By Dan Galombos
On the last Saturday of summer in southern Hungary, the vines in the hills hung heavy with grapes as the harvest was approaching. To celebrate the close of the season, on August 29th, the village of Palkonya opened its cellars and invited guests from all around to try their wine and go from door to door, trying different foods, pastries, and wine. The celebration’s official name is Palkonyai Sz眉reti Nyitott Pinc茅k, or Palkonya Harvest Open Cellars. Promoted by organizers to be the last toast of the summer. Unlike most Hungarian wine festivals, the entry is free, with no gates, no wristbands, and no tickets needed. It was all spread through the cellar row with the wineries surrounding, which complemented the setting very well as visitors were
able to stroll at their own pace.
Palkonya, in Baranya County, just northwest of Villany, calls itself a 鈥済astro village.鈥 It is the one-street settlement that exceeds expectations in food and wine production. The signature landmark is a hillside with about 50 press houses. These press houses were built in the tradition of the German vine growers who originally settled in that area in the 18th century. Somewhere along my way down this row, I ordered a glass of 2024 Portugieser. It was definitely my most notable wine of the night, with a light and fruity red, which I didn’t find out only after that Villany had actually been known for. It was the perfect wine to enjoy in a late summer evening among fellow enthusiasts.
I really enjoyed the idea that visitors were rather urged to keep moving instead of staying in one spot. Opened at 2 pm with the Birtok DJ Crew at the Haraszti Estate on the hill. Acoustic sets were rotating along the cellar row, with a bohemian brass band set off from Zsirai Winery;the entire village was quickly transformed into an on-the-move concert. As the sun set, Varga Cellar threw a retro party at 8pm, and toward Mokos Winery, DJ Ready, Milan Koosz, ran past 10:30. Regional newspaper Bama described the village as full of life again that weekend, allowing guests to discover the local wineries one cellar at a time. For producers, that kind of foot traffic turns first-time tasters into returning customers.
Palkonya is not done for the year. The village is already preparing for its St. Martin’s Day cellar walks on November 7 and 14, when Hungarians traditionally taste the season’s new wine. But for anyone who wants to see the Vill谩ny region at its most relaxed, the harvest open cellars may be the better introduction: no ticket, no rush, just a hillside of open doors and one last warm evening of summer.
