Attila Szentpéteri Jr. is one of the distinctive figures of the Kunság wine region, shaping his wines through family traditions, conscious planning and an experimental mindset. From Néró to sparkling wines, every decision is backed by consistent work and personal stories.
“It is a lifestyle,” says our host from the Kunság, Attila Szentpéteri Jr., briefly and aptly summing up why he chose Ford pickup trucks. Alongside the personal connection, of course, there are plenty of rational arguments too: the vehicle works just as well in the vineyard as it does in the city, the family fits comfortably inside, and during harvest season the cargo bed is indispensable. One could say that we showed him the latest Ford Ranger hybrid model, and in return he showed us around the family winery and told us about everyday life in the Kunság wine region. The meeting began in Kiskőrös, at La’Róna bistro and wine bar, where we started the day with lunch and a wine tasting. Attila welcomed us with a Kadarka brut blanc de noir sparkling wine, whose elegant bubbles, delicate fruitiness and refined structure served as the perfect introduction to the winery’s style.
“My grandfather started writing the story of the winery with a few Kadarka vines. He grew grapes and made wine from them on a very small, hobby level. Then came my father, who made quality our guiding principle, and I bless him for that,” Attila says, recalling the beginnings. The Kunság wine region is Hungary’s largest wine region, yet a few generations ago it was not known for its quality wines. Its image was shaped far more by mass production. “At the same time, as my father likes to say, it was not only here that mischievous winemakers lived,” he adds. Quantity-based grape growing still plays a defining role today. “Without it, the sector would still be in serious trouble. Unfortunately, flavescence dorée, which has now reached the Kunság wine region as well, is a huge problem. If it spreads, it could seriously affect the entire industry. This summer we will already see the extent to which it affects us. It is moving north from the southern part of the wine region, producers in Soltvadkert have already detected it, and we are only twenty kilometres apart.”
Turning towards quality
The shift towards quality is therefore linked to Attila Szentpéteri Sr., who began planting consciously, adapting to the characteristics of the vineyards. “We would not be sitting here now if he had not planted, for example, in the Csábori vineyard, which is one of the best areas of the Kunság wine region. We also have another outstanding vineyard with heavier, more clayey, chernozem-like and brown forest soils. In the northern part of Kőrös, lighter, sandy soils are typical, and these also have excellent qualities.” The diversity of the wine region lies precisely in this variation of soils. “We are primarily the home of light, fruity, fresh, reductive white and rosé wines, and this is what we also emphasise. These light-structured soils produce uniquely fruity wines, which suit the wine region particularly well. At the same time, sparkling wine production has also confirmed the potential: our sparkling wine made from Kadarka grown on sand won a gold medal at the sparkling wine world championship. It has complexity, while the sandy soil also gives it a certain airy lightness and elegance. These vineyards certainly play a role in that.”
Néró in the spotlight
“Respect for tradition is very important to us: on our 50-hectare estate we work with around twenty varieties, and roughly half of them are traditional local varieties.” The assortment therefore reflects both the past and the present. “Kadarka still plays a defining role today, as my grandfather began the story with it. Irsai Olivér is just as indispensable, and today it produces popular, reductive, aromatic wines. It can be found in almost every wine region and is one of the most popular varieties in Hungary.” At the same time, the winery is also open to new directions. “Néró deserves special attention: it is a resistant Hungarian variety that originally started out as a dual-purpose table grape. It has a very unique, intensely fruity character, and excellent rosés and other wine styles can be made from it.”
Introducing the variety was not without resistance. “My father brought it to the Kunság, and at the time he received both praise and criticism for it, because many people thought the wine region already had too wide a range of varieties, so why add another one.” The story began with a visit to Eger. “My parents visited the Eger Research Institute, where a friend working there showed them an experimental rosé made from a blend of Néró and Merlot.” The encounter proved decisive. “My father really fell in love with this variety. Today we are also experimenting with it in organic cultivation, as it is extremely resistant to fungal diseases.” They started with just a few vines in the early 2000s, and today they grow the variety on 13.5 hectares. Néró has since become a real success story. “In our wine region, almost every leading winery makes Néró rosé, and several well-known names, such as Csaba Koch and Tamás Günzer, also work with it.”
Szentpéteri Winery works with the variety in several styles. “In addition to rosé, we also make siller and a Beaujolais-style light red wine from it, and we are also experimenting with a large-barrel selection.” The future promises further excitement. “There is already a very dense base wine waiting in the cellar, which my father simply calls the ‘big beast’. We also made a traditional-method sparkling wine from the 2024 vintage. We have already tasted it and it is developing nicely, but sparkling wine needs time. It will certainly need another year or two for the fruitiness, complexity and harmony to fully come together.”
