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Erzsébet Pince (Elizabeth Cellar) is a family winery founded by one of the first female winemakers in Tokaj, Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Prácser. In 1989, the year of political changes in Hungary, Erzsébet and her husband bought a cellar in the old wine merchants’ street (Bem street) in the historic center of the town of Tokaj to start their own family business. Not just any cellar, though, but one of the region’s great historical cellars, that was dug in the 1600s, and had been rented by Russian emperors (among them Tzarina Elizabeth) in the 1700s to store the Aszú wines purchased for the court.
Erzsébet Pince family winery produces around 1,000 cases of wine annually, all from historical grand cru and premier cru sites according to the 18th century classification by Mátyás Bél. The Pracser family – father, mother, daughter, and son – run the estate. They take pride in the production of exceptional single-vineyard dry wines and Aszu, Tokaj’s classic natural botrytis wine.
All of the wines are made in small lots, from low-yielding vineyards farmed with sustainable and organic viticultural practices. The family team also includes a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier who assists in quality control and blending. The winery’s first bottled vintage was 1993, a 5 puttonyos aszú from a 5-star vintage.
The winery/family logo: a wolf holding its tail that turns into a rose. Rose: We use the rose as a symbol because the historic center of Tokaj – where Erzsébet Pince is located – is also referred to as the „rose district”. In the past, this part of town was famous for roses grown throughout it; many local streets and buildings are named after roses. The wolf is a reference to the arduous, dangerous journey of the precious Aszu wine in barrels overland to the Russian court. A detachment of soldiers escorted these wine shipments, to protect them from robbers and packs of wolves. A common saying at the time suggested, “Even the wolves are after Tokaji Aszu.”
Ronn Wiegand American MW and MS consults for the winery.
