Szent György-hegy, a hill just behind Badacsony, is one of the up-and-coming areas of Balaton. Here, award-winning wineries come with a gorgeous landscape, attracting many to migrate from the city. Still not overcrowded, Szent György-hegy faces an exciting future. Here we meet 12 locals involved in shaping it.
1/10
István Bencze – Winemaker
The software developer turned winemaker fell in love with Szent György-hegy in 2011. His winery experiments with traditional Hungarian varieties while it stays in harmony with nature.
2/10
Iván András Bojár – Art historian & author
He created the Szent György-hegy Facebook page and he is the main figure in various local initiatives. He also wrote an extensive book all about Szent György-hegy.
3/10
Róbert Gilvesy – Owner of Gilvesy Winery
Born in Canada, Róbert Gilvesy returned to Hungary to his Hegymagas estate. Its wines are superb, top chefs are occasionally invited to cook something up, and a mini festival is organised every summer.
4/10
Beáta Kovács – Baker
The woman behind Búzalelke Bakery moved to the Balaton Uplands a couple of years ago and then she opened her bakery in Kisapáti. Her various pastries are extremely popular, and even Balaton restaurants stock up on her burger buns. The bakery and Gilvesy Winery have a shared project at Káptalantóti’s market called Attrakció.
5/10
Júlia Lángh – Author
This writer, who travelled around Africa, now lives and works in Budapest – except in summer, when she resides at her weekend house in Raposka, filling her days with work and relaxation.
6/10
Enikő Oszlánszki and Dalma Jávor – Gardeners
This mother-and-daughter duo left their life in Budapest behind and they came to Kisapáti at the foot of Szent György-hegy to start organic gardening – their dream is to have their own business.
7/10
Papa Áron and Karina Vissonova – Creatives
This globetrotting couple now manages a vegetarian kitchen with Eastern influences in the garden of their small house. The ingredients come straight from the garden where, all summer, Karina uses methods of permaculture, while the wine and tunes are provided by Áron.
8/10
Endre Szász – Winemaker
The owner of Szászi Birtok was a pioneer of organic winemaking back in 2000 and the estate keeps evolving in the same spirit. He has since opened a guest house and a restaurant as well – there they use mainly local ingredients to make simple dishes.
9/10
Péter Szemeti – Chiropractor
The chiropractor of Mennyország also has a small buffet on the way up to Szent György-hegy. He always welcomes various local adventurers with open arms – and with snacks and home-brewed beer.
10/10
Csaba Török – Winemaker
The man behind the 2HA winery doesn’t use chemicals on his strictly controlled vineyards. However, he has no problem with breaking the status quo: he makes reds in the world of white wines, after all. It proved to be a clever move, as Török wines keep winning awards.
