A passion fanned into flame by grandparents and parents
Jenő Iszlai was 'infected' with a love of viticulture and winemaking by his grandparents and parents as a child. From the late 1990s he made his first wines in the cellar of his Marosvásárhely guesthouse – his first oak and mulberry barrels were inherited from his father.
In 2007 he purchased the Romantik restaurant in Balavásár, to which his winery also relocated. Since 2008 he has been the co-organiser and host of the legendary Balavásár International Wine Competition – the annual showcase now receives 573 wine samples. Jenő Iszlai himself cannot say exactly how many medals he has won – certainly several hundred – the majority being silver and gold.
By September 2022 the dream had come true: on 28 October he opened the Iszlai Show Cellar behind the Romantik restaurant. The cellar can store 9,700 litres and its spacious tasting room accommodates 52 guests at once. A commemorative plaque on the wall recalls the 1851 Balavásár harvest, where participants in the Makk conspiracy met.
