Though the region still less known its quality potetial already shines through wines from the most concious estates, while in terms of quantity great possibilites are unevitable. It has a cool climate, so wines boast more acidity but also great aromatic richness. There are many small ambitious cellars and often small vineyards, but there is a beautifully structured, nuanced, varied and rich selection of wines. Many vineyards yield wines, generally Olaszrizling, that are somewhat Slovenian or south Burgenland in style.Viticulture has been documented in the region since the Middle Ages; however, the Celts were also producing wine here, even before the beginning of Roman times. For ages it was part of the South Balaton winelands, the current wine district was created by the 1997 law.The towns and villages belonging to the wine district are scattered around the area of the Zala Hills and the north-western slopes of the Keszthely Hills.Right at the moment it has only 801 fisr class hectares under vine, but the designated are itself can be streched over 6000 hectars. Vines are most often grown on brown forest soils and loess loam soils.
Most of the area is located on gently sloping hills. The core of the hills is made up of the sandy-clay sediments of the former Pannon Lake, with a thin layer of Quaternary loess covering them. The area of Vindornyalak, Vindornyaszőlős and Zalaszantó differs somewhat from the rest of the region’s geology. Here the vineyards are planted on the northern basalt areas of the Keszthely Hills, with the volcanic cone of Tátika rising above them.The climate is relatively temperate, with cooler temperatures than the Hungarian average. It has the country’s highest amount of precipitation at 900 mm, for example, in the Mura subdistrict. (It is interesting, however, that the rain generally falls in concentrated spells, in downpours, so the number of sunshine hours is therefore no lower than other areas of Transdanubia at similar latitudes).It is clearly a white wine region. There are only 182 hectares of black grapes.
Until the last few years, very little of the region’s wine was bottled. It boasts particularly good growing conditions, since the increasingly warm summers have not yet affected acidity as much as in other wine regions. The wines are generally elegant and quite lean, with good acidity and lively, rich aromatics, making them very approachable and drinkable. In all three districts, most wines are light-bodied, yet aromatic and well-structured, often with mineral notes and sometimes with a little residual sugar. They can also be laid down for a few years, especially those wines made from low-yielding vines. They benefit from ageing, with their elegant yet rich flavours best appreciated after about three or four years in bottle.