Region: Tokaj
Holdvölgy Winery is a modern estate in Mád, at the heart of Hungary’s historic Tokaj wine region. Its story began in 1998, when founder Pascal Demkó received a small vineyard parcel on Dorgó-tető as a birthday gift from his family. That modest beginning inspired an ambitious project to showcase Tokaj’s historic vineyards, indigenous grapes and diverse wine styles.
30 Vineyard Parcels Across 7 Historic Vineyards
Holdvölgy takes a precise approach to vineyard selection. The estate manages 30 individual parcels across seven historic vineyards around Mád. By studying each site separately, the team explores how different grape varieties express the local terroir.
Each parcel can be harvested and fermented separately. This approach allows Holdvölgy to preserve the character of individual sites and select the best components for its final blends.
All Six Traditional Tokaj Grape Varieties
While Furmint is Tokaj’s best-known grape, Holdvölgy works with all six traditional varieties. This allows the estate to explore a wider range of Hungarian wines, from dry whites to traditional sweet wines.
Small stainless-steel tanks give the winemaking team greater control over individual parcels and grape varieties. As a result, the estate produces a diverse portfolio. It includes dry estate blends such as Vision, single-variety wines, single-vineyard bottlings, Szamorodni, the traditional Fordítás style and 6 Puttonyos Tokaji Aszú.
A 500-Year-Old Cellar Beneath a Modern Winery
One of Holdvölgy’s most remarkable features lies underground. Its historic cellar network stretches 1.8 kilometres across three levels, with passages dating back around 500 years.
The network originally consisted of nine separate cellar branches. These were eventually connected to form Mád’s most extensive cellar system.
Between 2011 and 2013, Holdvölgy restored the historic cellars and built a modern winery above them. BORD Architectural Studio designed the contemporary building, which received a bronze medal at the A’ Design Award competition in 2018. Together, the winery and cellars unite Tokaj’s heritage with modern winemaking.
Rethinking the Tradition of Tokaji Aszú
Tokaji Aszú is one of Hungary’s most celebrated sweet wines, and Holdvölgy continues this tradition with its 6 Puttonyos bottling. This prestigious style is known for its concentration, complexity and ageing potential.
In 2019, the estate introduced its Preculture programme. It allows customers to purchase 6 Puttonyos Aszú in the harvest year, before the wine completes its eight-year ageing process. The programme offers a different way to experience a wine that requires years of patience and careful maturation.
A Cellar Tour with a Sense of Discovery
Holdvölgy also turns its historic cellars into a unique visitor experience. Guests can follow a treasure-hunt-style map through the underground passages while discovering the estate’s wines and heritage.
The experience has received recognition, too. Vince wine magazine named its cellar-tasting programme Hungary’s best cellar visit in both 2016 and 2017.
Exploring Tokaj’s Diverse Terroir
The vineyards around Mád feature a variety of geological formations, including rhyolite tuff, zeolite-rich rhyolite tuff, perlite and quartzite. These differences add another dimension to Holdvölgy’s parcel-by-parcel approach.
Rather than treating Tokaj as one uniform growing area, the estate seeks to understand how individual vineyard sites influence its wines.
A Contemporary Expression of Tokaj
Holdvölgy brings together historic vineyards, indigenous grape varieties and centuries-old cellars. At the same time, modern technology and precise vineyard management allow the team to explore new possibilities.
From dry Furmint-based wines to traditional sweet wines and Tokaji Aszú, Holdvölgy showcases the diversity of the Tokaj wine region. Its philosophy is simple: to reveal the many expressions of Tokaj, one vineyard parcel at a time.