The path of bubbles
Sparkling wine production at the winery is now clearly linked to Attila Szentpéteri Jr. “I attended the Soós István Secondary School of Viticulture and Winemaking, then graduated as a winemaker from Corvinus University in 2010, and the subject of my thesis was traditional-method sparkling wine production. My consultant was teacher Ferenc Janky. I remember him coming to our cellar, we sat down on a small stool, and that was where we mixed the tirage liqueur. That was when I truly fell in love with it.” His attraction to bubbles thus became a serious professional direction. “In 2010, we made one hundred bottles of Sárfehér sparkling wine, experimenting with different yeasts. It turned out very well and gave us serious confirmation,” he says.
After graduation, Attila also gained experience abroad. “In 2010 I went to the Rhineland to work the harvest and gain professional experience, then in November I joined the daily life of the family estate.” This also marked the beginning of an especially valuable period. “It was a wonderful experience that for a while three generations worked together: my grandfather, my father and me. We had a small Kadarka parcel that only the three of us cultivated, pruned and harvested. It was a real family story: Grandpa cooked a good stew, we worked together and celebrated together. I miss those times very much.” Today, he and his father continue to guide the professional direction of the winery together, but the presence of the rest of the family is also defining. “I have two younger sisters: Aliz stayed in finance in Budapest, while Flóra studied hospitality and tourism and came home, so she has also become involved in the life of the estate.”
Vince and Bella
“It was my wife’s idea to name our son Vince, and I liked it immediately.” There is also a particularly beautiful story behind the choice of name. “He is a true harvest baby: he was born on 27 August 2024, the day we harvested Kadarka. We harvested, processed the grapes, my wife went to the hospital, I went home to take a shower, and then the phone rang saying I should come. I was with them all night, and by morning Vince was born.” Today, a premium red wine also bears his name, the 2024 Vince Cuvée, which is still a young wine for now. “My little daughter Izabella is a very lively girl, and I definitely wanted to name a wine after her too.” This is how Bella was born, the winery’s sweetest dessert wine. “The first Bella was named after Izabella, and it has always held a special place in the assortment. The first version was made from a 2019 wine, which reached its final form in 2021. It appeared on the shelves on 30 April 2021, Izabella’s birthday. At that time it was made from Generosa, and even the first vintage was very successful.”
“Generosa is a relatively new variety that is reliable from a viticultural point of view and also easy to shape in the cellar. It accumulates sugar well, which makes it particularly suitable for late-harvest wines.” Its origin also defines its character. “It was created by crossing Ezerjó and Piros Tramini: it carries both the firm acidity of Ezerjó and the delicacy and floral aromas of Tramini.” It truly shows its strengths as a late-harvest wine. “The berries do not become botrytised, but the variety has excellent sugar-accumulating ability, which makes it an ideal base for sweet wines. That is why we started experimenting with it, and in the end it became a particularly successful late-harvest dessert wine.”
The 2024 harvest brought new surprises: the continuation of Bella was ultimately made from Sauvignon Blanc. The variety is better known for fresh, lively wines, and few in Hungary have experimented with it as a late-harvest wine. “Even before the harvest it was clear that the vintage might be suitable for this. With us, everything is the result of conscious planning. Originally, we were thinking of Generosa for the next Bella as well, but when we saw in early August how quickly the Sauvignon Blanc was accumulating sugar, we decided it was worth trying. We harvested it at the end of September with high sugar levels and fine acidity, then fermented it in tank to preserve the freshness of the variety and its green, grassy notes. At the same time, thanks to the late harvest, dried fruit aromas also appeared, such as dried apricot.” Barrel ageing also played a role in shaping the structure of the wine. “About 40 percent of the wine matured in barrel for half a year. Harmony is very important to us: the goal is not for the barrel to overpower the wine. The same is true for the sugar. Balance with the acidity is essential so that the wine does not become heavy, but retains its freshness.” The result is a complex, layered wine. “The barrel enriches the structure with subtle vanilla and spicy notes and gives it a beautiful finish. This is how Bella comes together: a complex, late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc.”
According to plan
Attila mentions conscious planning several times during our conversation. “We often sit at this table,” he says in their downtown tasting room, where we also meet his father. The most beautiful part of the work is when they sit down to taste, learning through other wines. The other part, however, is a much more structured process. “Planning starts at the desk. Before harvest, we write down our ideas, the market demands, and from these we build the goal for the next vintage.” The ideal time for planning is a few weeks before harvest, because by then they can already see what each grape is capable of and how the given vintage is developing. Implementation also takes place entirely in-house: every step of the process remains within the winery.
