Degenfeld Winery built on traditions

wine

MODERN WINERY BUILT ON TRADITIONS

GRÓF DEGENFELD WINE ESTATE AND CASTLE HOTEL CELEBRATES ITS QUARTER-CENTURY ANNIVERSARY It was 25 years ago, or a little bit more, that the Count Degenfeld family decided about the foundation of a new wine estate and thereby evoking an old family tradition in the Tokaj Region.

The tradition of viticulture and winemaking in this region in NE Hungary was founded by the labor and spiritual inheritance of Count Imre Degenfeld, landowner, and it dates back to the 1800s. The passionate love of this region and its wines has stayed with the family ever since then. Rebuilding the estate

Although after the World War II, the family was deprived of all their estates and possessions, Count Sándor Degenfeld returned in 1994 and bought a new estate in the Tokaj region, after he had established a new existence in Germany. He could see the potential and the beauty in the neglected park and in the ruinous buildings, and he started renovating the center of the wine estate in Tarcal with resolution. In his quest, he was supported by his daughter, Countess Marie Degenfeld and his son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Lindner. In the following years, their task was to buy and exchange more estates and to build a winery, in which the first harvest took place in 1996. At the foundation of the new winery, the owners had a grand vision in mind; to make elite wines in the highest quality standard in a modern factory, but also with respect to the traditional ways of winemaking. In 1996, a grand extension and renovation of the factory was started by the plans of the architect Ferenc Salamin, a student of Imre Makovecz.

Winemaking in harmony

Today's castle hotel was built in 1873 on the King’s order for a traditional winemaker's trade school to support the winemaking industry after the phylloxera epidemic. In this institute, owned by the King and then by the state, future cellar masters were trained, and we can still visit the spacious wine cellars which are used by the winery today. Traditional winemaking was always practiced in these spacious wine cellars. After the renovation of the buildings and the replantation of the park, the castle hotel started to operate in 2003 and thus the first four-star hotel of the Tokaj region opened. The elegant restaurant with the intimate terrace, which is open from spring to autumn, and the delicious harmony of the wines and the courses can offer a great experience to the visitors of the region. The center of the estate with the châteaustyle castle, the winery and the surrounding vineyards are all united as a whole in complete harmony.

By modern standards

The 35-hectare vineyards are located from Tarcal towards Mád, and there are some historical ones among them, like the Terézia, the Zomborka or the Borkút vineyards. Ever since the foundation of the estate, the vine-growing is the responsibility of István Varkoly. The replantation of the vineyards took place according to modern standards, fractionally, between 1999 and 2010, keeping a 1.8 -2 m row space and a 0.8 m space among the vines. As a result of the owners’ enlightened, environmentally friendly way of planning, in 2009, the estate could start controlled organic farming. By 2012, all the vineyards were able to start organic farming. The winery produced the first organic wines in 2017, these were the estate Furmint and the Muscat Blanc. 2015 was a new milestone in the history of the estate, the most iconic and beautiful part of the estate, the Terézia chapel was renovated. Since then, it has been the charming scene of thousands of photos and the location of weddings, christenings, engagements and anniversaries.