Kövesd is the project of two friends, Attila Sánta and Zoltán Varga, who first crossed paths through a shared beekeeping venture in southern Slovakia. While scouting locations for their hives, they started spending time in an old family vineyard that nature had slowly reclaimed — and the pull to give it a second life grew from there. In 2021, they planted close to three hectares on the southwestern slopes of the Kovácspatak Hills (Burda), on the border of Garamkövesd and neighbouring Bajta — part of a historic wine-growing area with centuries of viticulture behind it.
Today their vineyards sit in Garamkövesd (1.3 hectares) and Bajta (1.5 hectares), surrounded by forest and not directly adjacent to other vineyards. They grow Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Noir, Kadarka, and Blaufränkisch. While their young vines mature, they also work with organically grown grapes sourced from nearby growers, and lease a small additional parcel on the outskirts of Béla.
The region sits on loess-based brown forest soils over volcanic andesite bedrock. The Kovácspatak Hills, nestled between the Börzsöny and Pilis mountains and embraced by the Danube, Garam, and Ipoly rivers, give the wines their distinctive character.
In the cellar, intervention stays as close to zero as possible. Everything moves by gravity, no pumps. Grapes are pressed in a traditional basket press, fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts, and the wines are bottled unclarified and unfiltered, with sulphur used only in minimal amounts before bottling — and sometimes not at all. The estate is certified organic and currently under contract with Demeter International as part of its biodynamic conversion.