“The good thing is that you can never get bored,” Attila says with a laugh. “Today, the cellar is more my primary territory, although in the past I got out to the vineyard more often, and it is always good to be there because it brings calm. I have a right-hand man, Józsi, the cellar master, and another colleague joined him recently. The three of us now handle the cellar tasks, from filtration and fining to racking and preparing for bottling. Bottling is also part of my responsibilities. If we had to separate the roles very sharply, my father would be more responsible for viticulture and plant protection, while I would primarily be responsible for winemaking. In practice, however, the two are closely intertwined, and we make every decision together.” The third pillar of the family division of labour is his sister. “Flóra deals with marketing and maintaining contacts, and that is more or less how the family winery operates.”
Thinking as a community
“There are about 15 to 20 of us who are trying to show the true, quality face of the wine region under the name Igazi Kunság.” The strength of the community lies in thinking together: they taste together, brainstorm together, and strengthen the region’s presence through joint appearances. “We have also taken part in several outdoor and indoor tastings in Kecskemét under the quality banner of the Kunság.” Professional relationships extend in other directions as well. “The Junibor community is very important, bringing together young winemakers, and it has now expanded beyond the borders too.” The collaboration provides not only inspiration, but also a strong professional background. “Every year we organise a joint professional trip, which really brings us together, but we can also count on each other in everyday life. If help is needed, we can quickly turn to each other and learn from one another.” Passing on knowledge also plays an important role. “We would also like to address young people, which is why we hold wine knowledge courses at universities. We have been working with the University of Pécs for the second year now, and in a few weeks I will go there again to teach a class combined with a tasting. The students are looking forward to it and are very open to the subject.”
A football jersey in rosé pink
In the tasting room, football trophies stand alongside wine awards. The love of sport is just as much a part of the family story as winemaking. “My father was also an excellent footballer, he even played for the Hungarian national team at youth level, but an injury stopped him.” Attila then took over the baton. “When I went to the Soós István Secondary School in Budafok, I played football throughout my secondary school years and then during university as well. Sport has accompanied me throughout my life. We still have a team today and compete in the city small-pitch championship under the name Nero SC. We have a very good team and regularly finish on the podium. Among our successes, the Szilveszter Cup is especially memorable, as it is one of the most important tournaments in the region. It is a three-day cup series held between the two holidays, with teams arriving from all over Bács-Kiskun county, around thirty in total. At the most recent tournament, they stood on the top step of the podium. And the colour of their kit is, naturally, pink, referring to the shade of Néró.
Author: Eszter Tiefenthaler
Photo: Miklós Acsai
Ford Ranger PHEV Stormtrak
It has it all
We travelled from Budapest to Kiskőrös in Europe’s first plug-in hybrid pickup, which gave us the chance to thoroughly test this cargo-bed off-roader in city, motorway and off-road conditions alike. Our car came in the fully equipped Stormtrak version, with a unique “storm grey” paint finish.
It is a utility vehicle, an off-roader and a luxury car all at once. It almost commands the road, helped of course by its large size and serious performance. The interior is tasteful and comfortable, with washable leather surfaces, white contrast stitching and practical buttons. The large touchscreen, with clear graphics, fast response times and an easy-to-follow menu, helps you navigate the functions. The front seats are comfortable, the seating position is excellent, and there are enough charging points and storage compartments. In the rear row, legroom requires only a minimal compromise.
Our car was surprisingly quiet, especially in EV mode. In this setting only the electric motor drives the vehicle, allowing a range of up to 43 kilometres, so we crossed Budapest with zero emissions. Once on the motorway, the 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine immediately helped during acceleration, smoothly but with serious force when needed. Its automatic gearbox has 10, yes ten, speeds, and the gears can also be shifted using buttons. Numerous driver assistance systems made our journey safer.
At the wine estate, we had the opportunity to try the Ranger in deep sand, on gravel roads and along muddy, earthy vineyard tracks. For these conditions, as well as for icy and paved roads, there are separately selectable driving modes. With 4x4 drive and even differential lock available, we felt that there was no obstacle it could not overcome, while its ride comfort was more car-like than truck-like.
By the end of the day, when we returned to Budapest, the average consumption display showed exactly 9 l/100 km, which is a very reasonable figure for a 4x4 pickup of this weight and size, with a total output of 281 horsepower. It is a truly more nature-friendly alternative to its diesel siblings.
One more interesting detail: hidden sockets can be ordered for the side of the cargo bed to power electric tools, which is an extremely practical aid on construction sites, for example, but can also prove useful in vineyards and wineries.
Test driver and text: Attila Gerencsér