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Latest News

New Restaurants and Shops in Budapest offer our wines
We are proud that more and more restaurants and shops are listing our wines on their wine menu.
The new restaurants and shops are :
- Borssó Bistro
- Olimpia Étterem
- Boráruda
- Cáfé Pierrot
- 21 A Magyar Vendéglő
- Pest Buda Vendéglő

Please also use the Google Map below, to easy navigate to all restaurants and shops offering our wines.

How to obtain Villa Sandahl Wines in Hungary ?
Click on the map below to see on Google maps where to find Villa Sandahl wines in Hungary.

Pampetrics Borkereskedés
Villa Sandahl wines are now on the shelves in the fantastic wine shop Pampetrics Borkereskedés , located close to the center of Keszthely.
The owner Pampetrics György (to the left in picture) is a truly skilled and passionate wine lover, and he especially likes wines to be bottle mature. He sells from a storage of more than 1800 different wines.
Villa Sandahl now available in Gödöllő.
The fine bakery and delicatessen shop Rádi Pékség és Delikátesz , located in Gödöllő, a town 20 minutes east of Budapest, is now selling Villa Sandahl wines.
Genesis Vineyard Rhine Riesling harvest and pressing
The whole 2011 growth season is the driest in records (as was 2010 autumn the wettest). The grape skin is thick with sharp tannins and the grapes don't taste fully ripe due to drought stress. The 7th of October our vineyards get a full day of 'magic rain', followed by 10 sunny days with cold nights, which make the tannins soften up without the grapes being diluted. At the 17th of October we harvested 8 tons of glorious raw material, with enough acidity and sugar.

Regina Papp, and Anikó Kada, co-editor & sales, of web site 'We Love Budapest' and Szaraz Istvan, internet communication, dry, visit Villa Sandahl for a vineyard tour and tasting. Very Pleasant.
Prominent professionals visit Villa Sandahl, from left:
- Varga Dániel Gergely,Baldaszti's ,with fiancée Dóra Békefi
- Peller Ágnes, VinCE Magazine
- Pongrácz Péter, chief sommelier Costes Restaurant
- Soós Katalin, wine broker Budapest, Villa Sandahl
- Bakó Ambrus, wine maker, Villa Sandahl
- Romhányi Mónika, MTV Zrt
- Christer Sandahl, quality manager part owner, Villa Sandahl
- Sipos Tamás, Vinotaurus
We are proud to get such overwhelming recognition for our wine operation, which will encourage us a lot to strive on.
The Villa Sandahl core team at Costes in Budapest

A party for the passionate core team of Villa Sandahl is held in Costes restaurant in Budapest. The peak of the evening is to 'buy back' a 2010 Rhine Riesling 'Recept' for 17 000 Ft and compare with a 2007 Szepsy Furmint Urbán at 25 000 Ft, these two being Costes most expensive white dry wines. The outcome is that one challenge still remains.
Villa Sandahl exhibit at Borjour in Baudapest
In the nice restaurant 'Manna' in Budapest, wine tasting exhibitions called 'borjour' are arranged frequently. The visitors can mingle in a relaxed atmosphere and taste with some food. 2008 Silver Line was voted very good by the visitors.
First Villa Sandahl Olasz Rizling
From the newly acquired vineyard 'Earl Ridge', 4000 kg Olasz Rizling was picked in end of September. This very appreciated grape in Hungary, does resemble some Rhine Riesling character, but the varieties are not closely related. The whole season has been hot an torrid so grapes were picket with a modest level of acidity and good level of sugar. The press juice quality was sensational high.
Villa Sandahl tour and Swedish delicatessen dinner
It was a pleasure for Villa Sandahl to receive bloggers and  media people from Budapest, and the BonVino management from Badacsony, for a wine producing seminar of all possible aspects, followed by a tasting with Swedish delicatessen.
Blogger 'croque monsieur' at Villa Sandahl
The blogger croque monsieur visited us on a wine tasting with dinner, and we talked much about Villa Sandahl being out of the box. Visit the blog 'out of the box' which also contains some pictures from the Káptalantóti market.
Buy Villa Sandahl wines in centre of Budapest
Sas Center Borszaküzlet is a
wine shop in the absolute centre of Budapest, at the Pest side. The shop offer a selection of inspiring high quality wines. The shop also offers tastings and wine tours.
Villa Sandahl wines available at BonVino in Badacsony
The new built hotel BonVino , located
in centre of Badacsony, now offers Villa Sandahl wines. BonVino is a fresh and modern hotel, with comfortable rooms, a splendid spa and gastronomic restaurant.
Villa Sandahl conquers Budapest restaurants
Our strategy is to produce world class quality dry white wine which goes very well with sophisticated food. Consequently, Villa Sandahl is truly happy that our best wines are available at Budapest most fashionable restaurants, such as:
- Kistücsök Restaurant (Balatonszemes)
- Fausto’s Italian Restaurant  
- Borkonyha Étterem  
- Arcade Bistro 
- Búsuló Juhász Restaurant 
- Ristorante Krizia 
- Dobló Wine Bar
- Baldaszti's
Since 2 years we are listed at the famous Gundel Restaurant , and one month ago our wines were listed at the one Michelin star Costes Restaurant , see below.
Villa Sandahl wines available at Costes Restaurant
Costes Restaurant in Budapest was the second restaurant in Eastern Europe to capture a Michelin star in March 2010. We are very glad to announce, that from September 2011 they have our three best wines on their wine menu. The Costes management were thrilled by our high quality, and that fact do certainly place Villa Sandahl among the best wine producers in Hungary.

