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Soproni Wine district
History | National Geography
Vineyards | Origin protection
History
The region was called Scarbantia in Roman times, which is when viticulture began. Following the Hungarian conquest in 895 AD, the first mention of wine production was then in 1230. The letter founding the town of Ödenburg (Sopron) in 1277 also mentions the collection of taxes on wine, and there was already a serious export trade by the 14th century. Sopron never fell into the hands of Turkish invaders in the Middle Ages, and after liberation at the end of the 17th century, the main trade route led here. In the early 18th century, for example, thousands of hectolitres of wine were shipped from Sopron to Silesia each year, and the wine trade was already regulated by law. According to data from 1807, wine growers contributed 37.5% of the city’s tax revenue, with 4,500 of the city’s 10,000 inhabitants engaged in viticulture, winemaking and trading wine. In the 18th century, German settlers continued to replace the Hungarian peasantry which had perished under the Turks. The cohesive, inclusive, ethical and hard-working, conservative and proud Sopronism is rooted in this bourgeoisie, and fragments of it still exist today. The word Poncihter, so often mentioned in connection with Sopron, is a local variant of the word Bohnenzüchter, meaning bean grower.
Decline began after the Treaty of Trianon, which ended World War I (when Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory), as the city was cut off from its markets and the Rust-Sopron-Pozsony wine region was dissolved. This continued with the deportation of Germans after World War II, when the wine-growing population – the soul of the city – was expelled.
The area around the town of Köszeg up to the village of Vaskeresztes is also an integral part of the Sopron wine region. Its vineyards were first mentioned in a document in 1279, and although Bavarian settlers also cultivated about 300 hectares of vines here, vineyards in the Kőszeg area are more likely to have Hungarian names.
Croatian vineyard names such as Gradina, Glavica can also be found in both districts, thanks to the Croats previously fleeing north from the Turks. A well-known Kőszeg miracle is the Book of Vinesprouts, kept since 1740, in which a freshly cut vine shoot is drawn every year on St George’s Day (24 April). There are now around 140 hectares under vine in Kőszeg, and the sector is dynamic and forward-looking. The southern end of the wine region and the wine route, which passes through the beautiful cellars of Cák, Velem and Bozsok, is Vas-hegy, with Vaskeresztes as its capital. A beautiful wine village, it was one of the six most important wine regions in the county in the 18th century.
There was no longer a terroir approach under communism (1945-1990), so there was no need for vineyard names. Moreover, since most growers had been displaced, there were hardly any individual, small-plot vineyards left, and due to quantitative production, viticulture shifted from excellent vineyards to areas capable of producing large quantities.
The last major change in Sopron’s wine history came after the collapse of communism in 1990, when Sopron wines made their sensational debut on the Hungarian market around 2000. Their previously cool, light-bodied, acidic style changed – their acidity had softened, and they had gained textural complexity. Besides the traditional Kékfrankos, deeply coloured, full-bodied Cabernet Franc, Syrah and blends as well as fresh white wines and sparkling wines also appeared – all high quality, even by international standards. It was not only the traditions, knowledge and talent of the Sopron winemaking community that contributed to this initial success, but also the inspirational proximity of Austrian wine culture and Sopron’s wine marketing activities.
The introduction of protection of origin regulations in 2011 also brought significant changes to the Sopron wine region. The wine region took a permissive approach to this, meaning that it did not really set stricter conditions to those laid down in the wine law at that time. Unfortunately, for financial reasons, the wine region also had to decide how many vineyards to demarcate from a geographic information system perspective. Hence, from 2011 onwards, only nine vineyard names remained associated with the city of Sopron and 29 with the wine region.
Natural Geography
The Sopron wine region basically consists of four distinct districts, but geographically, it’s really five. The four “official” districts are Sopron, Kőszeg, Vaskeresztes and Csepreg, but the Fertőszentmiklós area also functions as a separate entity in terms of production. The official area of the wine region in 2025 is 1,300 hectares, down from 1,850 in 2011, unfortunately, demonstrating a constant decline.
The climate with its northern influence is suitable for cool-climate viticulture, with 1,900-2,000 sunshine hours and 600-700 mm rainfall a year. However, clouds forming above the Alps are often blown over by the wind, occasionally also causing heavy downpours.
