Somló
One of Hungary's top destinations for those in the know
Somló, sweet Somló – one of Hungary's top destinations for those in the know. Its slopes and sights are not to be missed. Whether it be sunrise, sunset, or anytime in between, its spectacular views and vibrant wines will reel you in and win you over. You'll find yourself drawn to the hills in all their splendor – time and time again.
Upon my return home from Hungary in October 2023, I could not stop thinking about my September 2023 day trip to Hungary’s smallest wine region – Somló-hegy, a hill that used to be an underwater volcano – an area where winegrowing and winemaking date back to the 11th century. The idyllic setting, warm people, and volcanic-soil wines stole my heart. I knew I would visit again, it was just a matter of when.
My return came to fruition the weekend prior to the Hungarian Wine Summit in late April 2024, by way of an invitation from Gábor Riesz of Fekete Pince. We drove to Somló from his family’s home in Austria about four hours away. As soon as the hill came into view, I felt like I was coming home. It was just as beautiful and majestic as I remembered. I visited with winemakers, indulged in a remarkable dinner, took in the gorgeous scenery – and made new friends.
Where to Stay
Wine Country View & Homes
There are no hotels, but rather, a few guest houses dotting the hillside, like those of Wine Country View & Homes. One of the owners, Kata, gave me a choice of two, one named Buborék (bubbles, like sparkling wine) and the other Barrique (wine barrel). Of course I chose the former – the name was celebratory – like my return. It was a beautifully decorated (in my favorite colors), renovated wine press house with a kitchen/dining room, bathroom, a staircase leading to the bedroom loft, a balcony overlooking the hill and its vineyards – plus a bottle of wine made by Kata herself. Optional add-ons include wine and cheese or breakfast picnic baskets. “The most important thing for us is to do everything so that our guests can enjoy authentic experiences and perfect relaxation in this wonderful countryside,” shared Kata and Laura on their Facebook page.
Where to Eat
Hegykapu Étterem
One evening Gábor ordered takeout from Hegykapu Étterem, a restaurant that has been operating for over 20 years. The family-style dish was like nothing I had ever seen or tasted before – a ‘mashup’ of meat, cheese, potatoes, and other locally sourced ingredients. Gábor’s family and I barely made a dent in it, it was so much food. The dine-in restaurant with a garden and outdoor terrace is located at the foot of Somló in Devecser, opposite Somlóvásárhely, with a view of Nagy-Somló. The menu is multilingual and offers local wines. “It is the perfect starting point for family, friends, or even company trips and wine tasting,” says the restaurant’s website.
CsakLazán Borterasz és Vendégasztal
During my September 2023 trip, I enjoyed lunch at CsakLazán Borterasz és Vendégasztal. I had not shared the experience previously because I was on vacation, not working, but it left a lasting impression with its local seasonal cuisine, wine, and beer – and stunning panoramic views of Somló.
Where to Taste
Somlói Borok Boltja /Somló Wine Shop
The locals simply call Somlói Borok Boltja ‘the wine shop’, which opened in July 2012. Managed by American expat Kathryn Aronsohn, it is a one-stop shop for Somlói wines – and has expanded to include wines from other volcanic soil regions around the world. I visited in September 2023 and it was my first Saturday stop in April 2024 – and by visit, I mean enjoyed a glass of wine and engaging conversation with Kathryn, whose enthusiasm and passion for the region’s wines is infectious.
Insider tip: There is also a guest house above the shop.
Tomcsányi Családi Birtok
My second winery stop was Tomcsányi Családi Birtok – a lunch and a tasting with filmmaker-turned-winemaker Árpád (Árpi) Tomcsányi, his wife Nóra, and their children.
It was Árpi’s parents who originally purchased the Somlói land – setting the stage for him and Nóra to harvest their first vintage in 2016 shortly after their wedding. Árpi continued to split his time between Budapest and Somló early on, but they have since settled on the hill.