New Villa Sandahl label design

From the 2010 vintage Villa Sandahl has changed their label graphic design. Every vintage and vineyard will from now on have a unique label. The 2010 labels can be downloaded for desktop backgrounds, see information about 2010 vintage.

Badacsony Wine Weeks
Villa Sandahl was present on the two Badacsony wine weeks in the end of July 2011. We made a substantial impact on locals and official repre-sentatives, and were very successful with selling our high quality wines with good prices.
Villa Sandahl Newsletter number 8
The newsletter number 8 is now broadcasted to all Villa Sandahl fans. The biggest news is that Villa Sandahl wines are now available at a internet web shop for the Swedish market, see below.
Internet sale in Sweden
We are glad to announce that Villa Sandahl wines now are available in Sweden at the internet web shop WineFinder . This is one of the most serious wine shops for the Swedish market, offering almost one thousand of carefully selected wines in all price levels. Already now our 2008 Rhine Rieslings are in stock, and more wines will gradually be offered from our portfolio. Click here to find our wines on WineFinder.

Villa Sandahl vineyards
Names in English and Hungarian are now assigned to all Villa Sandahl vineyards. From 2010 Villa Sandahl will instead of Golden and Silver Line, bottle the 'Golden' wines from each separate vineyard, and 'Silver' wines as vineyard blends.
(Click on below picture to download better resolution or click here to go to Google maps for online maps of Villa Sandahl).

Medals from the Badacsony Hill wine competition
Villa Sandahl is proud to receive 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medal for their current portfolio.

- Gold medal:   
2008 Rhine Riesling Silver Line
- Silver medal: 
2008 Rhine Riesling Golden Line
2007 Pinot Gris Golden Line
2010 Rhine Riesling Golden Line
2009 Rhine Riesling Silver Line
- Bronze medal:
2010 Rhine Riesling Silver Line
Decanter medals 2011
Villa Sandahl has again been awarded medals from the presti-gious international wine maga-zine Decanter (click here and fill in 'Sandahl' in the 'Search by Producer' field). The 2008 Rhine Riesling Golden Line now took a bronze, and Silver Line a com-mended medal. Strangely the opposite happened last year, that the Silver Line got the better medal. Anyway, this confirms that Villa Sandahl Golden Line has the better long term capacity for bottle ageing.
A larger suit is currently
being tried out

For continuing to increase the wine quality from even more vineyards then before and to open new markets in the same pace, Villa Sandahl now undertakes extraordinary measures, such as:

- Moving from Cezar to Bazaltbor.
- Advance to more sophisticated wine making.
- Be more exposed on domestic and EU markets.
- Extending internet sale to northern Europe.

...To read more about above statements of intents,
    click on English, Hungarian or Swedish.

