If you’ve ever visited the Hungarian red-wine capital of Villány, you’ve probably noticed that, for a relatively famous wine-producing center, there is relatively little “there” there. The town itself is unremarkable, the pincészetek of even the better-known producers are pretty modest, and aside a few panzios owned by some of these producers, the lodging options range from rustic to basic. But all that is changing, as last Saturday’s inauguration of Wunderlich Pincészet‘s new látványpince (“exhibition cellars”) and bortrezor (“wine treasury”) clearly demonstrated.
The first sign of just how spiffy this place is was on the door, which advertises wireless Internet.
The entry hall is pretty impressive, with a soaring ceiling, stone tile walls and a long and hip-looking reception desk/bar.
This leads to a nice bar/restaurant area, which we were told will offer a full menu.
Another jarring luxury touch was this restroom next to the underground reception hall. Note the cloth hand towels. The enormous vaulted reception/banquet hall itself (pictured third from the top) was the site of a reception for several hundred people.
The men behind the new effort are Wunderlich founder Alajos “Lojzi” Wunderlich (right), and Szeged-based businessman Robert Szűcs, who provided much of the almost €3 million in investment for the project. Before hitting the wine and business bigtime, Wunderlich was famous for his rooster stew, and Szűcs was a heart surgeon. Szűcs told us that he is looking for an investor with experience in the hospitality business to build what would be Villány’s first high (or higher-end) hotel. Seems like a good idea.
The actual winery, which is next door to the látványpince, is a typically modern-looking affair, with an annual capacity of roughly a quarter-million bottles. On this trip we only had time for a few glasses of Olaszrizling and Siller, the musky, rose colored wine that is too rich to be called a rosé but too light to be a proper red. Both were good.
Added to all this is the bortrezor: a large cellar where people and companies can store their wines. Most of these arched “nooks” will be divided in four, with wire cages holding the liquid treasures. You can get one such “safety-deposit” cellar for free if you buy a bit more than Ft 100,000 worth of the winery’s offerings every year.
Among the guests was the heir to the Hungarian throne, the ancient but ageless Otto von Habsburg (seen at left, talking to the mayor of Villány), who we shared a drink with, and who seemed tickled pink by the imperial proportions of the place. We tend to agree.
