#govolcanic launch July 2016 – so this is what we’ve been up to
Hungarian Volcanic wines in the UK –
In June 2016, we will be launching our newest project called #govolcanic. It was a working title that we grew to like so much that we kept it.
We are introducing wines from the volcanic and other exquisite growing areas of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire to the UK market. Besides selling these wines, our aim is to arouse interest in these world-class terroirs and the two millennia old winemaking traditions of the region. Our events, therefore, will not simply be about people tasting our wines; we are also offering our participants a virtual guided tour to the microclimate, geology and indigenous grape varietals of our appellations.
As a part of this journey, we will explore and celebrate the entire region as a whole. To make this come alive, we have commissioned a mini-animation about the formation of our so-called ‘Witness Mountains’ – the Hungarian name for the extinct volcanoes from where our core wines come from – and we also asked our photographer, Gabor Nagy to create a photo-portrait series about all our wineries. The focal point is not only the winemakers but also about the land they work on and love.
The participating wineries were selected and recommended by internationally acclaimed wine experts, with initially ten wineries tasked to face this unusual challenge: six from Somló, one from Sopron, one from Balaton, one from Tokaj and one winery from Eger appellation. These are the founder members of our venture.
The inception of this exciting project came from John Szabó, the Canadian-Hungarian Master Sommelier. He has written a book “Volcanic Wines” ( or should we say: THE book ) on the worlds’ volcanic wine regions, which will be published in September 2016. All the regions which we represent are featured in John’s book, with some wineries singled out by name. Perhaps it is not surprising that he himself calls Hungary a ‘volcanic hotspot’. We are immensely proud that John’s Hungarian partner-winery is also amongst our founding members.
The coordination of the growers, the management of the joint logistics and the marketing of the project,is the sole responsibility of Somló Wine Shop‘s UK based company, Witness Mountain Ltd. All our shared events run under one brand name, created from the name of our volcanoes and also our UK company, Witness Mountain Wines.
The branding and graphic design were completed by a London-based agency, To The Point Ltd. It is worth reading their account about the process.
On all the social media platforms, we work with the #govolcanic hashtag. We will also use this as the joint and individual promotion of all of our volcanic wines, regions or growers, hoping that eventually there will be even more new wines available under the Witness brand name.
The ten founding members will début in the UK between 17-19th June, during the First Hungarian Wine Festival. We will be showcasing two wines per winery. Tickets and further information about this event can be found here.
The official launch event of the project is on the 1st of July, in London. It will be an exclusive, invite-only reception. We will be inviting not only MWs, sommeliers and UK wine experts but all those who helped us in the last six months in taking this project off the ground.
Our new Facebook page: www.facebook.com/witnessmountainwines
It is all about our wineries and the upcoming events, with our website set to go live to celebrate our special launch event. You can continue to order our wines from the usual webshop: www.borarum.hu
The #govolcanic project-founder wineries by wine region:
Balaton: 2HA
Eger: J+J ( John Szabó and dr. Stumpf János )
Somló: Fekete Pince, Kolonics Pincészet, Somlói Apátsági Pince, Somlói Vándor Pince, Szóló Szőlő Borház, Tóth Pince,
Sopron: Ráspi Pincészet
Tokaj: Zsirai Pincészet
Balaton: 2HA
Eger: J+J ( John Szabó and dr. Stumpf János )
Somló: Fekete Pince, Kolonics Pincészet, Somlói Apátsági Pince, Somlói Vándor Pince, Szóló Szőlő Borház, Tóth Pince,
Sopron: Ráspi Pincészet
Tokaj: Zsirai Pincészet