Meet the founder of the Winer, Hugo Gutman, with a portrait of his grandfather who taught him to love wine and his homeland. But it all started much earlier…

The beginning of the 13th century. King of Hungary Istvan II grants land to his subject named Chepan. In 1230, the heir becomes Chiz’s son. The possession is called Chiz-tai, “Chiz’s estate”. Later, the area will be called “Chizay”.

15th century. The winery estate in the area of Chizay appears on Hungarian maps. It is a wine supplier to the owners of the Mukachevo (Munkatcz) Castle, the royal courts of Europe, and kings of northern lands.

18th and 19th centuries. The era of Austro-Hungary is a time of prosperity. Local winemakers refine their skills, and the wines of the region are well-known in Europe.

1870s. The phylloxera with new vines enters Transcarpathia. The pest destroys more than half of the vineyards in Europe.

Late 19th – early 20th century. Viticulture and winemaking technologies are developing. Plantations of European and local grape varieties are established in Transcarpathia.

1919 – Berehove, which was briefly under Romanian rule, passes to Czechoslovakia.

1938 – 1944. The Hungarian period continues, along with winemaking traditions.

1945 – Transcarpathia is annexed to the Soviet Union. The new system disrupts the usual farming, but traditions are not lost. The creation of agricultural enterprises contributes to the expansion of vineyard areas.

1950s-60s. Industrial grape areas in the region exceed 14,000 hectares.

1985-1988. The “Anti-Alcohol Campaign”. Most of the vineyards are destroyed in Transcarpathia, European varieties are cut down, and Isabella takes their place. Transcarpathia has not yet recovered.

1995 – A new enterprise is built on the site of the ancient winery estate of Chizay.

2000 – A million bottles of wine are released per month.

2005 – The building takes on the appearance of a country palace. Chateau Chizay has become a tourist attraction.

2006 – We establish our own vineyards. The vineyard area of Chateau Chizay is 272 hectares, with 1,088,000 seedlings.

2016 – The best red wines are placed in barrels made of French oak. In 2018, we continue to produce a premium collection of aged wines, expanding the range with white varieties.

2018 – The Chateau Chizay Academy educational project is launched. We develop the “Transcarpathian Wine” brand with a dream of prosperity for our vineyard and winemaking region. We initiate Direct Distribution of wines from the Chateau.

2019 – The “Wine Maker Chiz Museum” opens, the “Bordeaux-Transcarpathia” program begins, and a vibrant event “Young Wine Festival” is created at Chateau Chizay. We establish the Chizay Wine Run.

2020 – Despite the crisis and quarantine, we released a new unique product – Grape White Blend, a strong grape beverage made from distillate wine from local Furmint and Chersegi varieties. We build a wine cellar for premium wines. A tourist route is laid through Chateau Chizay’s vineyards on Mala Hora.

2021 – Three Silver medals at the London Wine Competition (plus quality recognition for Carpathian Sekt Chersegi). 13 medals at the “Wine & Spirits Ukraine Awards”, including 5 “gold” ones. Many activities under the slogan “for the first time in Ukraine”: yoga tours and art picnics in the vineyard; certification of vegan wines and grape juice by the Vegan Society. 

2022 – A terrible war, despite all the pain, did not stop the Company’s work. On February 24, sparkling wine was laid down using the classical method; we believe it will be the Wine of Victory. The construction of a production complex for grape spirits and brandy is completed. We received medals from the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. Carpathian Sekt Chersegi and “Troyanda Karpat” are ambassadors of Ukraine at La Cité du Vin, the main wine museum in the world. We work, create, and support! 💛💙

2023 – We released our first orange wine Furmint Orange, unique in Ukraine. Two Silver medals at the rigorous Mundus Vini competition. We expanded the export list to include Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Italy, and France. Carpathian Sekt Chersegi and Furmint Late Harvest are ambassadors at La Cité du Vin. For the fourth time, Chizay Sparkling Wine Run – 2023 took place. We opened a new plant for the production of strong grape beverages. “Troyanda Karpat” received the Gold medal at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Sekt Selection was created – the first sparkling wines of Transcarpathia made by the Traditional method from exclusive for Ukraine varieties of grape Chershey and Blaufrankisch of the 2021 vintage. Laid in bottles for the second fermentation on February 24, 2022… We continue to represent Ukrainian wines in the world, tell everywhere about Ukraine, which will undoubtedly win!

