Vineyards

The Geönczeöl Winery currently has about 2.5 hectares of vineyards. The majority are old, 40-60-year-old vines, some are between 10 and 20 years old and one small parcel is newly planted. Around one hectare is awaiting plantation; we plan to plant traditional grape varieties here.

The vines are trained on low and medium-high cordon, some are pruned on two-bud spurs (Olaszrizling/Welschriesling, St. Laurent and some Zöldveltelini/Grüner Veltliner) while the rest are cane-pruned. We work with low yields, harvesting at yields of 0.5-1.5 kg/vine, depending on the variety and our winemaking objectives. Pest control is 100% organic, which means that we only use preparations authorised for organic production, although we are also trying to reduce and substitute sulphur and copper-based treatments. The small SmartVineyard meteorological station in our Mužla vineyards is a great help here, enabling us to determine more precisely whether, when and against what spraying is necessary.

Given that we did not plant the majority of our vineyards ourselves, they contain numerous varieties: Zöldveltelini, Olaszrizling, Pozsonyi Leányka (Leányka), Peszeki Leányka (Királyleányka), Riesling, Pinot Blanc, St Laurent, Kékfrankos, Dornfelder, Néró, Bianca, Devín and Otelló. Planning the harvest is very difficult because of this, as we have to make 10-15 separate harvests per year. In return, however, we have the chance to see how these varieties behave, both as vines and wines. We also purchase grapes from reliable local growers, to supplement our own production or to expand our range, for example Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and occasionally Kékfrankos and Riesling.

Our own vineyards:

• Muzsla (Mužla), Erdőntúli Öreghegy vineyard, meaning the lower part of the Nagyhegy vineyard – southwest exposure with loess soil. The Olaszrizling in the lower part of the 300-metre-long rows is affected by botrytis almost every year (depending on the vintage, they are the basis of our wines called Ősz húrja or Karcsa). The constant breeze and plentiful sunshine of the upper part of the vineyard enables us to harvest healthy, ripe Zöldveltelini, Leányka and St Laurent.
• Muzsla (Mužla), Nagyhegy – we cultivate Riesling in our highest southwest-facing vineyards, where there is also half a hectare awaiting planting.
• Szalka (Salka), Baglyas vineyard – an east-facing vineyard with more compacted soil, which boasts a wide range of varieties, although there are also some more uniform parts. Here you can find all the varieties mentioned above, except for Riesling. This vineyards produces grapes with beautiful acidity, some of which will doubtless serve as an excellent base wine for sparkling wine in the future.

In the future, we would also like to plant vineyards in Garamkövesd / Kamenica nad Hronom near the cellar and to supplement our existing vineyards. We are slowly but surely expanding the estate, with a target area of between five and ten hectares.