This will of course take some time to realize. As you maybe have recognised, we are not longer part of Cezar web shop, but Sandahl International AB is urgently implementing an own internet sale system. We will release a newsletter to inform you as soon as anything is ready for you...

Villa Sandahl acquires premium vineyards in Badacsony

Thord, Christer and Gunnel Sandahl has acquired 5,7 ha of premium vineyards (options up to 6,6 ha) from Huba and Lásló Szeremly. Together with Zsuzsanna vineyard this land makes almost 10 ha, which makes Villa Sandahl to the major holder of Badacsony premium vineyards. Szeremley, Laposa and Sandahl are now in an excellent position of restoring the Badacsony reputation to the heights it truly do deserve.

Newsletter nr 7 now issued
To promote Christmas spirit by one of the best wines from Badacsony and one of the best Rieslings from Hungary, we now advice our wine lovers to fill their cellars in time. The newsletter is also available for your web browser (click here).

We are proud that Múzeum Kávéház és Étterem now offer 2008 Villa Sandahl Rhine Riesling on their wine list. This Budapest restaurant is famous for their traditional quality Hungarian dishes. The managing director Budai Zoltán provided us a memorable evening.

Wine Competition Results
The results from Hungarian official wine competitions are available on a web site called: www.borverseny.hu.
Results for Villa Sandahl can be found by a search on Villa Sandahl (click here). As can bee seen, we have earned 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Diploma.

Celebrating the 2010 vintage
To celebrate the successful harvest and all night pressings, we went to Restaurant Gundel at Saturday evening. Chief sommelier Fabók Mihály is always glad to serve a bottle of
Villa Sandahl Rhine Riesling. We tried the Tribute Menu which was quite excellent, be it somewhat extra-vagant and expensive. The gourmet menu is more price worthy.
Our pressing schematic and juice press fractions
This vintage we have extended the pressure schematic duration. Since we only harvest ripe fruit, we can also extract harder without risk to increase bitterness. The longer extraction did fit very well to the botrytis vintage.
The picture show the clear premium juice fraction to the right and the cloudy second juice to the left.
2010 Harvest
Thursday the 14th of Octo-ber 7705 kg Rhine Riesling was harvested. 10 % of the grapes had botrytis like the picture. No grey rot was evident so the entire grapes could be harvested and pressed. The general quality was quite excellent and the botrytis will improve the wine. The Pinot Gris harvest of around 4000 kg was sold.

Wettest and coldest autumn within memory

In 2010, the August and September months was the wet-test since long. During these 2 months, it was falling 307 mm, which normally equals half a year of rain in this area.

Decanter October 2010 issue, page 190 (Silver Medal)
 Ł  = under 10 Ł,  C  = Ł 7 - Ł 9,99

VINTAGE 2010 PREPARATION
When changing winery to Bazaltbor, there is a natural opportunity to
also implement new plans and possible improvements. Villa
Sandahl has consequently visited their  indispensable oenology consultant Fabien Stirn (with his wife at left photo), in order to  thoroughly discuss and prioritize what is appropriate to realize for
the approaching vintage 2010.
LONG-TERM MUTUAL AGREEMENT WITH BAZALTBOR KFT
In summer 2010, Villa Sandahl signed a long term cooperation with Bazaltbor Kft. Together we will develop our winemaking skill, trying to take back Badacsony to the world-class wine it once was. In the picture to the right, we hand over our extensive manual to the director Laposa Bence.
BAZALTBOR WINERY (WITH VILLA SANDAHL BEHIND)
The Bazaltbor winery is a new top modern plant, located a stone’s throw from Villa Sandahl. It is one of best wineries
in Hungary, with competent staff
on the same high level.
QUALITY SYSTEM DOCUMENTED
Business with key economy details, and all operations for strategy, cultivation and winemaking is now documented by Villa Sandahl in a 90 page manual. This
is primarily for ensuring that there is a common understanding of quality and operation within the Villa Sandahl team. It give us a competitive edge, and thus it is strictly confidential. Sorry, no sharing.
NEWSLETTER No 6
Villa Sandahls has released their 6th newsletter mainly to announce two medals awarded from Decanter. The newsletter is a Swedish version for domestic market, and two international versions for friend network and retailers. Feel free to download and spread them.
DECANTER 2010 PRESTIGIOUS MEDALS
Two medals from Decanter World Wine Awards consolidate the international breakthrough for Villa Sandahl. 2008 Rhine Riesling Silver Medal was awarded bronze and the Golden Line a Commended medal.
VINEYARD POLES AND BINDING SYSTEM
The binding system in Zsuzsanna vineyard is  modernized from being the typical Hungarian tradition (2 meter vine trunk with 1 meter horizontal arm) to a more widely used cordon "umbrella" system allowing machine green work. The acacia poles are replaced by pressure-creosoted poles approved for agricultural usage.
NEWSLETTER No 5
Villa Sandahl has released their 5th newsletter to announce the Riesling du Monde silver medal. It is a Swedish version to support the domestic market and an international version for abroad friends. Please feel free to download
and to spread it to your friends.

