Liliac Winery

The Wine of Transylvania

Address: 41 Principala Street, Batos Vlg, Mures Co

Founded: 2010
Region: Transylvania
DOC: Lechinta
Area: 51.55 Ha
Bottled annually (in litres): aprox. 100 000 L
Owner: Alfred Michael Beck
Wine expert: Rudolf Krizan

Liliac is located at the heart of Transylvania, 14 km away from Batos, an area with a rich wine-
making tradition where the latest technology rounds out the art furnished by renowned wine
experts.
The grapes are harvested manually and they are handled with care until they've reached
maturation. What is more, they are processed with very special care. The wine-making process
is primarly the task and responsibility of an excellent team of local and international experts.
The production processes generate optimum conditions for obtaining high quality wines. Batos
and Lechinta vineyards may seem like a long forgotten land in the eye of the traveller. On the
other hand, the wine expert will see it as a region that has been created especially for the
production of exceptional grape varieties.

The gentle hills that remind us of Tuscany hills and the numerous streams are intertwined on
the green hills. The land which is rich in minerals and the temperate continental climate
contribute profusely here, at the shelter in the Carpathian arc, to the rich harvests of grapes.
At the wine-tasting cottage, which is hidden amidst the vineyards, there is a stunning,
breathtaking scenery that lies ahead of you. The Saxon church towers that rise in the midst of
the houses in Batos village seem to remind us of the bygone days which bestow a certain
beauty upon the place.
Here, at Liliac winery you can taste wines obtained from domestic varieties as well as foreign
ones.
Tansylvania has always been a fertile soil for living legends. All myths to the contrary, first and
foremost it is sublime wines that flow here. From grapes which draw into themselves the
unique terroir of this region and deliver the raw material from which Liliac produces
internationally renowned wines.

In today’s Transylvania, Liliac is bringing back to life a wine-making tradition that is centuries
old. Original, cultural landscape and modern wine-making technology work here in a fascinating
symbiosis second to none. It is here that autochthonous wines are produced, exciting in their
finesse and complexity. Whether white, red, rosé or irresistibly sweet – whenever Liliac adorns
the neck of a bottle, an inspiring drinking experience is close to hand.

Alongside hand-selected Romanian grapes, in every bottle of Liliac there is also a goodly
amount of Austrian expertise. Under the direction of Rudolf Krizan, who has experienced for
many years the miscellaneous faces of wines as a specialist, the vineyard and wine cellar are
professionalized in every detail. A wine-lovers’ joint venture then, impressively underlining
Liliac’s high quality standards.

Commitment, attentiveness and an affinity to the spiritual, the earth and the climate form
together the foundations of every truly great wine. The emerging vineyard is gifted with all of
these. Today, of course, anyone who wants to turn grape juice into premium wine needs much
more: uncompromising quality control, cutting-edge cellar technology and a not to little dash of
creativity to scoop the full potential of each vintage. With this in mind, the re-animation of
wine-making in this long-standing region should contribute to the optimal usage and
maintenance of valuable resources.

The History
The vineyard thrives in a land full of legends and tales, and viticulture and winemaking in this
region dates back to ancient times (4-5th centuries BC), but the zenith of this wine producing
region was reached with the arrival of German settlers in the 12th century.

Transylvania can look back on a long history of winemaking. Even Homer and Herodotus wrote
of Thracian wines well over 2300 years ago. In the 12th century, groups of German settlers re-
cultivated vineyards in the area, playing a significant part in Romanian wine history. Not long
after, the Transylvanian Saxons lent their energetic support. But much of this vinicultural
tradition was severely interrupted with the nationalization of the vineyards in 1948.
However, the fruitful soil and optimal climate remained. And today, these are the ideal
prerequisites for writing the next chapter in this long, developing story – for lifting wine-making
in Lechinta to a wonderful new level.

