WALKING BETWEEN
FAMILY FARM
The history of the Gere Attila Winery started seven generations ago. Our ancestors have passed on their skills and attitude from one generation to the next, and the business, just like before, is run by all members of the family. Beyond the estate grown grapes the family has long been purchasing grapes from other farmers to produce their entry level wines. Local farmers also feel this family vibe and the mutual trust.
„I’m still the same villager I have always been, I’m still living here among my fellow countrymen. People know that. They are simple, honest folks and if they have grapes to sell they can rely on me to buy it. I’m good as my word. We value their efforts, it’s important to me that they love working in the vineyards.”
ONE PROPOSAL, TWO LOVES
Not many people know that for a long time Attila Gere did not drink any wine because he had always been very demanding when it came to consistent quality and his expectations were not met. He can still recall the moment that eventually sealed his fate.
„I used to be a beer drinker because like many others whenever I tasted some wine it was always tasted foul. In 1977 when I was dating my wife-to-be, Katalin, and my future father-in-law poured me a glass of wine in their cellar. I gritted my teeth, thinking I’ll survive somehow. When I smelled the wine I was struck by the gorgeous fragrance. Then I tasted it and whispered „Good heavens”. I was thinking to myself that the locals had no idea what riches they possess. This is pure gold. If I liked it as a beer drinker then wine lovers would surely be amazed by it! The next year we got married. And ever since, for 42 years now, we’ve been happily married.”
Tasting the wines of a new vintage is always one of the most momentous events of the year.
Ádám Wéber, the father of Katalin and Attila Gere’s father-in-law is seen seated at the head of the table.
Harvest time when the fruit of a whole year’s work arrives in the cellar is also a time that brings family members together.
János Gere and his wife Rozália, the parents of Attila Gere. The photo was taken in Újpetre where Attila was born.
An old friendship and many years of working together binds our family to Franz Weninger, the famed Austrian winemaker.
Our ambition is to contribute to making Hungarian wines world-renowned.
When several generations work together the final product is the result of give and take among many individual points of view and personal experiences.
ORGANICALLY
The love of nature has always been an integral part of Attila Gere’s life. In his original profession as a forester he had roamed the woods for 17 years. If time allows he still likes to take his 10.000 steps every day in the hills, in the vineyards or around the farm house with his dog Frici. But the conversion to organic farming a decade ago was also motivated by common sense and logic.
„It all started with the idea that if you severely reduce yields, place minimal burden on the plants then they won’t break a sweat to produce 6-7 bunches per stock. If the vines don’t have to channel all that energy into producing berries but can retain some of it for themselves, then their resistance to disease improves and that would make the use of chemicals redundant. I also thought that should I have grandchildren one day I wouldn’t want to take them to places where the soil is contaminated. Thank God, my grandchild has arrived. When the time comes, my walks with the little one will be taken between uncontaminated rows in organically farmed vineyards.”
SMALL BARRELS, TOP WINES
The perfectly ripe, hand selected grapes coming from organic vineyards are taken to a cellar equipped with state of the art technology. Fermentation takes place either in temperature controlled steel tanks or wooden vats. Following the gentle extraction the wines are racked into traditional, top quality Hungarian oak barrels and after bottling their ageing continues in bottles. This is what makes Kopar, Solus and Attila unique, complex and elegant, and this why they can stand up to the best wines of the world.
„The great wines of the Gere winery remain unchanged. That is something non-negotiable. Kopar is Kopar, it is not affected by changing trends. We follow trends only in technology.”
Terroir
The people of Villány have successfully passed down the traditional methods of winemaking to their 21st century descendants who in turn have become the leading figures of innovative winemaking in Hungary. Respect for the soil, proper selection of varieties, technical precision in the cellar have all contributed to preserving and expressing the aromas typical of the Villány terroir. Attila Gere has moved one step further, fermentation is exclusively done by locally selected, indigenous yeast strains. This is one more factor that contribues to the character of their natural, individual, terroir-driven estate wines.
„The use of cultured yeasts is detrimental to the purity of character of a Villány wine. For example a Tuscan yeast strain will inevitably add something Tuscan to the perfume and aromas of our wines. And that is not what I want, my goal is to create an aroma profile that is truly typical of Villány.”