RIESLING DU MONDE 2010 PRESTIGIOUS SILVER MEDAL
It is a breakthrough for Villa Sandahl to rub shoulders with this exclusive group of medal winners, see the medal list. The Riesling du Monde price is probably the world's most re-putable for a Riesling producer like Villa Sandahl The silver medal was assigned to the 2008 Rhine Riesling Silver Line, because it is more forward at the moment than the Golden Line.

VILLA SANDAHL AVAILABLE AT TOFTAHOLM HERRGĹRD
If you are travelling along E4 in southern Sweden, in the Värnamo area you can find Toftaholm Herrgĺrd some 7 km from the road. The 2008 Rhine Riesling Golden Line is chosen their wine of the month of March 2010.

VILLA SANDAHL REPRESENTED ON RESTAURANT GUNDEL
We are immensely proud to have get our 2008 Rhine Riesling Golden Line into the
wine list of the Gundel Restaurant. Gundel
is the most prestigious restaurant in Budapest, (have the highest Michelin mark in Hungary, four red crossed forks & spoons, and is comparable to Operakällaren in Stockholm). Their knowledgeable head sommelier Fabók Mihály judge it to be
a "great Riesling" and offers it at 8900 Forint (€ 33) per bottle. Consequently we hope our wine can raise the
Gundel excellent dishes to new levels.
2009 PINOT GRIS AND RIESLING HARVESTED
The 10th of September the Pinot Gris was harvested. Without any warning a thunderstorm broke out, and some panic occurred. The box stock was quickly covered and some wet boxes were replaced with dry, resulting in no damage.
The Rhine Riesling was harvested the 15th of October without any big problems.
ENGRAFTING ZEUS TO RIESLING
As time pass, Villa Sandahl gets more and more convinced that Rhine Riesling is the grape to concentrate on. Riesling ripens perfect in Zsuzsanna vineyard every year just before it go to rest in the late autumn. Zeus gives an bigger abundance of sweet grapes, but has less character. i.e. quite the opposite to Riesling. By engraft the Zeus the 25 year Zeus root is saved and harvest can be done from "old vines" within a couple of years.
YET ANOTHER SILVER MEDAL TO VILLA SANDAHL
The Badacsony wine region has during June tasted wines from the whole Badacsony region. Villa Sandahl was
awarded yet another silver medal for the 2008 Rhine
Riesling Golden Line, see "Borok rangsora - 2009.06.26" protocol. This time competition was harder and Villa
Sandahl got 81.6 points.
NEWSLETTER No 3
Villa Sandahl has released the new 2008 Riesling wines, as well as a 2007 Pinot Gris, see Nyhetsblad 3 (in Swedish). Remarkably, the quality of the 2008 wines has increased to yet another level. In Sweden, the wines are available at the Cezar Web shop.
SILVER MEDAL TO VILLA SANDAHL
The "Badacsony Hill Committee" has during May 2009 tasted  118 wines from growers of the hill of Badacsony (not the larger Badacsony region). Villa Sandahl was awarded a silver medal for the 2008 Rhine Riesling Golden Line, see "Borok Rangsora - Badcasony 2009.05.04" protocol. We got 86.2 points and are of course proud of this, but it is a bit annoying that the gold medal limit was 87 point.