Sight seeing
Within one hour of driving from the Wineyard, you can visit the historical cities of:
Sovata
First mentioned in a 1597 document but recorded as a resort in 1850, Sovata is located at 1,600
ft. above the sea level, in the stunning forested region of Transylvania, Sovata features the
heliothermal Ursu (Bear) lake – unique in Europe. The mineral waters here are highly
prescribed in gynecological and sterility afflictions.
The nearby salt mine from Praid offers a suitable environment for the treatment of afflictions of
the respiratory system, such as asthma.
Targu Mures
Among the many beautiful cities in Transylvania that do not have a high tourist profile, Târgu
Mureș takes up a top spot. Close enough for a day trip from Brașov or Cluj-Napoca, it has its
own share of tourist attractions and can also be a good place to explore the Székely Land.
A beautiful Palace of Culture
The city’s Palace of Culture is an unmissable landmark while visiting. It was built between 1911
and 1913 at the request of mayor György Bernády. On the outside, the building is embellished
with Secession-style mosaics, frescoes and stained glass, making it a stand-out attraction. Its
Concert Hall rises on three levels of the building, while the impressive Mirrors Hall hosts 12
beautiful stained glasses, made in Róth Miksa’s studio in 1913.
The palace hosts today galleries of Romanian and Hungarian Art, the Târgu Mureș
Philharmonic, and the county library. The offer of exhibitions at the palace is listed here. At the
end of this month, the building will host the second edition of the Ball of the Palace, an event
meant to bring back the glamour of the old-time social gatherings.
The city’s Square of the Roses can be a good point to explore many of the beautiful buildings
around. Some of the landmark ones are the Prefecture Building, the Banyai House, the Arches
House, the Synagogue, or the Small Cathedral, modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The town’s first fortification was erected in 1492 but, after it was destroyed, a new one was
built in between 1602 and 1652. Five of its initial seven bastion were built by the guilds of the
town: the tanners, the tailors, the butchers, the blacksmiths, and the coopers. The bastions
have three or four levels, connected on the inside through wooden stairs.
The citadel, which spreads on 4.3 hectares, is home to the city’s Archaeology and History
Museum. Today, it regularly hosts events, such as the city days or the Beer Festival and the
Wine Celebration. A calendar of the events in the citadel is available here.
The Teleki-Bolyai Library in the city was built between 1799 and 1804, at the initiative of count
Teleki Samuel, the founder of the library. Teleki collected systematically for six decades and
bought books from 25 European towns. The library’s extensive collection includes many
volumes in Latin, Ancient Greek, German, French and Hungarian. Beside two editions of the
French Encyclopedia, the library has 52 incunabula (books printed during the earliest period of
typography), unique copies, rare prints, and editio princeps volumes. Visitors will find here
illuminated atlases, maps and albums as well as volumes illustrated by artists such as Hans
Holbein the younger, Rubens, Lucas Cranach, Bernard Picard and Dürer.
Housed in the Toldalagi Palace, the city’s Ethnographic Museum has collections of textiles,
wooden items, ceramics, icons but also contemporary creations, from all the Mureș
ethnographic areas.
A permanent exhibition dedicated to the old fairs that used to take place in the land of Mureș is
also open there. The exhibition covers the merchandise sold at fairs, the entertainment
showcased at the events, and a wealth of traditional wear illustrating this multicultural area.
The Toldalagi Palace, dating back to the 18th century, is the first noblemen’s palace built in the
city. The beautiful baroque edifice was built in between 1759 and 1772 by count Toldalagi
László and his wife, close to the Franciscan monastery.
A different museum in the city is the one dedicated to the history of the butcher’s job. The
butchers’ guild was one of the oldest in the city, recognized as far back as the 15th century.
During the first half of the 17th century, its members added their bastion to the town’s
medieval citadel. Now, a small museum set up by local meat products business Petry, which
also runs a restaurant, showcases the history of the trade and of the Petry family, as well as
various items used in time in the trade. More on it here.
For a sightseeing break, the city has many nice cafes, among them the international Café Frei
and the local Atelierul de Cafea or Crown Coffee, which also leaves on its doorsteps food for
those who need it and cannot afford it. Besides the theater and philharmonic seasons, the city
hosts film festivals and local editions of events such as the White Night of Galleries or of
Museums. Among the upcoming events this fall is a parade of retro cars, scheduled for October
20. In the eastern part of Târgu Mureș, the Corneşti plateau hosts the city’s zoo, one of the
largest in the country.

Reghin
Reghin was first mentioned in 1228 in a charter of Hungarian King Andrew II as Regun –
however, evidence of its strategic location and defence system suggests that the town might
have been considerably older, possibly founded by Ladislaus I.
Despite the devastations of the city during the Mongol invasion (1241) and during the Tatar and
Cuman incursions (1285), the town developed rapidly: already in the second half of the 13th
century the city was the residence and power centre of the families Tomaj and Kacsik, to whom
the nearby lands were awarded by the Hungarian Crown. Reghin became a minor ecclesiastical
centre in 1330, with the building of the Gothic church (Roman Catholic at the time, it now
serves the Protestant community) in the German part of the city; it is still the largest church in
the area, and hosts the oldest Medieval Latin inscription of any church in Transylvania. The
Hungarian part of the city has an even older church, initially built in the Romanesque style.
At the beginning of the 15th century the settlement gained city rights, and, from 1427, the right
to hold fairs. In the 16th and 17th century Reghin was devastated by Habsburg and Ottoman
troops on several occasions. It burned to the ground in 1848. In 1910, the population of the city
included 7,310 inhabitants, of which 2,994 were Germans (Transylvanian Saxons), 2,947
Hungarians, and 1,311 Romanians. [1]
In 1920 Reghin was assigned to Romania by the Treaty of Trianon, together with the rest of
Transylvania. In 1940, as a consequence of the Second Vienna Award, the city became part of
Hungary, together with the North of Transylvania. Almost 30% of the inhabitants were Jews at
that time. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Reghin ghetto and on 4 June 1944 were
deported to Auschwitz. In 1945, the city again became part of Romania.

Winemaker - Rudolf Krizan