Tomcsányi grows and produces Demeter-certified (biodynamic), low-intervention Furmint, Hárslevelű, Juhfark, Olaszrizling, Tramini, and Chardonnay from his 3-hectare vineyard and farm. Its vitality was apparent at first glance – lush, green, and full of life. “We see our estate as a garden where bugs, birds, fruit trees and many other plants live together; where we must oversee the harmony, which results in the creation of the base material for the wine,” he wrote on his website. Árpi’s winemaking hand is gentle in the cellar – wines are fermented and aged sur lie in amphorae and neutral barrels, then are bottled unfiltered and unfined with no added sulfur.
Notable wines we tasted included:
2023 Chardonnay – a barrel sample bottled for my visit, as it typically spends one year in barrel and one in bottle prior to release – still developing, but a great pairing with our lunch.
2022-2023 Olaszrizling – a multi-vintage blend of skin-macerated 2023 and immediately pressed 2022 – whose liveliness and zest tingled my tastebuds.
2021 Chardonnay and Tramini blend – a skin-macerated ‘orange’ wine replete with mouthwatering apricot flavor.
2022-2023 Olaszrizling Pét-Nat – with the lees still in the bottle, this multi-vintage fizz was a taste of ‘winemaking in action.’
2022 Syrah – flavors like juicy blackberry and blackcurrant meet basalt-driven minerality in this rare Somlói red.
Kőfejtő Pince
My third visit was Kőfejtő Pince with winemaker Péter Tóth. He is a lifelong learner, working the land his grandfather purchased since he was a child and earning a degree in viticulture and winemaking. Péter’s first release in 2011 won recognition as ‘Wine of the Capital (Budapest)’ and immediately sold out. After making wine in other regions, he returned to Somló permanently in 2015.
His 3.5 hectares of organically farmed vineyards are located on the western and southern sides of Somló and are planted to Olaszrizling, Juhfark, Furmint, Hárslevelű, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kékfrankos, and Syrah. In the cellar, Péter makes his wines traditionally, using Szerednyei Zemplén oak barrels for native yeast fermentation, then 6-8 months of aging prior to bottling. He usually releases his single-variety wines within a year.
Péter is most known for Juhfark. “It requires special attention in cultivation: it is very susceptible to diseases and often hardly bears fruit. It is selected and eaten by wild animals. I have been working with the variety since 2008 and now we almost understand each other,” he wrote on his website. His first bottling was 2015, the year he returned to Somló.
He also makes a white and a red cuvée – multi-variety blends – that evolve over time due to Somlói terroir. “Thanks to the volcanic soil, the blends lose their individual varietal character after 2-3 years of aging and are transformed into an unmistakable ‘volcanic wine,’” he added. He has made the white cuvée since 2011 – and the 2018 and 2017 vintages we tasted showed off those volcanic roots.
Other notable wines we tasted included:
2021 Ezerjó – a rare native variety from a vineyard planted in the 1930s that he purchased in 2000. He only makes 400-600 bottles per year.
2023 Hárslevelű – a smoky, tangy wine with flavors of lime and grapefruit.
2021 Olaszrizling – flinty with a lime finish.
2018 Furmint – this wine reminded me of tart applesauce – honeyed, but without sweetness.
2021 Juhfark – minerally rather than fruity – heavily influenced by the basalt-laden soil.
Fekete Pince Somló
My final stop was Fekete, my host winery. If you follow my writing, then you already know how I feel about Fekete and winemaker Gábor Riesz. I chose the 2020 fkt Hárslevelű Gábor and Fekete as my favorite wine and winery of 2023.
You also know its history – Béla Fekete (the ‘Grand Old Man of Somló’) founded the winery in the 1970s. In 2014 Gábor’s winemaking friend Gyuri persuaded him and his partner Ákos to purchase the 4.3-hectare organically farmed vineyard when it was for sale. When Gyuri suddenly passed away, Gábor became the winemaker.
Today he makes low-intervention wines from Hárslevelű, Furmint, Olaszrizling, and Juhfark. Gábor honors Béla’s farming and vinification methods, but also likes to experiment, creating his own style of winemaking.
