Zala gets a new identity: Hegyke wine opens a new chapter in Hungarian winemaking

Zala is put back on the map

Zala has rarely been mentioned when it comes to iconic Hungarian wine regions: it lacked a distinctive variety or a unified style, and local wineries were more experimental than market-oriented. Now, however, the joint white wine called Hegyke gives the region a name, character and identity. – this is revealed in a recent article by Pénzcentrum.

Hegyke is not a premium wine, but it is not a mass product either: it is a fresh, lovable, Zala white wine, created together by several wineries. Its aim is to shape the new image of the wine region – with honest, understandable, yet characterful wine, backed by real collaboration.

The crisis in the wine market requires a new approach

The Hungarian wine industry is facing a double challenge today: the declining alcohol consumption of the younger generations and the gradual disappearance of wine from everyday culture.
According to Máté Varga, member of the presidency of the National Council of Mountain Villages, the wine sector must redefine its own role:

“The question is not how to sell wine, but how why would the consumer take it off the shelf again and again.”

According to the profession, the solution lies not only in marketing, but also in quality, style and cultural reframing. The goal is to make wine a natural part of shared meals and family moments again – as in Italy or France.

Community wine brands: the model of the future

In the past decade, community wine brands have brought new impetus to the life of Hungarian wine regions. These are not tied to a single winery, but several producers create a unified style and image based on a common set of rules.
Successful examples:

• BalatonBor – 100% Italian Riesling, with a unified Balaton image,

• Egri Csillag – the white wine counterpart to Egri Bikavér,

• Villányi RedY – a youthful, fruity red wine for the Z generation,

• PH-Érték – the joint cuvée of the Pannonhalma wine region.

Hegyke fits into this line, but it is special in that it is Zala’s first community wine: a kind of professional manifesto that shows that even small, scattered wine regions are able to formulate a unified message.

Young consumers and the new world of taste

The decline in wine consumption is not necessarily a crisis, but also an opportunity: wine-based cocktails, carbonated, light drinks and natural, low-alcohol wines are the most popular among young people. This can open up new directions in innovation and market building.

Hegyke was born in this very spirit: it does not want to appear to be more than it is, but is able to appeal to an open, experimental audience – those who are not snobbish wine tasters, but are looking for a real experience.