rows of grapes.
Date: 5 September 2026
Location: Koch Winery (Borota)

Tickets and packages

– You can register for the program with a harvest day ticket without accommodation, it includes the whole day event with wine and food (see detailed programme below).
Price: 35 000 HUF

– The accommodation packages are based on double rooms at the Koch Panzió. Couples and guests arriving together should book in advance, as accommodation places are filled in the order of bookings.
Price for two people: 135 000 HUF
More about the rooms

– The bus departing from Budapest will take guests to Borota in the morning and return to Budapest in the evening. We can provide space for a maximum of 8 people on the bus.
Bus ticket: 5000 HUF / person

Get your ticket here (in Hungarian, but google can help)
You can also contact Pálma Koch here

Detailed programme

Saturday, 5 September

8:30–9:00 Coffée together, juice and snacks at Koch Wine&Coffee
9:00–13:00 Harvest by hand
13:00–14:00 Lunch and coffée
14:00–16:00 Grape processing with a grape crusher and with a more than 100-year-old basket press
16:00–17:00 Siesta, chill, pool time
17:00–19:00 Cellar tour and wine tasting
19:00–20:00 Dinner
20:00–22:00 Wine quiz and games with surprise prizes

Sunday, 6 September (for those, who stay)

8:00–8:30 Coffée together at Koch Wine&Coffee
8:30–9:30 Yoga in the vineyard
9:30–10:30 Breakfast and saying goodbye

Besides the prizes mentioned in the lead, Koch Winery was selected “The Most Beautiful Vineyard” in 2025

The Most Beautiful Wine Estates of Hungary announced

An organic wine by Koch

Have you heard of Castellum grape variety?

 

Koch Winery: No1 Grand Estate

The 14th annual selection organised by Bor és Piac trade magazine has just ended. In the first round readers could nominate their favourite estates, then the nominations were grouped according to the estate size, and the finalists have been visited and judged by a presigious jury (full of highly qualified professors of MATE University). The Most Beautiful Wine Estate in the Grand Estate category is Koch Winery in Hajós–Baja wine region.

Csaba Koch, owner of Koch Winery represents the 10th generation of a grape grower family. He bought the farm, where the estate building is located in 1996, it is a 100-year-old place now, certainly with every modern amenities. Though Csaba respects traditions, he is a man of the present with ambitions to constantly seek the better. “Our word changes dynamically, the climate changes rapidly so we have to adjust the grape varieties accordingly. And the consumers’s taste changes even faster, we have to watch the market” – says Csaba.
Read more about Koch Winery below.

See all category finalists here

Small estates

1. VáliBor, Péter Váli’s wine estate (Badacsony)
2. Fekete Wine Cellar (Szekszárd)
3. Fritsch Estate (Villány)

Medium estates

1. Haraszthy Winery (Etyek-Buda)
2. Etyeki Kúria (Etyek-Buda)
   and Villa Tolnay (Badacsony)
   (They both received the same score.)

Grand estates

1. Koch Winery (Hajós-Baja)
2. Hilltop (Neszmély)
3. Oremus (Tokaj)

Time travel at Koch

The winery has 8 guest rooms, 7 of them are stylish, modern rooms with all the amenities, but one of them is a unique place: the “cooper’s flat” is suite furnished with original pieces from the 19th – early 20th century. You can experience the way our ancestors used to live, you can touch antique tables, chairs, utensils, even clothes, which tell countless stories.
Also, we highly recommend to try the traditional plates from the stove oven. The duck or knuckle is roasted together with potatoes and vegetables, the flavours are unforgettable.

Junibor comes from JUNIor and BOR (the Hungarian word for ‘wine’), and it is an association of young winemakers of family-owned estates. “It is important for us to create a supportive community for young winemakers focusing on the free flow of knowledge and the professional development” – commented Pálma Koch when she was elected on 12 February.

What is Junibor?

– Junibor was founded in 2008.
– Currently the president is Pálma Koch, the vice presidents are Ferenc Bujdosó and Zsolt Tiffán, board members: Előd Szíjjártó and Ákos Vabrik.
– It is easy to identify the estate of each winemaker, just look at the surname.
– Forever young? No, the winemakers can stay in the association until they are 40-year-old. They can apply for membership until they are 35.
– How to become a member? New members are first invited, if the invited accepts the invitation, the members vote.
– What do they do? Tasting events, study tours, educational programmes and more.
– Currently there are 47 members (the list of members is not updated).

See all Junibor members here

Junibor Facebook-page

A recent article about Pálma Koch

The Future Agro-Person of the Year

An organic wine made at Koch Winery

Have you heard of Castellum grape variety?

Elizabeth Gabay MW on Hungarian varieties and their spicy characters

Eric Danch of Danch & Granger Selections (US) has recently written about the wide range of spices he can discover in Hungarian wines due to the Eastern origin of Huns and to the long occupation of the Turkish. Elizabeth Gabay MW has visited Hungary several times, gave masterclasses, judged at contests and tasted at wineries countless times, so she checked her tons of tasting notes to see if Eric Danch was right. Her article on the topic is featured in the spring issue of Sommelier India wine magazine.

She also cited fellow Hungarian wine specialist, Caroline Gilby MW and many Hungarian wine writers. As Elizabeth points out, spice is the number one descriptor in wine reviews all over the world, and Hungary even tops the average – to prove that the MW lists numerous examples.

A “playboy” for Sunday

My sister is the tasting coordinator of VinCE Magazine, and yesterday during our usual hour-long phone chat she mentioned Koch Villányi Franc. She had a chance to re-taste it after the panel tasting, and she said it had been absolutely “yummy”.

But let’s go back to the serious wine evaluations. Koch Villányi Franc 2017 is not the winner of the tasting, it was Heumann La Trinità, as we reported earlier. Koch wine is the 5th one, it might not have the elegance of the winner or the second best Gere Attila Villányi Franc, however, it has the charm to seduce a much wider audience. As the members of the panel discussed after the tasting, Koch Villányi Franc is the one to buy as a present, we cannot make a mistake with it. The perfect balance makes it a favourite of many. Just enough barrel use, the fruit and spice you expect, the proper level of tannins. As for tannins, some experts found them not fully integrated, while my sister adored the tannin structure and with more than 15 years of tasting I believe her. So let us admire the “cover boy” of the magazine, this seductive playboy with every charming detail of it!

Opinion of VinCE panel:

“Dark ruby colour with garnet hue. Rich, mature, complex, spicy nose with pronounced dark chocolate, some plum and blackcurrant. Layered palate with firm structure, medium acidity, barrel tones and masculine tannins.”

Cover photo by VinCE Magazine

More about Koch Winery

You can order Koch wines from Winelovers Webshop, they ship to every European country!

Check shipment price list here.