What made this visit different was that I sat in on a consumer tasting, where I tasted a few new-to-me wines (and brandy) and observed how relaxed and fun Hungarian wine tastings are. I watched Gábor and his wife Zsófi in action – preparing and serving their own food pairings sourced from local producers – and presenting the lineup to an attentive audience of Hungarian wine enthusiasts.
Gábor sent me home with a bottle of the second batch of the 2020 fkt Hárslevelű ‘Gábor’. His name is on the bottle because it was he who envisioned this special wine. The longer aging has made this wine even more savory, spicy, and smoky – less fruity, more minerally – becoming what Kőfejtő’s Péter Tóth described as a ‘volcanic wine.’
Somlói Vándor
I visited Somlói Vándor in September 2023 during my vacation day trip. I also purchased a bottle of 2018 Juhfark at Napa’s Compline Restaurant in late 2023. And Kathryn at ‘the wine shop’ poured me a glass of Somlói Vándor Hárslevelű during my first stop. Unfortunately winemaker Tamás Kis was out of town this trip, but I hope to visit next time.
Tamás was not born into viticulture and winemaking, but wine was a part of his life ever since he could remember – visits to Hungary’s wine regions and wineries and tastings with his father. In 2003 a new wine collector friend introduced him to wines from St. Andrea and Máté – which he never forgot. This love of wine led him to study enology. He purchased land in Somló in 2010 – but was also interning under winemaker György (Gyuri) Lőrincz in Eger – so he commuted between the two. Because “the fire of the dormant volcano glowed inside,” Tamás permanently moved to Somló in 2014. The name Somlói Vándor (Wanderer of Somló) pays homage to that commute – when his wines were made “on the move.”
Today Tamás makes a range of organically farmed, low-intervention wines from his 4.5 hectares of vineyards – including Olaszrizling, Juhfark, Hárslevelű, Furmint, Kabar, Kövérszőlő, and Tramini – but is probably most known for Juhfark. His two are quintessential representations, with characteristic volcanic minerality, salinity, and smokiness that cradle zesty citrus and juicy pear flavors.
Where to Stay
Wine Country View & Homes
https://wineandviewcountryhomes.com/en/home/
+36 30 66 44 755
hello@wineandviewcountryhomes.com
Buborék
Somlóvásárhely, Somló-hegy 1148/1 hrsz, 8481 Hungary
GPS 47.14171980804864, 17.382342590366132
Barrique
Somlóvásárhely, Somló-hegy 1147 hrsz, 8481 Hungary
GPS 47.14160935020268, 17.38261775644729
Where to Eat
Hegykapu Étterem
https://hegykapuetterem.hu/
8481 Somlóvásárhely, Somló-hegy 1491 Hrsz
+36 70 363 8046
info@hegykapuetterem.hu
CsakLazán Borterasz és Vendégasztal
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083254935035
8482 Somlóvásárhely 1311 Hrsz
+36 20 319 3753
jocsi70@gmail.com
Where to Taste
Somlói Borok Boltja /Somló Wine Shop
Somlóvásárhely Somló-hegy, külterület Hrsz 1321, 8481 Hungary
Shop: https://somloi.hu/en/index/
Online Shop: https://govolcanic.hu/
+36 30 583 3700
info@somloi.hu
Tomcsányi Családi Birtok
https://tomcsanyibirtok.hu/en
By appointment
Somlószőlős, 2701/2 Hrsz, 8483 Hungary
+36 30 863 3786
+36 20 977 9675
U.S. Importer: Danch and Granger Selections
Kőfejtő Pince
https://kofejtopince.hu/kofejto-pince-en/
By appointment
Somlószőlős, Hrsz 2410, 8483 Hungary
+36 70 489-8740
info@kofejtopince.hu
U.S. Importer: Taste Hungary
Fekete Pince Somló
https://feketepincesomlo.hu/en/
By appointment
+43 650 701 5722
+36 20 331 9994
Somlóvásárhely, 8481 Hungary
GPS 47.138758, 17.378597
U.S. Importer: Danch and Granger Selections
Somlói Vándor
https://somloivandor.hu/
By appointment
Somlóvásárhely, 8481 Hrsz 1700, Hungary
+36 30 835 2295
U.S Importer: Palinkerie