Moric (Hungary)

The ski instructor who ignores borders

Before Roland Velich became Austria's most influential Blaufränkisch grower, he earned his living as a ski instructor and croupier. In 2001 he founded Moric in Burgenland with a radical vision: to vinify Blaufränkisch like Burgundian Pinot Noir, with elegance rather than opulence and restraint rather than over-extraction. In 2023 Falstaff named him Winemaker of the Year.

The Hidden Treasures are his next chapter. For Velich, the Austro-Hungarian border is a line on paper, not a viticultural reality. Historically Burgenland belonged to Hungary, the grape varieties are the same, and the soils are volcanically related. With the Hidden Treasures he links young Hungarian winemakers with his philosophy of minimal intervention: spontaneous fermentation, no fining, no compromise.

Three volcanoes, three treasures

The series brings together three winemakers from three volcanic regions of Hungary. In Tokaj, Gergő Filep works just six hectares with ancient Furmint vines. His vineyards lie on soils of volcanic tuff and loess, the same sites that once produced wines that cost two to three times as much as Burgundy or Château Margaux at the courts of Europe. Tokaji Aszú was the "wine of kings" before the history of the 20th century cut Hungary off from the world wine market.

On Somló, Hungary's smallest wine region, Tamás Kis farms his parcels organically. Somló is a single volcanic cone with jet-black basalt soils, where Hárslevelű and Furmint grow with a minerality reminiscent of liquid stone. Kis is considered one of the country's most talented young winemakers.

On Lake Balaton, the Swiss Philipp Oser founded the Villa Tolnay estate in 2004. On the northern slopes above the lake, around the extinct Badacsony volcano, he grows Rajnai Rizling (as Hungarians call Riesling) and Furmint on weathered basalt soils.

Forgotten greatness, a new generation

Hungary's wine history is one of the oldest and most tragic in Europe. While Tokaji Aszú was regarded as the most precious drink at the courts of Versailles and St Petersburg, phylloxera, two world wars and four decades of planned economy wiped out the collective memory. The state wineries produced quantity instead of quality, and the old sites ran wild.

Velich's Hidden Treasures are part of a quiet revolution. Producers such as Királyudvar in Tokaj have already revived the old greats. The three Hidden Treasures winemakers go one step further, combining the historical heritage with the natural wine philosophy. No cultured yeasts, no fining, no filtration; instead, authentic wines that taste as if someone had turned the clock back 150 years.

Pannonian minerality in the glass

What all three regions share is volcanic soils. Tuff, basalt, ash: this geological signature shapes every wine in the series. The Hidden Treasures Nr. 2 from Somló shows this minerality most clearly: salty, smoky, with a texture like polished stone. The Tokaj Furmint brings the region's classic acid structure, the Balaton blend the aromatic freshness of Riesling.

Velich does not make the wines himself; he advises, selects and curates. The signature remains that of the Hungarian winemakers. His contribution is the connection: Austrian know-how meets Hungarian terroir, Moric philosophy meets Pannonian tradition. A network that keeps growing.