Svetík

Levice is a medieval town in the southern hills of central Slovakia, a town which "changed hands" many times - it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then conquered by the Turks (who stayed for two decades), then part of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and finally since 1993 has been part of Slovakia. 

It is part of the Nitra wine region, which is characterised by its volcanic terroir of tuff, rhyolite and andesite which was created by the eruption of a nearby (and now inactive) stratovolcano some millions of years ago. 

Most importantly Levice is home to Ján (Janny) Svetík, the latest generation of the Svetík winemaking family which owns vineyards on the hills nearby. Janny's rustic approach to winemaking, using just hands and time in his cellars (no fancy new machines and processes), combined with the high minerality of the volcanic soils, creates beautiful wines full of flavour, depth and refreshing levels of acidity. 

Oh and the labels! Time is very important (or unimportant??) to Janny. He doesn't rush anything, leaving as much as time as the wine needs to develop to its full potential - it could be year, it could be 10. In his cellar you can find full barrels of red wine from 2009 still resting and waiting for just the right time. The labels shows how the time passes. Stroke by stroke.

All his wines are spontaneously fermented, with minimal sulphur added and vegan.