Attila Gere is an iconic figure on the Hungarian wine scene. The Gere family established the Gere winery right after the regime change in 1991. Attila and his wife, Katalin (and later their two children), spent the first few years of the 1990s laying the foundations of their family empire. Gere was not only a pioneer of quality winemaking in Hungary but also a pioneer of Hungarian wine tourism. The same year he founded his winery, Gere also established the first Hungarian winemakers’ hotel, the Gere Panzió. Eventually, the family opened a four-star wellness hotel and restaurant, called Crocus Wine Hotel, in the center of Villány. Even before the creation of Kopar, Gere was awarded Winemaker of the Year in 1994, which is a prestigious prize in Hungary. Gere is synonymous with the Villány region, and Villány is synonymous with Gere.

The Kopár vineyard faces south and is located on the Szársomlyó hill in Villány—a steep, rocky slope that from afar looks almost lifeless. With its sharply pointed peak, this hill is iconic to the Villány region. Its name translates to barren, but some of the best red wines in Hungary come from this vineyard. One of these wines is the eponymous Kopar blend produced by Attila Gere Winery, which is arguably one of Villány’s most famous wines. Kopar was one of the first wines produced in the modern era of Hungarian winemaking (which started after the end of communism in 1989) to become truly famous in Hungary and gain international recognition.

Right from its initial release in 1997, Kopar became a symbol of the Villány region, and also Gere’s signature wine. Its name became well-known in Hungary and associated with the highest quality. It became the wine to buy for special birthdays, anniversaries, as a gift for important business partners ... or anyone you really wanted to impress. Full-bodied and age-worthy, it is still one of the most sought-after Hungarian wines and generates a lot of interest in Hungary—tasting groups gather for vertical tastings of Kopar, and its fans buy cases of it to store in their cellars for years.