Hegymagas throws open its gates to food lovers and curious travelers every Saturday in January, turning the edge of the village into a buzzing, open-air pantry for the Badacsony region. Roll up to Szigligeti Road (Szigligeti Ășt) from 7:30 a.m., and youâll find tables stacked with seasonal, chemical-free produce; artisan cheeses; smoked meats; crusty breads and pastries; vegan, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly baked goods; local honeys and gingerbreads; homemade syrups and jams; plus clean, additive-free cosmetics. Itâs a weekly ritual with a small-town heartbeat and big-flavor energy, where shopping comes with conversation, recipe swaps, and actual sit-down pauses for coffee and a bite. If you arrive hungry, thereâs a surprise breakfast waiting.
The market sits on the Hegymagas side of the road toward Szigliget, easy to reach by car, bike, or bus, and welcomes families, dogs, and card payments. Created and run by local residents, it doubles as a community meeting point as much as a producer-only eco and organic marketplace. This year, newcomers have joined the vendor circle: Hegymagasi MarhasĂĄgok brings fine smoked meat specialties, while Levendula Porta shows up with standout cheeses. Expect the usual favorites and fresh faces behind the stallsâplus a kidsâ corner to keep the little ones busy while you stock up.
The Saturday dates line up across the month: January 10, January 17, January 24, and January 31, all in Hegymagas. Organizers reserve the right to change dates or programs, so itâs worth checking in before you head out. The atmosphere stays the same: informal, friendly, and true to the land, with sellers who know exactly where everything comes from because they grow, cure, bake, churn, or bottle it themselves.
What to Buy, What to Taste
Start with the produce: crunchy winter greens and root vegetables, apples, and other seasonal fruit pulled from local orchards. Dive into the cheese spreads and wheelsâfarmhouse cheddar styles, washed rinds, creamy fresh typesâthen move along to the smoked meats from Hegymagasi MarhasĂĄgok, where youâll find robust flavors ideal for weekend boards. Bakery tables stack up everyday loaves and country breads next to pastries and special-diet selections: vegan, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly goods that donât skimp on taste. Honey and gingerbread add sweetness; homemade syrups and jams bring concentrated summer memories to the cold months. In the non-food corner, natural, additive-free cosmetics cover soaps, balms, and skincare that read clean and smell like herbs and honey.
Come for the Market, Stay for the Wine
Hegymagas anchors the St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy) wine scene in the Badacsony region, and it shows. Around the hill, family estates and boutique cellars open for tastings and toursâperfect add-ons to a Saturday market run. One tiny producer works across what they call 2×2 hectares, the name itself nodding to the scale. That size means intense attention in the vineyard and the promise of the best possible wine in the bottle; unusually for the region, they put red wines front and center. You can book cellar visits by appointment, with a six-wine tasting flight that spans the estateâs top selections over about two hours.
Thereâs also a family-run winery farming twenty hectares on the sunny southern slopes, pairing wine with agritourism lodging in hillside guesthouses. For those who love intimate tastings, the smallest cellar on St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy) leans into distinctive, handcrafted, small-batch bottles from local varietiesâmemorable sips served with a sense of place you wonât forget.
Volcanic wines have a strong voice here, too. One cellar founded in 2012 sells from its vinotheque during opening hours and by arrangement, and even offers delivery. Tasting programs are set up on request. Another Hegymagas family winery pours Welschriesling (olaszrizling), MĂŒller-Thurgau (rizlingszilvĂĄni), ZengĆ, Traminer (tramini), Rhine Riesling (rajnai rizling), Chardonnay, and RĂłzsakĆ, each showing off the basalt bedrockâs signature lift and minerality.
Since 1996, Horvåth Cellar (Horvåth Pince) has hosted wine lovers on the southern side of St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy) across 18 hectares of vines. They pair modern processing with traditional barrel aging for select wines, drawing depth and complexity from time in wood. Nyåri Cellar (Nyåri Pince), also on the south side, sits about 200 meters from the Tarånyi Cellar (Tarånyi pince) and the Lengyel Chapel (Lengyel-kåpolna), offering both bulk and bottled wines, gorgeous views, and tastings by reservation.
A major estateâs vinotheque keeps its doors open year-round, seven days a week. From spring through fall, the renewed estate centerâs ViridĂĄrium kitchen feeds the gastronomic crowd and wine tourists alike, layering local cooking onto local pours for the full St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy) effect.
Where to Stay
If one Saturday isnât enough, settle in at KovĂĄcs Guesthouse, open year-round in Hegymagas. Itâs a solid base for dawn runs to the market, afternoon vineyard walks, and leisurely tastings up and down the hill. Between the marketâs honest flavors and the volcanic wine circuit, Hegymagas packs a whole weekendâs worth of low-key, high-reward escapes into a few square miles.
Bring a tote, your appetite, and a little time to linger. The producers will bring the rest.
