by Paul Ross, Drink me Travel Editor

Robin Hood’s Friar Tuck had his mead, Belgian Trappists their ale, and the good monks of Hungary’s Pannonhalma Abbey have got their …board meetings!? The abbey has been making wine for nearly a thousand years, yet today, cloistered monks, with their rigorously-scheduled rounds of prayer and study, have “labors” which include sitting in committee with representatives of the country’s third largest bank. This makes them: 1) modern winemakers, and 2) Execu-monks, if your will.

But ‘twas not always thus —

From humble beginnings the early abbey expanded it services to the neighboring community by offering earthly salvation in the form of fortress walls, built to stave off the Ottoman invasions of the 1700 and 1800s. The barrier didn’t work and Turkish rule dominated the next century and a half. But, as far as the winery went, that wasn’t the worst of it. That dubious distinction came with the Communists from the USSR in the mid-twentieth century. Hungarian winemaking traditions were ignored by the occupiers, who insisted on replacing quality with quotas. This situation lead to a product which – when regarded at all in the West – was referred to as “Soviet bloc schlock.”

Those days gone, there are now frequent jazz concerts in the fine restaurant on the abbey grounds, tours of the church, and there is the winery which is one of the most modern in country. Vineyard plantings – ranging from traditional autochthonous grapes to international varietals — are garnering a worldwide following.

Profits from various abbey enterprises (which, in addition to winemaking, include the manufacture of gourmet vinegars, Benedictine liqueurs, lavender products, CDs of Gregorian chants and even an independently produced DVD documentary about monastic life) underwrite education, maintenance of the old buildings and improvements in the winery. It’s pretty much like any other business – except for the players’ philosophy, ethnics, history and pipeline to God.

For me, the question was: would the wines taste as heavenly as the thoughts that surrounded their creation? And I wondered if modernization had diluted the abbey’s hefty heritage.

Pannonhalma Abbey’s 1054 year-old winemaking history (originating with the Romans) leapt forward into modernity during the second millennium with expansion of the vineyards and the construction of a state-of-the-art facility. The winery utilizes a unique vertical technology. Located on a steep hillside, the four story complex consists of three parts: the upper “press house,” where the harvested grapes are received and processed; the middle “wine house,” which is dedicated to white varietals and the bottom “well,” which connects the other two parts and is where aging, storage and wine-tastings take place.

The abbey is especially proud of this gravity-fed processing, which moves the liquid through the entire procedure without the harsh and potentially bruising effects caused by mechanical pumps. The unusual concept was designed with the help of the late and legendary wine-maker Tibor Gal. It’s a well-funded operation which is the envy of many smaller Hungarian wineries who still use older techniques, various sizes of wooden barrels, and much more labor, to produce fewer bottles.

The abbey’s brand (Apatsagi) offers a dozen different varietals and blends, a large selection for one of the smallest of Hungary’s 22 wine-growing regions.

Hungary’s worldwide wine rep is often associated with Slovakian wine, Tokaj. The good ones are much more deserving of attention than their often dismissive reputation of being simple and sweet would suggest. But Pannonhalma Abbey doesn’t make Tokaj. The Benedictine brothers, with their educated nose for marketing, avoid the most obvious choices in their production and opt for a broad palette of wines, starting with traditional Hungarian grapes (such as Rheinreisling and Welschreisling) and encompassing popular international varietals (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, etc.). The abbey has won awards at the highly regarded Decanter World Wine Awards and at the Pinot Noir Cup. A partial result is that Apatsagi wines are exported to a dozen countries.

Here in the States, wines from the abbey are just beginning to trickle into the national market. Right now, the emerging best sellers are Tramini (a high alcohol, low acid, flowery and fragrant Gewürtzraminer), Tricollis White (a Reisling-Welschreisling-Gewürtz blend) and their Reislings. And at $12 to $20, the price is right.

And I’m sure the monks will bless you for your purchase.