JUDGEMENT FROM FABIEN STIRN
Our 2008 Rieslings are fermented and enthusiastically judged by our French oenolog Fabien Stirn. He writes "The Rieslings are really a class higher as what you ever produced, I think you get the right way of process and probably also a good vintage! The Golden Line is upper class by the finesse and the citrus side that is really promising a great and long aging Riesling. The Silver Line is more in body and in power but lesser finesse, the aging will probably be shorter."

VISIT THE WEB SHOP
It is a real pleasure for us to offer our Villa Sandahl wines to the total Swedish market by being represented at the Cezar Winery web shop. Do order and pay the wines and you will get them directly to your home address by the Swedish Posten. Enjoy your shopping expedition.

NEWSLETTER NR 2
To introduce the 2006 Riesling wines for the 2008 Christmas sale, Villa Sandahl has now prepared a 2nd newsletter. It is now 3 years ago since the 1st newsletter was announcing the 2004 vintage. The striking news is the web shop and the dramatically increased quality.

2008 HARVEST
Eight tons Pinot Gris was harvested the 23rd of September and twelve tons Riesling was brought in the 10th of October. This was quite early but the grapes was splendidly ripe. The pressing was equally successful and 15000 litre are fermenting

VILLA DECORATION
During summer 2008 the Villa Sandahl were completed by furniture and decoration. The mantra was Swedish design of unique quality and high originality (same as for the SANDAHL wines :-)
To the right you see the grey room. For booking the house, see booking pages.
ENTRANCE ROAD
In spring 2008 the road and surroundings to the house is finished. Used basalt stones is found to be the solid base for the 20 % ascend. Vines are replanted close to all our basalt work, to bring an interesting antagonism  between these elements.
HONOURABLE JUDGEMENT
Villa Sandahls new 2006 Golden Line Riesling were in May 2008 judged by the "wine school" Grain Nobles in Paris. The judgement were very positive by the group that liked the residual amount of sugar of 7 grams per litre. They compare our wine with "
les grands Riesling de Moselle ou du sud de l’Alsace (Grand Cru Eichberg)".
PROWEIN EXIBITION
Villa Sandahl were represented in the  Prowein exhibition in Düsseldorf the 16 - 18th of March. The new and much improved 2006 Riesling vintage were proudly presented.
NEW FRESH LOGOTYPE
A new logotype and graphical design is introduced in March. The change is driven by the significant quality improvement evident in the 2006 wines. The new logotype is designed to still keep and attract the old consumers, but also to invite a new group of more experienced consumers. To separate two qualities, the new premium quality is labelled "golden line", and the old basic quality is the "silver line"
SANDAHL INTERNATIONAL AB
Villa Sandahl Kft has so far been privately owned by Thord and Christer Sandahl. To ensure a finically strong owner and to establish a supporting international market organization,
a company called Sandahl International AB is formed, and is now the owner of Villa Sandahl. Sandahl International AB is also owned solely by Thord and Christer Sandahl, implying
no change in strategic direction and operation for Villa Sandahl.
Gunnel Sandahl celebrate her 50 year birthday event
the day after the Villa Sandahl inauguration.
INAUGURATION OF THE PROMOTION HOUSE
Villa Sandahl almost finished at the inauguration 2007-08-03
An inauguration ceremony is held the 3rd of august for the Villa Sandahl promotion house (get the power point presentation in English). Both Swedish and Hungarian
friends are invited and take a close look at the house.
Thanks to the warm winter, the construction of the Villa Sandahl promotion house is on schedule. In end of January the entry floor is covered with a concrete vault, and construction of the loft floor will begin. An opening ceremony is planned (cross the fingers) to be held on Friday the 3rd of August 2007. The south facing wall can be seen on the picture.
In December 2006 the construction of Villa Sandahl in Zsuzsanna vineyard is in full swing. On the picture, the wine cellar (indoors) entry can be seen. The house is planned to be finished and finally inspected at end of July 2007.
The 2006 Rhine Riesling harvest is finished at the 19th and 20th of October. The weather has been great during September and October. Grapes in perfect condition are picked and transported to the Cezar winery for pressing and fermentation.
The 2006 harvest is vinified at the Cezar Winery just south of Nagyrada in the Kis-Balaton area, 52 km from Badacsony. The plant is brand new with all necessary equipment for high quality wine production. The wine maker is Luis Santelices from Chile.
At the 11 of September the building company is selected to build the promotion house. After a long selection, the choice fell on the company SZ-L Bau Kft from Tapolca.
During summer 2006 all permissions are complete for building the promotion house in the Zsuzsanna vineyard. The vines are cut away for the house and electricity cables, water and drain pipes are in place.
Villa Sandahl Kft has selected Fabien Stirn from Sigolsheim in Alsace as advisory wine consultant. Fabien cultivate several hectares of grand cru vineyards an is
known to produce wines of true quality.

