The Csopak wine (the Csopaki)
The village of Csopak is the centre of the historical wine community of the same name. It includes the vineyards of five villages (Csopak, Paloznak, Lovas, Alsóörs, Felsőörs).
The Csopak wine we know today and the rules for its production are based on centuries- old traditions. Csopak is a proctected under the EUregulation governing protection of designations of origin (PDO). Only 200 hectares of land can use the Csopak PDO, making Csopak one of the smallest protected areas in Europe. It is also unique in that it is the only Hungarian PDO that can be used for only one type of wine: a dry white wine, which can be blended with a small amount of Furmint in addition to the main component, olaszrizling.
Local history
– Roman beginnings –
The first commercial wine production in the present-day vineyards of Csopak began in the 3rd century. After the Romans organised the province of Pannonia, veteran legionaries who served here were allocated a parcel of 4 square kilometres of land per family after their discharge. The favourable microclimate of the Balaton highlands made it a suitable place for them to settle. In the 3rd century, the patrician Claudius family of northern Italian descent appeared in the area as investors and bought up a large number of veteran smallholdings. In Baláca, 6 km as the crow flies from Csopak, they established the largest villa estate in Pannonia, which in its heyday included 10,000 ha of farmland. In addition to cereals, cotton and meat production, the estate also produced considerable quantities of wine, and the vineyards were located between present-day Csopak and Paloznak.
– Slavic and church continuity –
After the Romans abandoned Pannonia at the end of the 4th century, the locals continued the wine culture. The village of Paloznak, which means “place under the vineyards”, is a reminder of the Slavic tribes who settled here. After the Hungarian conquest and the establishment of Christian Hungary, the vineyards of Csopak and Paloznak came under the church's control thanks to the presence of the Bishopric of Veszprém and the Benedictines in Tihany. The Guden chart of Paloznak, dated 1079, is the oldest donation chart of vineyard in the country, in which the Knight Guden requests and receives approval from King Saint László to donate his vineyards to the parish of Paloznak. Until the historical storms of the 20th century, the vineyards of the area were dominated by the church.
– The emergence of modern Csopaki –
The Olaszrizling grape probably first appeared in Csopak in the first half of the 19th century, through Austrian mediation, and became one of the components of the vineyards, and was then planted in mixed vineyards, but mainly with Furmint and many
other local varieties. The phylloxera epidemic in the second half of the century completely wiped out the vines in the area. During the vineyard reconstruction after the epidemic had subsided, farmers clearly opted for planting Olaszrizling and within a short time, the former mixed vineyards were replaced by more reliable and better quality single vineyards of Olaszrizling. The variety has adapted very well to the local climate and soil conditions and has found a real home in Csopak. Alongside Olaszrizling, Furmint has remained in use as a blending acid variety, whose role is becoming increasingly important as the climate changes. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Csopak wine has steadily grown in popularity and has become nationally known. The vineyards of Csopak became known as a prime production area. For wine connoisseurs, Csopak became a byword for Olaszrizling, and Csopaki was born!
– Csopak Renaissance –
In Csopak, an unparalleled local cooperation has helped to renew the wine culture in
recent years, building on the traditions of the past century or more:
As a result of the joint work of the producers and the Csopak Municipality, the Csopak Codex trademark protection system was established in 2010, which regulated the production of wines applying for the trademark from the pruning to the bottling.
In 2017, based on the rules of the Csopak Codex and on the initiative of the Nationwide Council of Wine Communities, Csopak was granted recognition as an independent protected designation of origin and became a closed production area within the Balaton wine region. From then on, wines from this area can be officially produced only with the controlled use of Olaszrizling and Furmint. This means that, uniquely in Hungary, only in Csopak can a PDO be used exclusively for a specific type of wine.
On the initiative of the Csopak Municipality, the Csopak vineyards have been classified as a protected natural area of local importance.