# Óra (2021)

- **Producer:** Annamária Réka Koncz
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Királyleányka, Rhine Riesling, Furmint, Hárslevelű
- **Region:** North Great Plain, Hungary
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.0%
- **Average price:** €38
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** orange, peach, apricot, pear, ginger, fennel, blossom, toast, butter, dried apricot, honey, mushroom, forest floor, wet leaves, cinnamon

## About this wine

Annamária Réka Koncz is a pioneering natural winemaker in northeastern Hungary, near the Ukrainian border in Barabás. As the first winemaker in her family, she pursued studies in agriculture and yeast microbiology in Copenhagen, followed by internships across Europe before returning to revive neglected old-vine volcanic vineyards. Her Óra cuvée is a reflection of this unique terroir, aiming to capture a highly specific, structural, and complex sense of place rather than a generic orange wine profile.

## Interesting facts

- Winemaker Annamária Réka Koncz once wrote a teenage essay stating she wanted to become a grape to give her life for a good wine.
- The vineyards are located in Barabás, an isolated village situated extremely close to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border.
- The whimsical label art was custom-designed by Melbourne-based artist Aaron Billings.

## Food pairing

This skin-contact orange wine possesses both high volcanic acidity and a light structural tannin grip, making it exceptionally versatile. It cuts beautifully through rich, fatty proteins like pork belly or oily fish, while its complex ginger and spice aromatics complement dishes featuring warm spices, dandelions, or savory umami-rich sauces.

## Wine making process

A co-fermented field blend of Királyleányka, Rhine Riesling, Furmint, and Hárslevelű from 40 to 60-year-old organic vines. The grapes are spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts in egg-shaped fermenters and fiberglass tanks, undergoing 4 to 5 days of skin-contact maceration. Pressing is done gently using an old-fashioned wooden basket press. The wine is aged on its lees in neutral containers and bottled completely unfined, unfiltered, and with minimal sulfur addition.