Gábor Riesz

The Path

At Fekete Pince Somló, the business and sales side gave Gábor Riesz a working view of the estate before he took on cellar responsibility in 2017. That earlier role meant reading the house from more than one angle: how the wines were made, and how the estate carried itself beyond the cellar. By the time he became winemaker at Fekete Pince Somló in 2017, Riesz was already working with the rhythm of the place, its priorities, and the discipline that serious winegrowing asks for.

The Work Today

At Fekete Pince Somló, the work now sits between two kinds of knowledge: what the business and sales side teaches about the estate, and what the cellar demands in shaping wine toward its final form. Riesz’s approach is measured rather than theatrical, with attention on refinement, coherence, and the specific pressures of Somló. The result is a steady calibration of what the site gives and what the winemaker keeps in place, with the estate’s identity held in clear, deliberate terms.

Signature

Fkt Hárslevelű Gábor 2020 and Fekete Béla furmint from 2007 show how Gábor Riesz works within Somló rather than around it. The pair points to a style built on discipline and tension, not correction for its own sake. Their names keep vintage, grape, and place in view, which is where the practice sits: in preserving the character of Somló while letting structure do the work.

In Their Words “In one sentence, it is the search for balance in wine, especially given the high acidity of Hungarian varieties and the extreme minerality of the volcanic soil of Somló.”

Acclaim

The work is framed less as display than as a position on a difficult site. For Riesz, the emphasis stays on balance, persistence, and the demands of Somló’s volcanic ground. Fekete Pince Somló is the setting for that practice, and Gábor Riesz is the hand carrying it forward with an eye on sustainability, structure, and the contours of the place.