Magazine: Pioneering role in the market II.

Ákos Kamocsay is perhaps the best-known Hungarian winemaker among European consumers. Hilltop Neszmély Zrt.’s co-owner was voted Winemaker of the Year in the United Kingdom two years earlier than in Hungary.

He told our magazine that Hilltop constantly monitors trends in the market and adopts new ideas quickly. Hungary’s climate makes it possible for the company to make wines that suit the taste of modern consumers. They are also lucky because of their strong presence in the UK: the market there is 4-5 years ahead of Hungary’s and Neszmély’s British experiences are incorporated into their business strategy. At the end of 1993 the company started building a state-of-the-art 100,000-hectolitre capacity wine complex in Neszmély. Today quality grapes are grown on 450 hectares in Neszmély, but the company also owns vineyards in Szekszárd. They are now capable of providing UK partners with quality wines around the year, but Mr Kamocsay added that the success of their wines always depends on the current image of the country, too. He also told that Hungarian consumers discovered their wines in the second half of the 1990s, partly due to their Cserszegi Fűszeres (rechristened Woodcutters by the British) coming home with the White Wine of the Year title from the prestigious international Wine Challenge in 1998. Having been named Winemaker of the Year in 1999 also proved Neszmély’s concept: the Hilltop product line consists of wines with a good price-value ratio that are in line with modern consumption trends. Domestic sales keep growing and recently Hilltop wines got an elegant and youthful new design. Their premium wines are also popular among consumers and they keep returning from major international competitions with medals. Hilltop Neszmély Zrt.’s mission is to prove that making quality wine isn’t the privilege of wineries that produce in small volume.