Come with honor,
I will welcome you with friendship.
The Estate
The estate, situated on the southwestern slope of Tóti Mountain, is a wonderful, old family estate and has been home to the kitchen run by the family’s daughter, Csilla Istvándy, since 2010. For her, this is a true profession. Serving the best possible food to guests is not just a business consideration; the family’s reputation is important to her, so she tries to make it last.
Flavors are above all. However, this can only be achieved if you use good ingredients. Finding these locally is no small task in itself. The food offered by the estate’s restaurant is highly seasonal. The daily offer depends on the fresh and quality ingredients available in the given season or month.
On the hillside next to the restaurant, there is a football field, a playground, in short, plenty of space for families and friends who want to relax. Before, during or after the meal, we can actively enjoy the green grass, the vineyard, the panorama of Lake Balaton, and each other’s company. If we feel like it, we can also use a secluded corner for a summer nap after lunch, settling down on a blanket, or we can climb to the top of Tóti Hill, which is not particularly strenuous and offers a 360-degree view of the surroundings.
Opening hours are typically from early April to late October. Weekends in spring and fall, 4-5 days a week in high season (July-August). Table reservations – by phone – are recommended.
“You come to us as a guest and return as a friend.”
The guesthouses
Good food goes well with good wine. Of course, only for those who don’t drive!
It has been a long-standing dream of Csilla and her husband, Dani… and many returning guests to be able to rest comfortably here on the estate after a few tasty bites and a more in-depth wine tasting. So the idea of adding accommodation to the estate has been brewing for some time.
After a long planning and construction, the first three wooden houses were completed. Of course, just like the wines and food, the bar was set high here too. The houses were located at a decent distance from each other, equipped with their own Finnish sauna, cold water plunge pool and jacuzzi. The interior design and colors radiate tranquility and harmony. From the pool, there is a comfortable view not only of the mountainside, the panorama of Lake Balaton, but also of the gray cattle grazing under the window. It is distinctly romantic. It is clear. The design is the most ideal for couples who want to break away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, responsibilities and obligations. Understated from the outside, but equipped with everything in terms of its interior, they will welcome their first guests from January 2024.
The history of the Istvándy family
It can be traced back 200 years, to the beginning of the 1800s. From the very beginning, grape and wine production was the most important source of income for the family. In the 60s and 80s, the grandfather was a winemaker and the father was an agricultural engineer, and in addition to working in the cooperative, they also engaged in viticulture and winemaking on their own family vineyard and in the Tóti-hegy cellar. At first, they only delivered wine to a few restaurants and a few acquaintances. Then a turning point came in the family’s life when they decided to turn their attention to quality winemaking. Gergő, a young engineer who had just graduated, played a major role in this decision, and he threw himself into new challenges with passion.
“We have introduced a yield limit on the vineyards, we harvest only from our best-located areas and we sell our own wines exclusively in bottles. When developing the style of Istvándy wines, it was important for us to cultivate traditions, pass on experiences and observations. Our family is committed to making it worthy of the past and reputation of the place. We place emphasis on the unique Kéknyelű grape variety grown in the Badacsony Wine Region, as well as the Szürkebarát and Olaszrizling typical of this region.”
While the parents worked in the vineyard, Csilla was her grandmother’s right hand in the kitchen.
Cooking is his true love. The restaurant, which opened on the family estate, was initially a cautious attempt, but then, adapting to the needs of its guests, it developed into a deservedly famous restaurant in the region.
Csilla is lucky that the family farm not only supplies her kitchen with excellent wine, but also with mangalica and grey cattle. The area provides countless truly good ingredients, but everything must be fresh! The offer changes often, influenced by seasonality.
With her cooking, she quickly attracted Dani, who now only dreams of the times when he was once a guest at the Estate, as her husband.
Gergő, the 4th generation winemaker of the family, makes their wines together with his father. Great discussions and long tastings shape the Istvándy family’s bottled wine offering. Thanks to the many decades of experience of Uncle Feri Istvándy, there is plenty of quality grapes to choose from on an area of 42 hectares. The quality of the grapes and thus the quality of the wine is the most important thing in all circumstances. This is tradition.
Tibor, Csilla and Gergő’s cousin, wanted to start his own business after university, so he joined the family business and bought the first grey cattle and mangalicas, and then, true to his decision, started making his own smoked products. His mother, Rózsi, always showed a strong direction when it came to seasoning. In addition to the estate’s restaurant, he supplies many local restaurants with ingredients.
Well, this is how this small rural family farm is put together. Everyone is pushing forward, striving, trying to grow their own sector and despite everyday problems, the point is to help each other. Their story is written every day in this romantic region, at the foot of Badacsony, on the sunny hillside of Káptalantóti, Tóti-hegy. As the locals say, on the Hegymögi vineyards.
