22 August 2024 / Ádám Geri
Before phylloxera, 380 hectares of vines were cultivated on Ürgehegy in Biatorbágy - mainly by the Swabians, who also supplied wine to Buda Castle. Today, there are only 30 hectares of vines remaining as well as a few dozen, relatively scattered, cellars dug into the ground and extended with press houses. They are mostly run by hobby winemakers who don't live on the hill, so it's advisable to book in advance. Exceptions are Rigó Cellar and Wine House, where the elderly winemaker lives just outside, and Lipka Cellar, whose owners also spend a lot of time there. Open cellars are held twice a year, at Whitsun and around St Martin's Day, when there is also hot food on offer.
The cellars, built in the mid-19th century, are unique in that they stand right next to the road. This makes them very accessible, for example by long-distance bus from Széll Kálmán tér in Buda. You can only admire them though, which is still worth the trip, as none of them house active wineries. In mid-September, they open their doors for the harvest festival, when they host guest wineries. If you are looking for wine from Budajenő, you’ll have to go one street further, to the only winery in the village, Reisner Cellar, located on Fő utca. You can check the opening hours on their website; large groups are welcome by prior arrangement.
If you get off the bus at the old thermal baths stop in Érd-Ófalu, you will see the front of the cellar row of the village of Érd. There are about two dozen cellars in two streets. The good news is that most of them are still making wine today. Hudák Cellar and Lucza Family Winery also make wine commercially, but others (such as Buki Cellar, Martonosi Cellar and Várhegyi Cellar) are happy to serve visitors if they happen to be there. This is more likely to happen at weekends, when there are always one or two growers around. There are more options if you book in advance or when there are events. These include the May Grape Blossom Festival, September Harvest Festival, St Martin's Day in November and the Advent Fair in December.
Páty’s cellar hill is a magical place: visitors are welcomed at cellars, mostly dug into the ground, tucked away in a shady forest. Dozens of the 200 or so cellars still produce bottled wine in bottles, with some of them also offering food and others functioning as cafés or restaurants. They can be booked for weddings, birthday parties and corporate events. Fortunately, the Páty growers are very active. A cellar hill open day is held on the second weekend of every month, which always offers access to eight to ten places. Regular participants: Déberling Family Cellar, Cerasus Cellar, GáBORok House, Fürtös Cellar, 4-es Cellar, Nyitrai Cellars, LaBor Cellar, Borostyán Cellar and Café, Pincekulcs, Amina Inn and Wine House, Székely Cellar, Pátyi Vigadó, Kemenes Cellar, Csík Cellar and C’est la vie Café. The Páty Cellar Days at the end of June and the Wine Week at the end of August are also important events, but there may also be other events, especially around the time of the pig slaughter and St Martin's Day. And sometimes, two neighbouring cellars just get together and organise a Mexican food weekend. During the week, however, only C'est la vie is open, where you can taste wines from one winery in Páty, and they are joined by Amina at weekends. You can reach Páty’s cellar hill by long-distance bus from Széll Kálmán tér (you’ll find the top cellar 600 metres after the Somogyi Béla utca stop and the lowest one 300 metres from the police station stop).
Ezüst Hegy in Pilisborosjenő is also worth a trip for the breathtaking view. Budapest is revealed from a rarely seen angle, and you can see all the way to the Parliament. The few cellars, or more to be more precise press houses, are scattered among the vineyards, but only a few of them (Jani Papa's Cellar, Boczor Winery, Budavári Cellar) produce wines commercially. You need a lot of luck or a grower who just happens to be working there to get your hands on any wine.
Piliscsév is one of the largest and oldest cellar villages near Buda, with a total of 220 cellars with press houses, with the first one built in the 18th century. Growers still make wine in about half the cellars, but not for sale, just for their own pleasure. In 2024, an educational trail was created in the cellar village, which gives interesting information about the vineyards and winemaking as well as local curiosities of course. The biggest wine event in Piliscsév is the PiPi (i.e. Piliscsév Pincefalu - Piliscsév Cellar Village) Festival in late June and early July. Around a dozen cellars are open at this time. There is also a cooking competition in May and a harvest parade in the autumn. The National Blue Trail passes directly above the cellar village, so if you're walking this section, it's worth making a short detour.
The Tök side of Nyakas Hill is actually a cellar hill. There are over a hundred cellars between the main road and the top of the hill: the central cellars carved into the hillside at the bottom of the hill are directly next to each other, while further up, they are more scattered and also boast separate press houses. Around fifty of them also make homemade wine, and when there, the elderly growers are happy to invite everyone in to taste. Four of them produce bottled, commercial wines: Budai Family Cellar Pince, Göndör Family Winery, Szakács Cellar and Cardium Winery.
The first three require advance booking; Cardium is the only one open permanently on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings. You can also taste their wines during this time. If you're simply thirsty, the Göndör self-service spritzer point is available round the clock on the route from the ruined church in Zsámbek. Regular open cellar events take place every last Saturday in May (Wine Festival), one weekend in June (Culture Cellar Music Festival) and around St Martin's Day. Tök’s nationally renowned winery, Nyakas Cellars, is also worth a mention - the estate opposite the main road also has a cellar door shop.
The village had four cellar rows until the end of the Second World War, but there are just two left today. One is the Józsefvárosi Gödör, where only 15 of the former 70 cellars are still standing, and even that is just for show, as no wine is made there. The situation is better at the Szuszogó cellar row, a few hundred metres from the main road, in the drainage channel (originally washed out by water) towards Nyakas Hill. It was restored in the 2000s and has 24 cellars, four of which are active. Two of them make bottled wines (Déberling Family Cellar and Mazug Cellar) and two make hobby wines. For the time being, you can only visit the cellars and taste wines during "festivals of booths". These include the St Martin's Day event in November, with wineries from beyond Nyakas Hill participating, and the open cellars in May, when the four local producers present their wines.
