GILVESY
BALATON, HUNGARY
Robert Gilvesy grew up on a tobacco farm near Lake Erie. Growing up among his Hungarian parents and grandparents, Robert was imbibed with Hungarian culture from a young age. A trip to Europe in his early teenage years opened his eyes to the world, his culture, and planted the seed that would one day bring about his return.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Robert moved to Hungary where he laid down roots. By 2012, he gained the skills and the vineyards to lay the foundations of Gilvesy. Robert first visited Mount Saint George when he moved to Hungary, there he fell in love with the beautiful back drop, volcanic terroir and the region’s unique characteristics. So when he was ready to start his winery, he knew exactly where he’d do it. Since then, he rehabilitated vineyards that were originally planted in the socialist ’70’s, allowing them to regrow or mature organically and thrive.
Robert has followed the natural wine movement for many years and always admired the vital energy and immediate fruit in the wines but wanted to learn to balance that youthful vitality with the precision, elegance and sense of place his wines were known for. After many years of experimentation, the PIXU wines are the realization of this goal. Across the board, these wines are farmed organically on volcanic soils comprised of basalt, basalt tuff, Pannon loess and sand. The grapes are gently hand-picked. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in large Hungarian oak or foudre barrels, sometimes in concrete egg. Sulfur additions are minimal and as needed, approximately 10-20 mg/l or ppm after fermentation. They’re all bottled unfiltered and are single variety renditions of the majestic landscape of Mount Saint George. From the unique sub-mediterranean climate and volcanic-sedimentary soils of the Balaton, I’m pleased to bring you the wines of Gilvesy.