In the north-western corner of Hungary, based near Lake Ferto which is also known as Lake Neusiedlersee of Burgenland, Austria, lies Peter Wetzer. A national beacon for the rise of minimal intervention or natural winemaking in the country.
The city is Sopron and is steeped in winemaking traditions with many of the Burgenland winemaking stars we're all familiar with of Hungarian heritage. Peter is the 5th generation living in his house with a 120+ year old attached cellar. In 2007 he purched 2.5 hectares and has steadily grown to the now 3.5 hectares he farms spread over 8 different terroirs. Peter says it was a long hunt for healthy soils that hadn't been affected from the industrial farming that was commonplace during Communism. He found sites that were alive with flora and fauna, healthy cover crops and with exposures that only require 1-2 sprays of sulphur per season.
Everything is done by hand in the vineyard, while all sites are picked and fermented separately. The 120+ year old cellar is ripe with of native microbiological flora and the grapes arrive with extremely healthy yeast populations, allowing for fermentation to take place with only native yeasts and no additives.
Peter's wines are extremely limited and are an exceptional example of what often under-appreciated Hungarian wines can achieve.