In the Danubian Lowlands of southwest Slovakia is the village of Zemianske Sady, and Slobodné Vinárstvo, run by fourth- and fifth-generation winemakers Agnes Lovecka and Katarina Kuropkova, and their partners Mišo and Andrea. They farm 17ha and made the change to organics in 2016, and are multiple year members of the oldest biodynamic association in Austria, Valtfiertel. Indigenous grapes are preferred, soil health is of the utmost importance.

Winemaking has been in the family since 1912, before adopting the name Slobodné Vinárstvo, “free winemaking.” The family estate, Majer Zemianske Sady, was primarily a tobacco farm, producing wine on the side which was mostly sold locally. The combination of World War 2 and communism decimated the once prosperous estate- they didn’t produce wine again until 1997. The estate made its way to Agnes and Katarina through twists, turns, and heartbreak.

Agnes and Katarina’s grandparents, Eduard and Peter Herzog, grew up on the estate during WW2, and in 1944 joined the Slovak National Uprising against the Nazis. Eduard and Peter were to inherit the estate- Eduard, passionate about music, not farming, had no interest in doing so, leaving the future responsibility to Peter. Peter did not survive the uprising. Eduard did, and left for Prague, where he passed along to Agnes and Katarina’s mother a box containing a variety of papers, including the ownership certificate of the estate. It sat hidden in a wall under the staircase for many years. They were uninterested at first, but in the end they were drawn away from their city life in Bratislava, about an hour from the estate, and towards their family history.

All efforts were focused on rebuilding the ecosystem of the farm, honing in on organic and biodynamic efforts. Slobodné considers wine to be a living organism- their winemaking efforts, then, focused on understanding each and every detail of the process, avoiding anything that could alter the wine.

Majer is our “daily” red wine – coffee wine. This is a wine with lunch or just with coffee when the day is still going on. The wine matured partly in oak barrels, partly in ovoids and partly in stainless steel, it was not clarified or filtered.

The Slovak artist Miro Veselko created the label for Červené Majer, who creates collages in the original way. It was based on an old photograph of Majer Zemianske Sady and Kohút Gavalier, the author of which is the Slovak graphic artist Edita Klembas. 

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MAJER is one of our SLOVAK CRU wines.

Multi vintage blend of our red varieties Blaufrankisch, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alibernet. We always keep part of the current vintage as a “reserve perpetual”, which later becomes the basis for the upcoming Majer.

Majer is our house red wine with familiar flavor profile but character and singularity of each blend. We like to call it a coffee wine that goes well with dinner or just a coffee. This wine is partially aged in oak barrels and stainless steel.

The label of Majer noir is an artwork of local artist Miro Veselko. The label is a hand made collage based on an old photo of Majer Zemianske Sady, our estate at the beginning of the 20th century and Slobodne rooster. – From the producer