When Hungarian winemaker István Bencze enjoys a glass of wine on his patio, he is struck by the beauty of his 18 hectares of grapevines sweeping over lush hillsides extending towards the coast of Lake Balaton. Before establishing Bencze Birtok in Balaton, Hungary, István was formerly an IT entrepreneur passionate about mathematics. For a time he lived in Florence, Tuscany, and became enamored with Italy and learning Italian and would visit local markets to chat about food with local purveyors. Being surrounded by fresh crops and passionate farmers, István was filled with memories of helping tend vegetables and grapes back home in Hungary with his grandmother, who he credits as one one his mentors.

Italy drew Itsván back to his roots, and when he moved back to Hungary, he started to make moves to become a biodynamic winemaker. At first, István was interested in buying land in the acclaimed wine regions of Somlo or Tokaj, but he instinctively felt pulled to the unique terroir of Hegymagas, a village in the wine region of Balaton. In 2011 he bought a tiny parcel (.33 of a hectare) on the south slope of the giant Szent György-hegy (St. George’s Hill). This 1300 ft famous hillock is lined with huge basalt columns and legend claims that St. George’s dragon lived within its mysterious caves. 

The wine region of Balaton is named after Lake Balaton, familiarly called ‘the Hungarian Sea,’ which is a trendy summer holiday destination for Hungarians. An impressive 500,000 people vacation at Lake Balaton each year, which is proving to be problematic as vineyards are at risk of being replaced with newly built summer homes. Tourists relish Lake Balaton’s turquoise water and beaches, but winemakers like István are interested in the area’s terroir from extinct volcanoes that filled this area 10-15 million years ago. 

While starting out as a biodynamic winemaker, István was inspired by the teachings of Rudolph Steiner (insert link) and natural winemakers like Ewald Tscheppe, Roland Tauss, and Zsolt Sütó. István is an adventurous creator who enjoys experimenting with fermentation and aging vessels like amphora. Today István owns an impressive 18 hectares of vines grown atop soil made up of mostly volcanic basalt with a mix of clay, loess and sand. The vineyards are situated on south-east facing slopes at 118 to 180 meters in altitude on the Szent György hill. 

To István, the most essential element to winemaking is the picking time and he and his team sometimes have multiple harvest dates to achieve the desired balance in their wine, all while showcasing the volcanic terroir of Balaton. István is a lover of vivacity and acidity and purposefully picks his all of his grapes, from his favorite grape, Chenin Blanc, to indigenious grapes like Hárslevelű, when they are slightly underripe.  

If you ever plan to travel to Hungary, definitely visit  István and his wife Klaudia, and their adorable Vizla named Csete. They have built guesthouses on their property for guests. After a swim in Lake Balaton you can listen to István play his guitar to his grapes and taste his beautiful wines. We are so excited to share István’s with you! (FYI they are super limited!)

2019 Bencze Virgo was appropriately named as the Pinot Noir grapes were picked in August 2019 when the Moon passed through the Virgo constellation. According to astrology that means that this wine should be well-structured and nurturing! The red grape skins were removed, making it thus a white wine, and the grapes were pressed whole cluster, which means with all of its stems still intact. The wine was then aged on its yeast cells, its lees, for 9 months in barrel. István left 5% of the barrel empty so a flor yeast would form adding a textural depth to the wine. A joyous expression of a white Pinot Noir, this is reminiscent of a Jura Savagnin and has notes of yellow apples, candied walnuts, and honeysuckle.

2019 Bencze Autochthon is a blend of 3 grapes that are indigenious to Hungary: Hárslevelű, Furmint, and Keknyelú. Some of the Hárslevelű grapes were destemmed and given 8 days of skin contact. The other portion of the Hárslevelű, along with the Furmint and Keknyelú grapes, were pressed in whole bunches and fermented in amphora, and then aged on its lees for 9 months. This savory wine has a touch of tannin and that volcanic mineral drive really shows too. It boasts more dried fruit like apricots and citrus than the Virgo.

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