Bodri Circuit - Must

Itinerary 

• Start from the parking lot on the asphalt road leading here toward Sárköz Street (northwards).
• When you reach Sárköz Street, turn left and continue on the asphalt road to the bus turnaround, then turn left again and continue on the hillside vineyard road.
• The vineyard road winds back and forth among the vineyards – always follow the steepest asphalt road.
• Where the asphalt road ends, turn right onto the upward dirt road, which, leaving the vineyards, leads into the forest. Do not leave this road until you reach a paved vineyard road.
• Upon reaching the vineyard road, turn left, then when you leave a loess path and reach the vineyards again, make a sharp right turn: the K trail leads through the Szarvas gorge toward the Bati-kereszt lookout.
• To reach the lookout (the only checkpoint of the route) you have to take about a 200-meter detour.
• Returning from the lookout, turn left, follow the K trail to the next junction, where turn sharply right onto the concrete-paved downhill vineyard road.
• You do not need to leave the vineyard road in any direction; it goes straight down into the valley of the Cinka stream. From the bus turnaround, follow the now familiar path back to the Bodri winery.

Detailed description of the route 

The route starts from Faluhely vineyard, at the parking lot of the Bodri winery. The quite large concrete slab suggests that wine tourism attracts many visitors; considering the nearby restaurant, guesthouses, and even the well-designed buildings for economic purposes, this is not surprising. The geographical name indicates two things: first, there may once have been a settlement here; secondly, the term "vineyard" refers to a border area between two roads or paths, usually marked with a distinct name. The word’s origin refers to furrows or parcels aligned in the same direction, on arable land oriented perpendicularly onto another. The wine region itself also consists of vineyards, mostly resembling a puzzle on the map.

From vineyard to vineyard

From the start, we head on the asphalt road toward the Cinka stream valley in Faluhely vineyard, then cross the stream and turn left. Looking straight ahead in the direction of the ridge, the first checkpoint is already visible, the Bati-kereszt lookout. At the nearby bus turnaround, turning left, we start climbing up on the winding vineyard road between very well-maintained vineyards. Occasionally – especially on asphalt sections and at junctions – you can see the purple BK mark on the ground, but it is not very conspicuous at first, so using a map is strongly recommended.

As we ascend the steep hillside road, an ever better view opens up over the valley behind us and to its other side, the Baranya valley. As far as the eye can see, vineyards surrounded by forests can be seen. The Szekszárd wine region covers 2600 hectares and comprises the easternmost parts of the Szekszárd Hills. The local viticulture tradition dates back millennia: the Celts perhaps, but definitely the Romans cultivated vines here. Today Szekszárd is primarily known for its red wines, but this was not always the case. The 15th-16th century advance of the Turks and the Turkish occupation caused changes in viticulture. On one hand, the Turkish occupation area cut off the country’s southern, Srem wine region, which was the most famous; on the other hand, Serbs arrived behind the Turks, bringing Balkan viticulture culture, including the technology and grape varieties needed to produce red wine, such as Kadarka, probably named after the Albanian city Shkodër. The loess soil covered by a 20–50 meter thick red clay layer gets sunlight for 2040-2050 hours yearly; also, the unique climate formed by the meeting of the Great Plain and the Szekszárd Hills helps winemakers’ work.

The vineyard road among the vines suddenly turns into an unmarked forest path without any transition. The easternmost extensions of the Szekszárd Hills forests reach here, where with some luck you might even spot big game. During summer heat, it can be quite refreshing to enter the shade of the trees, moving straight on the dirt road until you reach the next vineyard. Here turn left at the concrete road and follow the loess path to the next vineyard. Before making a sharp right turn back into the Szarvas gorge, it is worth walking down to the curve close to the vineyard road: looking north, you can see above Bodzás vineyard to the southern tip of Mezőföld.

From gorge to lookout

Returning to the K trail, a path almost immediately leads into the Szarvas gorge. Loess paths are called gorges here; they partly form due to precipitation and partly because of human activity on the loess-covered hills. These can be quite deep and wide, passable formerly by carts and now by cars, or as narrow as the Szarvas gorge, where a narrow path winds between walls 2-4 meters high. Emerging from several hundred meters of gorge, we arrive in the Bati vineyard, and soon reach the Bati cross. According to its inscription, the stone cross was erected in 1887 and its name recalls a village destroyed during the Turkish era (Village Bat was near Kakasd). The term’s origin is interesting since "báta" means puddle or pool in Serbian, and in Turkish it indicated a wet place, swamp. In the flat or gently undulating landscape below the hills, flowing waters often really accumulated in swamps, also in this area (see also: Bátaszék).

After leaving the cross, we turn almost immediately left, aiming for the Bati-kereszt lookout with about a 200-meter detour. The lookout – the only checkpoint – stands on a 280-meter hill, rising twenty meters above ground level. From the lookout level, 15 meters high, a 360-degree panorama opens: to the east, the endless plains of the Great Plain spread before the foothills of the Szekszárd Hills; to the west-southwest, the hills roll; looking north, the southern part of Mezőföld appears; to the south, the familiar Baranya valley and Faluhely vineyard. The popular excursion site also has a rest area equipped with benches, tables, and a fire pit.

From the lookout, we return to the vineyard road along which the K trail also runs and turn left. On the fence opposite, we can see a map of Heimann Estate's vineyards, which also shows what grapes primarily cover each vineyard. The most typical varieties are olaszrizling, chardonnay, kadarka, kékfrankos, merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and zweigelt. The Szekszárd bikavér and Fuxli, i.e., siller, perhaps the most notable local wines. Generally, in Szekszárd’s base wines, several vineyards are blended to ensure balanced quality, and many varietal wines are blends as well, blending vineyards of the same grape variety.

We only travel a short distance on the K trail, then after a few hundred steps turn right onto the valley leading concrete vineyard road, leaving behind the Rockenbauer Pál South Transdanubian Blue Trail. From here, only downhill remains, through the vineyards of Baranya valley; occasionally, the opposite hillside, the already visited Faluhely vineyard, can be seen. At the ends of many rows of vines, one can read which winery planted which grape and when on those rows. Passing through a small forest area, the road turns sharply left, where we meet a few "old-fashioned" small estates: cellars, a well, a few rows of vines – according to a local saying, there is hardly a Szekszárd resident without a small vineyard.

We soon reach the already familiar bus turnaround from the start and then the road leading to Faluhely vineyard, which leads to the finish. After check-in, the ceramic plaque for completion can be collected at the Optimus Restaurant, and naturally, a must (young wine) can be tasted if visiting in the appropriate season.