Grape-Vine Ltd. Expands Capacity with EU Support

Grape-Vine Ltd. has expanded its capacity at its site in Kiskunmajsa, SE Hungary with a new storage hall and the purchase of wine processing equipment with a total of HUF 769 million in European Union funding, the company's managers told MTI.

Róbert Szőke-Tóth, one of the managing directors of Grape-Vine Ltd., said that the investment was made with the support of HUF 462 million won in the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Program (Ginop) and HUF 308 million of their own resources.

In the last year and a half, a new building was constructed at their site in kiskunmajsa to store wine raw materials and finished products, expanding the previously limited storage capacity.

They have also purchased wine processing equipment, including tanks, filters, a nitrogen generator, a grape crusher with pump and a pneumatic grape press. The company also purchased five electric forklift trucks for material and goods handling.

The new equipment will greatly improve production efficiency, increase quality and expand current capacity, but the investment is also significant in terms of energy efficiency, he added.

Lajos Eiler, another managing director of Grape-Vine Ltd, recalled that the winery was founded together with his friend, Róbert Szőke-Tóth, back in 1998, when they bought the former Jonathán Cooperative winery, which had a long history. Since then, the Kiskunmajsa-based winery has become one of Hungary's leading wineries and is increasingly known not only in Hungary but also beyond its borders, he added.

He pointed out that an average of 8.5 million bottles are produced annually from the ‘La Fiesta’ range, the country's best-known wine brand, which offers a wide assortment of wines ranging from sweet to varietal.