István Bencze, Bencze Birtok
The István Bencze winery may be found on the slopes of Hegymagas, which are volcanic in origin, and offers a splendid a view of Lake Balaton.
A magnificent place, where the minerality of the volcanic soil is transferred to the wines, and where, as Istvan explains, the goal is to produce natural wines in order to better show the territory, attempting to concentrate on exploring the traditional Hungarian vines and cultivating what is given by nature. This is a place that is truly magnificent.
Since he was a little boy, Istvan has maintained a deep connection with the way of life in the country. Near Debrecen, he helped his grandmother with her vegetable garden, which also had four or five rows of grapevines that were picked every year to make wine. He helped her with whatever that needed to be done in the garden.
After that, Istvan earned a degree in information technology and established an information technology company, both of which were successful, leading to him working an average of 12 to 14 hours per day at his job. At the age of 30, following a trip to Italy that introduced him to fine wine and food, he made the decision to give up his business and devote himself totally to the production of wine.
This decision was influenced by his exposure to Italy. He invests in a small vineyard that is 0.3 hectares in size and breeds several different varieties of grapes on the land. From the very beginning, he had the intention of producing natural wines because he came to the conclusion that he did not enjoy the conventional and standardized wines that were available on the market.
His first harvest was in 2012, and he produced two wines: one was a Riesling, and the other was a white wine made from a variety of other grapes. Today, the estate has a total area of twenty hectares and consists of three quite distinct vineyards, all of which are situated on the southern slope of Szent Gyorgy-hegy.
Vine varieties that can be found here include Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Piros Bakator, Kék Bakator, Furmint, Hárslevel, Rhein Riesling, and Kéknyel. Istvan is the only farmer in the area who uses biodynamic farming. However, other farmers are thinking about making the switch after seeing how healthy Istvan’s vines are.
Today its wines are an active and sincere testimony of commitment and great quality and of the potential of a small territory, still aihme, little known, but for which destiny reserves a bright future.