If the concept of a single vineyard makes sense anywhere, it is in Sopron. In the 19th century, there were 184 registered vineyard names, generally derived from common parlance. It is a very complex area in terms of soil and climate, with a wide variety of soils and an almost ideal composition for winemaking. The bedrock of the Sopron Hills comprises quartzite, various types of crystalline schist, gneiss and leucophyllite, while the cover rock is Leitha limestone or Fertőrákos limestone, with gneissic mica schist also dominating. This is the only place in Hungary where it surfaces, at a depth of 30-60 cm. Besides volcanic bedrock, mica schist is the best mineral for developing wine character, giving wines fabulous structure and terroir character. The bedrock is overlain by deep, highly calcareous Pannonian marine sediment and eroded brown forest floor, sometimes with a mixture of several types of rock within one vineyard.
The climate of the Pannonian plain is also very nuanced, with subalpine influences prevailing around the village of Hara, while the surprisingly warm and well-tempered shore of Lake Fertő, the westernmost of the steppe salt lakes, boasts a sub-Mediterranean mesoclimate. It is therefore crucial to understand which grape variety is most suitable for each distinctly different vineyard, where black grapes and white grapes should be planted, where early and late-ripening varieties flourish, and which parts are more exposed to vintage effects.
The southern part, around Kőszeg and Vaskeresztes, has a cool, subalpine climate, 700-800 mm precipitation and vineyards at an altitude of 300-450 m. Precipitation distribution is generally ideal, but the number of sunshine hours is the lowest in Hungary, at around 1,800 hours, while the average temperature is below 10°C. However, its geography is particularly noteworthy. As geologically younger rocks eroded, older rocks came to the surface and present an extremely varied picture: there is gneiss and sandstone, as well as all kinds of shale (crystalline shale, clay shale), overlain by clayey loam and smooth brown forest soils. The lower slopes are covered by Pleistocene loess and loam resulting from erosion.
Vas-hegy and its surroundings were also formed in the Miocene epoch. Its altitude of about 300 metres and south-eastern exposure make it ideal for viticulture, especially for Kékfrankos. The Austrian wineries on the other side of the hill in South Burgenland have already proven that this is one of the best terroirs in the world for this variety. The hill’s structure demonstrates traces of volcanism, but the oldest formations are Devonian limestone and dolomite, which are more visible on the Hungarian side. Vas-hegy is also home to rare minerals, such as large, centimetre-sized quartz (magnetite, Citrine, olivine). The covering layers of Vas-hegy are Tertiary breccia, clay and gravel.
Vineyards
Verbal descriptions of the wine region’s vineyards have varied enormously over time and not only on the shores of Lake Fertő/Neusidle. Almost every parcel was given a separate name by the locals, the etymology of which are amazing. When drafting the PDO regulations in the early 2010s, limiting this diversity was obviously worthwhile, but the wine region clearly overshot the mark for a rather prosaic reason: the wine community could only finance this amount of cartographic and geo-spatial surveyance. The following will describe the remaining vineyards, but will also mention some of the previous names.
Sopron’s vineyard groups can be divided into three distinct areas: those surrounding the city, the Fertő lakeshore and the Harka plateau. The only named vineyard around the city is Dudless, a vast area stretching almost to the edge of the city, right up to the old bypass. However, the new bypass, the M85 motorway, has cut the vineyard in two. The area inside the M85 is essentially what is known as Virágvölgy and is still highly regarded by locals, despite its varied eastern, southeastern and even northeastern exposures. It’s divided into tiny plots, making commercial winemaking difficult; moreover, it’s constantly being eaten up by the city. The northern part is completely different – purely east-facing and covered by large-scale, industrial vineyards.
The Harka plateau lies south of the city, yet this is where crisp white wines are generally produced. It is characterised by clayey soils and has two named vineyards, Kogl, which lies between two municipalities (Sopron and Harka), and Nap-hegy. The former is indeed a high, relatively flat plateau at roughly the same altitude of 220-240 metres. It’s cool thanks to its altitude, so Irsai Olivér and Zöldveltelini (Grüner Veltliner) really thrive here.
The vineyards along the shore of Lake Fertő are divided into two parts by the village of Balf. In the southern part towards Fertőboz, Hard is the largest vineyard, covering over 150 hectares, with – as the name suggests – hard, gravelly soil, mainly producing Kékfrankos and Zweigelt.
Sopron’s most important vineyards, the core area, the grand cru part, so to speak, are the seven plus one vineyards north of Balf: from south to north, Steiger, Weidengrund, Steiner, Harmler, Frettner, Rothepeter, Savanyúkút/Sauerbrunn and finally the extra one, the Új-hegy/Neuberg (Note that with two exceptions, the vineyards do not have Hungarian names.)
The lakeside area therefore boasts the best terroir, with vineyards strung along the main axis of the Balf ridge facing the lake, most of them on east-southeastern slopes with specific micro- and mesoclimates. Even in bad vintages, grapes sugars here are three degrees higher at harvest than the regional average. The south-facing slopes near the water even used to yield fabulous Aszú in better vintages, two years in every ten on average, but this phenomenon has been minimised by climate change. The slopes near Lake Fertő/Neusidl are typically east-southeast-facing and slope towards the lake.
