Tokaj Gold Winery, Viničky: a tuff cellar in the vineyard

A vineyard below a volcano

Viničky is Slovakia’s southernmost Tokaj village, above the Bodrog River. On the south-east-facing slopes of the Orešie vineyard site, below the summit of the extinct Borsuk volcano, the young Slovak company Tokaj Gold has been planting vines since 2014. Today it has about 6 hectares of traditional Tokaj varieties — Furmint, Lipovina, Yellow Muscat and Zéta. The slope is so steep that the vineyard is worked mostly by hand. No artificial fertilisers are used, and against powdery mildew, downy mildew and black rot only gentle, biological sprays are applied, and only when necessary.

The grapes are processed right in the winery, which stands in the middle of the vineyard. The building is made of tuff stone, typical of Tokaj. The wine ferments and matures in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks (70,000 litres in total) and in oak casks (17,000 litres) kept in a traditional tuff cellar 100 metres long. The winery can make up to 30,000 litres a year. No cultured yeasts or enzymes are added and maturation is not rushed — the wine is made the traditional way. The semi-sweet Furmint 2021, the winery’s first vintage, won a silver medal at an international competition in the Hungarian part of Tokaj.

The smallest wine region

As the winery’s website points out, Slovak Tokaj is a closed wine region of just 907 hectares within seven villages of the Trebišov district: Bara, Čerhov, Černochov, Malá Tŕňa, Slovenské Nové Mesto, Veľká Tŕňa and Viničky. Only Lipovina, Furmint, Yellow Muscat and Zéta may be planted, and grapes for Tokaj wine are checked by an inspector on the day of harvest, who records the vineyard site, variety, quantity, sugar content and share of cibébas. A hectare may yield no more than 9,500 kg — otherwise the whole year’s crop must be sold as table wine. The name is said to derive from "stokaj", the confluence of the Bodrog and the Tisza.

Why go

• Tasting with a tour. The hosts show the production and the tuff cellar, and at the end bottle wine for you straight from the cask — whichever you choose.
• A room with a fireplace. The tasting room, built of tuff stone with a traditional wooden ceiling and a fireplace, seats 40; it can also host parties and company events.
• The view. From the hillside winery there are views over the vineyards and the plain along the Bodrog.

What to taste and buy

Varietal Tokaj wines — Furmint, Lipovina, Yellow Muscat — dry, semi-dry and semi-sweet, plus cuvées based on them. In future the winery plans to make samorodné and putňa výber wines too. Wine can be bought at the winery or ordered by phone.

Practical information

Address: Viničky 315, 076 31 Viničky — on the slope above the village, in the middle of the vineyard; easiest by car. Tasting bookings: +421 905 316 023, [email protected]; wine orders on weekdays 7:00–15:00 on +421 905 430 545. Tasting prices are not published — ask when booking. For groups the winery can arrange catering from its own kitchen.

Nearby

• Zlatý Strapec Winery in Viničky — Tokaj in a medieval cellar, 600 m.
• MEA GRATI between Viničky and Ladmovce — a winery with vineyard tours.
• Chateau Grand Bari in Veľká Bara — tuff cellars and tastings.

Official website: majerbara.sk

Photos: majerbara.sk.