Villány: Hungary's Bordeaux

After the Ottomans left Villány depopulated, Serb settlers came first, in 1692–95; German settlers followed from 1745, and by the mid-1750s the village was German-majority. Local tradition credits them with bringing Portugieser vines, and from about 1760 they built the 50+ cellars along Baross Gábor utca. Attila Gere's Kopár — named 'Barren' because the vineyard barely has topsoil — became a legend of Hungarian red wine. Sauska 48 is the only Hungarian entry on Michelin's world-18 best vineyard restaurants: 48 seats, and the vines you see from the terrace are in the wine you're drinking. The former limestone quarry above holds 130 sculptures by artists from Hungary and around the world.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Walk the Street the Swabians Built History · Free

   Where: Baross Gábor utca, the main street of Villány town. Walk from the train station along Ady Endre fasor until you hit it — you can't miss the row of low whitewashed buildings stretching the full length of the street.

   What: This is the Swabian miracle. After the Ottomans abandoned Villány in 1687, the village was completely deserted — every Hungarian had fled. Serb settlers came first, in 1692–95; German farm families followed from 1745, and by 1753–55 they were the majority. In 1864 the village counted 1,320 Germans, 25 Serbs and 8 Jews. From about 1760, those settlers built these cellars. Local tradition says they also introduced the grape variety now called Portugieser — which Hungary was forced to rename when it joined the EU because Portugal objected to the original name Kékoportó. You're walking down a street that would not exist without an 18th-century refugee resettlement program.

   How: Walk the full length slowly. Count the cellars — more than 50 tightly packed, declared protected cultural heritage. Some have evolved into contemporary architectural showpieces competing alongside the original 19th-century Swabian press houses. The street is free to explore at any time. Step into any open door — many cellars welcome spontaneous visitors, especially on weekends.

   Backup: If it's a weekday and cellars are shut, the street itself is the experience. The architecture IS the history. Stand at one end and look down the entire whitewashed row at golden hour.

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2. 2 Taste the Grape That Had to Change Its Name Wine · Price: low

   Where: Any cellar on Baross Gábor utca, or the Bock Cellar (hotel.bock.hu, cellar tours Sunday–Friday at 4:00 PM and Saturday at 2:00 and 4:00 PM, 2,000 HUF per person paid on site, including two wines). The Bock family has had its Jammertal cellar since 1850; it was confiscated in 1946, and Antal Bock bought it back in 1958.

   What: Ask for Portugieser — Villány's lightest red and its oldest story. Local tradition says this grape came with the German settlers. In Hungary it was long called Kékoportó — until Hungary joined the EU and Portugal objected to the name. Renamed overnight. Despite "Portugieser," this grape has zero connection to Portugal — it's native to Central Europe. What you're tasting is sour cherry, red plum, a whisper of violet, soft tannins. Almost Burgundian lightness. Villány makes both fresh early-drinking versions and more structured oaked expressions. Request the fresh version first.

   How: At Bock's cellar, ask to taste the Portugieser before the Cabernet Franc. The contrast tells the whole regional story — light, fruity, immediate vs. deep, spicy, structured. The Circular Cellar you're standing in was built from 70,000 reclaimed bricks across six vaulted chambers. Stand still for a moment. The acoustics are extraordinary.

   Backup: If Bock is full, walk into any open cellar on Baross Gábor utca and ask for "Portugieser kóstolás" (tasting). Budget €3–6 for a single pour.

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3. 3 Toast a Legend of Hungarian Red at Its Origin Wine · Price: high

   Where: Attila Gere Winery, Diófás tér 4-12, Villány (GPS 45.863391, 18.444910). Book ahead: etterem@gere.hu. Tastings run daily from 3:00 PM, priced per person: Encounters 9,000 HUF, Top 15,000 HUF, Heritage 50,000 HUF (minimum 4).

   What: Attila Gere moved to Villány in 1978 and started with a small plot; in 1991 — the year after Communism ended — he went full-time. Six years later, in 1997, he released the first vintage of Kopár. It became a legend of Hungarian red wine. The name: "Kopár" means BARREN in Hungarian. The vineyard on Szársomlyó hill has so little topsoil the vines can barely survive. They push roots down into the limestone. The mountain radiates stored heat back at night, minimizing temperature swings, maximizing phenolic ripeness. The blend is 50% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon — Hungary's answer to Bordeaux's First Growths. It's sold as "Kopar" (no accent) because the blend draws from 4 vineyards, not only Kopár. The accent had to go for legal reasons. The ambition never did.

   How: Ask your guide to point toward Szársomlyó hill — visible from the winery. That rocky slope IS the Kopár vineyard. The wine in your glass came from those stones. Tasting includes freshly baked bread and Gere grape seed products at 50ml per wine. 12% service charge applies.

   Backup: If fully booked, request a bottle of Kopar at any Villány wine shop and open it facing Szársomlyó hill.

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4. 4 Dine at the Vineyard Restaurant on Michelin's World List Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Sauska 48, minutes from Villány center on the vineyard road toward Nagyharsány. GPS: N 45.86003, E 18.43884. Book ahead — it's 48 seats and heavily subscribed since Michelin recognition.

   What: Michelin named Sauska 48 to their list of the world's 18 best vineyard restaurants — the ONLY Hungarian entry on the list. Michelin's page on it praises the views from its spacious terrace. What that means in practice: the wine in your glass comes from the vines in view from that terrace. The Sauska family also owns a winery in Tokaj (northeast Hungary) — the wine list spans Hungary's two greatest wine regions in one sitting. Menu is seasonal and local, paired deliberately with their own wines.

   How: Arrive 15 minutes early and stand in the vineyard before you sit. The rubble-stone winery architecture blends into the hillside. Ask your server about the Villányi Franc specifically — Sauska's version shows what happens when Cabernet Franc grows with 2,150 sunshine hours per year instead of the Loire's 1,900. The difference is not subtle.

   Backup: If Sauska 48 is fully booked, book one of the winery's regular tastings instead, held Wednesday to Sunday with prior reservation.

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5. 5 Discover 130 Sculptures in the Quarry Above Kopár Adventure · Price: low

   Where: Nagyharsány Sculpture Park, at the foot of Szársomlyó hill, 5 km southwest of Villány. Follow signs toward Nagyharsány — the park is on the hillside. Entry: 1,000 HUF adults, 500 HUF students/pensioners.

   What: In 1967, sculptors were given something extraordinary: an abandoned limestone quarry on Szársomlyó hill — the same mountain above Gere's Kopár vineyard — and permission to experiment without restriction. This was the first place in Communist Hungary where artists could work without ideological constraints. Since then, artists from Hungary, Poland, Italy, France, Finland, the USA and Japan have installed 130 sculptures across the old quarry floor. Behind you: a vertical wall of Upper Jurassic limestone, the same geology that makes Kopár wine taste the way it does. In front of you to the south: the endless flat Drava lowland stretching toward Croatia. Between them: twisted columns, strange idols, lonely blocks.

   How: Walk the full circuit — budget 45–60 minutes. The panoramic walkway along the quarry wall gives the best vista. You're standing on the same limestone that filters into every bottle of Villányi Franc you tasted today.

   Backup: The Szársomlyó reserve above the park is strictly protected and open only on guided tours: Wednesday to Sunday at 10:00 from the sculpture park, about 3 hours, 1,500 HUF. Do not hike it on your own.

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