Manufacturer: Gizella

Gizella Winery - THE HERITAGE: When I was a schoolboy, the people were always smiling when the discussion came around to my grandparents’ winery in Tokaj. I felt that it must be something! The winery was called Gizella after my granny. When with my wife – (as the third generation) – decided that we go into viniculture we had no idea what we were taking on! We’ve been laughing about this ever since. Tokaj is a fantastic wine region from which we own just a thin slice. It is a real pleasure to make wine here. But giving pleasure and enjoyment to the people is the bigger experience. Actually, we are a link between nature and our guests. It’s a great challenge to transmit values to our consumers and show them the possibly best that our plantations can offer. Exploring the vineyard sites is very exciting and bottling the harvest is a very complex undertaking. We can produce only a small quantity, yet we would be happy if more people could experience our wines. We are personally present on our estate so our guests can have an inside look anytime into the goings-on of our winery. - László Szilágyi Vintner. OUR VINEYARD SITES: The soil composition in Tokaj is complex and varied. It is different on every site and slope. Roots reach even the volcanic layers which provide the grapes with the organic properties that give our wines their distinctive taste. 6 hectares of plantations with 5 vineyards: each possesses different and diversified characteristics. What do they have in common? Mindful attendance and wholehearted and enthusiastic people. KASTÉLY VINEYARD: Name of the vineyard: Kastély (Castle) Varieties: app. 80% Furmint, 20% Hárslevelű Location: Bodrogkeresztúr Training system: middle-high cordon Year of plantation: 1964 Elevation: 116-130 m Cultivated area: 2,00 ha Facing: NE-E Number of vines: 9030 Soil composition: loess, clay, rhyolite tuff Other: Old, restored plantation. Advantages of the area: old vines, rich-bouquet wines, good botrytisation, good acid content. MEDVE VINEYARD: Name of the vineyard: Medve (Bear) Varieties: app. 90 % Furmint, 10% Hárslevelű Location: Bodrogkeresztúr-Mád Training system: middle-high cordon, twin-trunks spacing Year of plantation: 1989 Elevation: 262-281 m Cultivated area: 0,6 ha Facing: S Number of vines: 3200 Soil composition: rhyolite tuff. BARÁT VINEYARD: Name of the vineyard: Barát (Friend) Varieties: 100% Hárslevelű Location: Tarcal Training system: middle-high cordon Year of plantation: 1984 Elevation: 138-160 m Cultivated area: 0,6 ha Facing: SW Number of vines: 1330 Soil composition: loess, dacite tuff Other: Stable plantation with excellent conditions and solely Hárslevelű vines. The trunks of this slope sprout the first shoots in the year and ripening is also the quickest here. Offers dry and sweet wines as well. Other: Situated pretty high, offers beautiful view over the Tokaj Mountain and the plain. Mineral and steely structured wines. Offers rather dry wines but at times it has good botrytisation. SZIL-VÖLGY VINEYARD: Name of the vineyard: Szil-völgy (Szil-Valley) Varieties: app. 50 % Furmint, 50% Hárslevelű Location: Tarcal Training system: traditional ridge-and-furrow cultivation and middle-high cordon Year of plantation: 1974 Elevation: 113-156 m Cultivated area: 2,2 ha Facing: W Number of vines: presently 4500 (will be 8000 by 2014) Soil composition: loess, dacite tuff Other: One of our favorites not just because of its special features, but also because of its lovely scenery. Partially cultivated in terraces. Our aim here was the production of dry Furmint and Hárslevelű wines in which taste the saltiness typical of Szil-völgy beautifully appears. SZENT TAMÁS VINEYARD: Name of the vineyard: Szent Tamás (St. Thomas) Varieties: app. 10 % Furmint, 90% Hárslevelű Location: Mád Training system: middle-high cordon Year of plantation: NA Elevation: 175-189 m Cultivated area: 0,40 ha Facing: S Number of vines: Soil composition: 1200 Other: Registered as Fürdő in former times. Possesses a very valuable soil composition resulting emphatic minerality in the wines. Nice shriveling and botrytisation of the berries.