Reka Koncz, Freilufkino

Grapes: Királyleányka, Rhine Riesling, Hárslevelű and Furmint 

Place: Barabás, Hungary

ABV: 11.0%

Colour: Sparkling

Vintage: 2019

PRODUCER PROFILE

We're obsessed with Réka Konz, a female-founded & run estate in Hungary near the Ukrainian border.  Annamária Réka Konz studied enology and got her Masters in Agriculture, then traveled around working in vineyards and settled in Copenhagen.  After this natural wine immersion, she realized she had everything she needed to make her own natural wine in the place where she grew up, so she returned to her hometown near the village of Barabás and bought 3 acres. Since her first release in 2016, she is the only commercial producer in a once highly regarded but currently forgotten region, where the climate and soils are more akin to nearby Tokaj. According to our importer, Eric Danch, "her vines are crazy,  with 6-10 foot arms sprawling out with multiple birds nests burrowed in. The place is buzzing with birds, bugs, and even some openings to badger dens. As you walk around you eventually end up at an obelisk with the colors of the Hungarian flag. The border with Ukraine and within eyesight, you can also see occupied guard towers on the next few hills over. The biological and geopolitical diversity here is palpable".