Hegymagas – Wine and the History of Tarányi Présház

Hegymagas lies in the Tapolca Basin, on the southern and southwestern sides of Szent György Hill. For a general sense of its location, the village is roughly halfway along the road between Tapolca and Szigliget. Wine, seasonal cuisine, and the history of Tarányi Présház offer insights into the local character.

Wine and Cuisine in Hegymagas

Tarányi Présház offers a set menu and a weekly changing menu. Fresh, seasonal ingredients are used for the changing selection. If you have a particular dish in mind, bear in mind that this menu changes from week to week and with the seasons.

The wine list includes white, red, and dessert wines, exclusively from winemakers on Szent György Hill. This clearly ties the wines’ origin to the named hill, on whose southern and southwestern sides Hegymagas lies. The specific selection may change.

Szent György Pince offers a different setting: its cellar, with seating for 120, also serves as a restaurant. It also has a garden area, a separate room, and a wine shop. These spaces give a concrete idea of the facilities at the Pince. Services may change; if a particular service is important for your plans, it is advisable to check what is currently available.

The History of Tarányi Présház

After a period when it was nearly abandoned and years of effort, Tarányi Présház was restored in the summer of 2020, in its 240th year. This places the restoration in a more recent chapter of its history, while the stated age points to the building’s long past.

More Topics in the Wider Destination of Northern Balaton

In the wider destination of Northern Balaton, Tapolca Lake Cave combines a geological theme with visitor attractions: boat trips are offered there, and a guided exhibition is titled “Csodálatos karszt” (“Wonderful Karst”). The cave is part of a system beneath Tapolca that has been explored to a length of 14.6 kilometres so far. Alongside the exhibition and boat trips, the cave system’s scale and exploration are also notable in their own right.

Hegyestű offers a different geological perspective: a 337-metre-high mountain between Zánka and Monoszló. There, the interior of a basalt volcano that was active about eight million years ago has been exposed. At a viewpoint on the western edge of the quarry site, visitors can use a panorama board to identify the surrounding hills. Hegyestű also has a rock garden featuring characteristic rock types of Transdanubia. In contrast to the underground cave landscape of Tapolca Lake Cave, the focus here is on an exposed volcanic side and the classification of regional rocks.

Badacsony also brings landscape and wine together in the wider destination of Northern Balaton: special grapes are grown on its slopes and used to make Badacsony wine. The area also has geological formations known as basalt organ pipes. These topics broaden the perspective on Hegymagas without equating the wines of the two named hills.

If you are looking for a hotel in Hegymagas, distinguishing between the village itself and the wider destination can help you choose a focus for your trip: the wine venues and the history of Tarányi Présház relate to Hegymagas; the cave, Hegyestű, and Badacsony are topics associated with Northern Balaton.

Discover more destinations: Szigliget, Nemesvita, Gyulakeszi, Badacsonyörs, Badacsonytördemic, Kővágóörs, Lesencetomaj, Tapolca

To the wider travel overview: Tapolcai.