Introducing Tokaj-Hétszőlő Organic Wine Estate
- 25 Apr 2022 1:24 PM
In 1502, the Garai family assembled seven parcels of land which became the Hétszőlő single vineyard.
The estate has 55 hectares where a special micro-climate, the unique loess soil, the autochthon grape varieties (Furmint, Hárslevelű) and the “noble rot” give the Hétszőlő wines exceptional harmony, unique complexity and very high quality.
Since 2009 Tokaj-Hétszőlő belongs to the Domaines Reybier group where its brother is Cos d’Estournel from Bordeaux.
The historical Rákóczi Pince belongs to Hétszőlő Winery. It is situated in the heart of Tokaj town, right next to the church of the main square of the town.
In the course of centuries the cellar, built at the beginnings of the 15th century, was owned by kings, sovereigns, princes and generals.
The imposing (28-m long, 10-m wide and 5-m high) knight’s hall is the largest underground hall of this wine region. Today it serves as a place of wine presentations for wine friends and professionals.
“We do believe that with organic approach we can protect the vitality of the vines and so have better quality now and in the future.
In order to be able to communicate this philosophy we only use our own grapes to create the Hétszőlő wines.” (Gergely Makai, chief wine maker & general director)
From the beginning, Hétszőlő has had a very good background for organic viticulture and always has tried to be conscious about environmental issues.
As there was no viticulture at the slopes of Hétszőlő between the 1950’s and 1990 - in fact in the era of massive agrochemical use of Soviet regime - it was nearly a must to figure out a more environmental friendly way of culture at the time of replantation at Hétszőlő vineyards in 1991.
Hétszőlő has never used artificial fertilizer and herbicides neither insecticide.
To make organic culture more official, Hétszőlő began the conversion process for organic certification in 2009 with the label of Hungária Ökogarancia, an official organic certifier in Hungary.
Today all the 55 hectares of vineyards of the estate are cultivated strictly in organic way.
The first attempt for organic wine was in vintage 2014 where a dry Furmint was vinified according to organic wine making rules. This was followed by the successful 2015 vintage dry Furmint and now the fresh 2016 basic estate & the single vineyard selection furmint wines.
The main points of organic viticulture Tokaj-Hétszőló Wine Estate follows:
· Limited chemical use by using minuscule amounts of copper and sulfur
· Instead of systemic chemicals we use more natural products like, orange oil, baking powder and other natural substances
· No artificial fertilizer , no herbicides
· Natural pest management by using predatory insects
· Soil management with compost and diverse cover crops
· Strict canopy work and management
· Ecological islands next to vine parcels to increase biodiversity
· As natural wine making as possible based on traditional wine making methods
Tokaj-Hétszőlő Wine Estate’s website is currently under going scheduled maintenance: https://tokajhetszolo.com/ but you can find them on Facebook
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