The wine region’s northernmost point is Új-hegy/Neuberg, located north of Fertőrákos, almost on the Austrian border. It drops from an altitude of around 200 metres to around 160 metres as it approaches the lake, and is a prime example of the glittering mica schist soil that gives wines their distinctive terroir character and structure.
The first vineyard south of Fertőrákos, the limestone Savanyú-kút/Sauerbrunn, was named after its springs. Kékfrankos grows on the vineyard’s limestone soils, while Cabernet and Merlot can be found on the brown forest soil of its lower part. It has an interesting U-shape, reaching 230 metres at its highest point, then sloping northwards in two sections to around 120 metres.
The next vineyard is the 80-hectare Rothepeter, the lower part of which is alluvial, the upper part stony. Merlot, Pinot Noir and Kékfrankos are grown here as well as on the slightly smaller, stony Frettner vineyard above it. (Incidentally, the Kalte Irnfried and Warmer Irnfried vineyards are now part of Frettner, as is the Kronberg.) The Rothepeter drops from 190 metres to 120-130 metres to the southeast, while the similarly exposed Frettner falls from 220 metres to 170 metres, opening into the Hammler, which covers about 100 hectares. The latter has varied soils, with its westernmost point rising to over 230 metres, running almost steadily eastwards down to the lake.
The Steiner consists of stony schist. This relatively soft, layered, cracked schist is ideal for viticulture, with Pinot Noir, Kékfrankos, Syrah, Zweigelt and Furmint all thriving here. Its former name, Spern Steiner, was well established on the Hungarian market by a renowned winery around the 2000s, so it was perhaps a pity to have abandoned it. Today’s Steiner starts at 215 metres and descends eastwards, reaching the road at around 135 metres.
At over 200 hectares, the Weidengrund is huge and is mixed in almost every respect, with both large and small plots, and planted with Korai Piros Veltelini, Zenit, Kékfrankos and even Syrah. It stretches almost to the southeastern edge of the city, rising to over 200 metres at this point and reaching the lakeside at around 140 metres.
The Steigler is the southernmost vineyard on the Lake Fertő shore, stretching to the border of Balf and covering an area of about 100 hectares. Rising to almost 200 metres, it is a south-facing slope that basks in the beneficial light and humidity of the lake.
Of the other parts of the wine region, Kőszeg has the largest area under vine, although as already mentioned, this has already fallen below 300 hectares and now in 2025, this figure will likely be 260-270 hectares. Yet, with the creation of the Kőszeg PDO (protected designation of origin), it has attained an independent entity, which, as already explained, makes sense. The Kőszeg PDO names 16 vineyards, three of which are in Cák, two in Kőszegdoroszló and eleven in Kőszeg. Vaskeresztes is following a completely different path. The border bisects one of the world’s best Kékfrankos terroirs, and while the Austrian side has already proven this (Deutsch Sützen, Krutzler. etc.), the Hungarian side is still undervalued, and there are fewer and fewer recognised Hungarian branded wines. The district, which is still part of the Sopron PDO, not only comprises Vaskeresztes, but also includes Felsőcsatár, to such an extent that the Vas-hegy vineyard itself belongs to this village. Finally, mention should be made of the two remaining districts. In recent years, a small community of conscientious winemakers has established itself around Csepreg, cultivating three named vineyards. There are also three named vineyards in the Fertőszentmiklós area, while there is only one above Fertőszéplak.
Origin protection
Hungarian wine origin protection was given a unified structure in 2012 in the form of product specifications. It is worth mentioning here a derogation unique in Europe regarding the processing of Sopron grapes. Thanks to close historical ties, Sopron grapes may also be processed in the neighbouring Austrian regions of Neusiedlersee, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland and Mittelburgenland and still retain the Sopron name.
The first step in tightening regulations in 2016 was the inclusion of Premium wines, which highlighted Kékfrankos alongside white and red wines. It is particularly interesting that during this modification, the designation Ödenburg/Ödenburger was also introduced alongside the Sopron/Soproni designation. The wine region also underwent significant change in 2021 when the Kőszeg wineries announced their intention to apply for their own PDO, which created a rather controversial situation. The Kőszeg PDO was finally established and set stricter conditions than the Sopron product specification. This resulted in a somewhat ambivalent situation where the “little brother” is emphasising a kind of premium quality, while marketing its own wines that don’t meet these stricter conditions as Sopron wines.
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