At the Scandinavian Wine Fair, Villa Sandahl is recognised by the Swedish most well-known business newspaper "Dagens Industri", see article to the right. It tells about the search for good grape material, which was found it in Badacsony in Hungary.

Villa Sandahl is represented on the 3rd Scandinavian Wine Fair held in Paris the
11th of February 2006. This fair gathers wine connected people from all Scandinavia. Villa Sandahl creates a lot of attention on the exhibition, and has one of the most visited stands.
At the Scandinavian Wine Fair also arranged the BKWine Scandinavian Wine and Spirit Competition. Villa Sandahl is honoured by a silver medal for their dry Pinot Gris / Rhine Riesling. The quality ambitions are recognised and Villa Sandahl will surely continue to strive for still higher quality.
Villa Sandahl is very glad to announce that our wines are available in Denmark from December 2005 by Bergman Vin-Import. Bergman is recognised for a careful selected portfolio with very competitive prices. Visit their web site for prices and selling conditions. Select "Ungarn" for Villa Sandahl offerings.
The first newsletter from Villa Sandahl (only in Swedish) is prepared and distributed for the Christmas 2005 sale. Click here to download it in one of two versions, web quality (52kB) or print quality (94kB).
Villa Sandahl is available at Systembolaget from October 2005.
In end of December 2008 the wines was moved to the Cezar Winery web shop.
Sandahl Consulting AB have the 10th of August 2005 received a permit for importing and storing wine in Sweden. During September the 2004 vintage Villa Sandal wines will be imported to Sweden.
At the 28th of July 2005, Villa Sandahl finally receive the eagerly awaited building permit for a promotion house in the Zsuzsanna Vineyard. The architect Robert Epres have made a terrific job. The planning is going on and the building will be started as soon as possible.
In June 2005 Villa Sandahl receive honour from the Badacsonyi Borvidék Hegyközségi Tanácsa ("Badacsony Wine Region Council of Hill Township"), one gold medal for the half sweet 2004 Pinot Gris Late Harvest Barrique wine and one bronze medal for the dry 2004 Pinot Gris Rhine Riesling wine.

Villa Sandahl is represented at the Wine & Spirit Fair at Excel in London in the Hungarian "Agricultural Marketing Centre" at stand D70. We pour our first vintage wines (see Vintage 2004) while telling our short but non the less enthralling story.

From start of March 2005 Villa Sandahl welcomes Mr Toth Tibor as tractor driver and vineyard cultivator.

A new Carraro TRX 9400 AC tractor is acquired at the 10th
of August 2004. It is a special type having a low centre of gravity and wide balloon tyres suited for steep vineyards. To shelter from sun and spray, it has an air conditioned cabin.

Villa Sandahl Kft is registered as an Hungarian company owned by Thord and Christer Sandahl at the 3rd of August 2004.
- Company registration number 19-09-507746.
- Tax registration 13325121-2-19, EU code
HU13325121
The 4th of June 2004 a joint venture is started with Zsuzsanna Pettenkoffer. Included in this cooperation is to cultivate the vineyard located at the Badacsony Hill and from these grapes produce wines that will be labelled Villa Sandahl.

Villa Sandahl Kft
8261 Badacsony
Római út 203/1
Hungary

Sandahl International AB
Box 2045
331 02 Värnamo
Sweden

 

  Swedish

 

CONTACTS

 


Sweden
Christer Sandahl
+46 733 736128
christer@sandahl.com

Budapest
dr.Soós Katalin Eszter
+36 20 9675388
skeszter@hotmail.com

Badacsony
Bakó Ambrus
+36 703109628
villasandahl@gmail.com

 
   

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in Swedish