It was love at first sight when I first laid my eyes upon the nine hectares which lie on Öreg-hegy (Old Hill) at the confluence of the Danube and the Garam rivers, the latter which after running down the Slovakian hills quietens down on the plain. The whole thing started as a hobby. But there are so many questions that 200 litres of wine cannot answer. That's how the vineyard area grew to nine hectares, out of which five are yielding and the other four are due to yield for the first time around now. I fell in love when I saw the beautiful hills that belonged to the former vineyard of the Esztergom primate's wine cellar. There was no question about where I was going to make wine.
We cultivate naturally without weed killers and pesticides, we protect the grapes mainly with copper and sulphur, even though we are still learning how to protect them against fungus. 2010 was Good Friday and now we are waiting for Easter Monday. We've worked a lot on maintaining the grapes without using any chemicals that would go into them, though unfortunately we still had to use fungicide once this year. As I said, there is no Easter without Good Friday. In this case the 50 cm height of the bunches was unfortunate, which at other times is the key to the nice grapes. We hoe by hand and nurture the grapes that are grown on a low cordon on our knees. We aspire for natural balance to be restored in the region. This year, there were so many ladybirds that if I didn't already have a beautiful oak tree in the middle of the estate, I would put ladybirds onto the label. We were really happy about them. We should think about the face of the wine region, not the winery. Mainly in terms of Carpathian-basin originating grape varieties, peaches, pumpkin seed oil and such organic delicacies that would make it worthwhile for people to come to Muzsla.
The soil is beautiful here: brown and black forest soil, with green clay subsoil full of chalky streaks. Grapes like to grow here - we have a fortunate micro-climate, and fantastic natural conditions. Now it's only ourselves who have got to grow up to the place. It's less about varieties, we should rather concentrate on the vineyards which yield the nicest wine. I couldn't choose between the varieties. I have three kids, which are all equally dear to me. There is Riesling and Olaszrizling. They will certainly stay with us for a long time. With Hárslevelű, we are still trying to get to know each other; weve only had one virgin harvest from it so far, in 2009, which was beautiful. I believe in the Carpathian-basin varieties, and I'm learning what they can do in this place. I like Kadarka, and Pinot Noir but all the other international varieties like to be here. They create nice blends. Which is our best vineyard? I will only be able to answer that question in 30 years, after lots of work and tasting. Either myself or my children will be able to do so. I hope they will learn it as well. What we miss is wine tourism but slowly we will improve in that field as well. We need to join forces, for that's what will take the wine region ahead. The teaming up of winemakers, bee keepers, pumpkin seed oil and jam makers, restaurateurs and caterers is what's called for. The region is extremely rich in experiences and sensations but we must show something to the families so they return together. We could call it marketing, but it's rather a long term investment so that tradition and values could flourish in the region again. And we are only part of it. What I truly believe in is that once someone sits down here on the Öreghegy under our oak tree and drinks a glass of wine and looks down onto Muzsla and Esztergom, the experience will stay with them forever. The benchmarks are Wachau and Tuscany: we are far from those at present but we're on the right track.