The history goes on…

The vineyards of Chateau Chizay are a handmade wonder of Transcarpathia. To create them, we combined human labor, generous nature, and modern knowledge.

We set up plantations on the lands of the region that were traditionally vine-growing areas and those whose conditions are scientifically recognized as perfect for grape cultivation.

The best soils, mainly of volcanic origin, southern slopes of hills, and a mild climate that allows for natural irrigation – the locations of our vineyards have the status of a unique Carpathian terroir.
Planting Chateau Chizay vineyards in 2006 became an event in Ukraine. We laid our plantations using a new technology with the help of the best Austrian specialists, technologies, and seedlings.

• Three vineyards
  in Transcarpathia
• More than 1 million
  seedlings
• 14 grape
  varieties

Now our 272 hectares are home to 1,088,000 grapevines, one vine for every Transcarpathian.

These are white and red European grape varieties. Traminer Rose, Riesling, Muscat Ottonel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blanc are among our favorites, but not the only ones. We are constantly improving and expanding the variety of plantations, paying attention to both classic and local grapes.

In Transcarpathia, they say, “Wine loves the sun and the shadow of the master.” The number of sunny days in our vineyards is the highest in the region, and our masters approach each vine at least 5 times per season.

Today, our vineyards are not simply plantations. They are a tourist attraction and the most beautiful place where Chateau Chizay welcomes guests. A walk through the vineyards is not just bright photos. We are confident that the spirit of Transcarpathia lives here, and it is the inspiration for our cause. We know and love it!

Submitting our product to the judgment of authoritative juries, we await independent evaluation. This is to understand whether our path is correct, our creative pursuits successful, and whether the results of our experiments resonate with experts.

At professional global competitions conducted in blind tasting format, we assess our wines, our grapes, our technologies, the work of our team, and our decisions. Additionally, we fulfill an important mission: we prove that Ukraine is a wine-producing country and introduce the world to Ukraine through wine!

In our treasure trove, we hold medals from the most prestigious and rigorous international competitions such as Decanter, the London Wine Competition, the Paris Wine Cup, the Japan Wine Challenge, Mundus Vini Dusseldorf, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, and others.

AWARDS 2024

Wines – Ambassadors at La Cité du Vin (Bordeaux, France, August 2024)
The ambassadors of Ukrainian winemaking at the La Cité du Vin museum in the world capital of winemaking are: Troyanda Karpat – vintage white dessert wine Troyanda Karpat – vintage red dessert wine

TOP 24 Best Wines of Ukraine (Warsaw, July 2024)

Initiated by the Wines of Ukraine team, six leading international wine experts – Masters of Wine – selected the 24 best wines of Ukraine through blind tasting. The following Chateau Chizay wines were included in the TOP 24 Best Wines of Ukraine: Carpathian Sekt Rose Blaufrankisch Brut 2023 (in the sparkling wines category by the Charmat-Martinotti method) Furmint Orange skin-contact 2023 (in the orange wines category) Furmint Late Harvest 2022 – the only wine selected in the sweet wines category and shortlisted among the 12 best wines of Ukraine.

Winelovers Wine Awards (Budapest, July 2024)

Gold Medal (94 points out of 100) – sweet white late-harvest wine Furmint Late Harvest (2022 vintage), competing in the sweet wines category. Silver Medal (87 points) – dry white wine Chersegi 2023 vintage (competing in the aromatic white wines category). Furmint Late Harvest earned the Best of Ukraine title with the highest score among all samples submitted from Ukraine.

Decanter World Wine Awards (London, June 2024)

International Wine and Spirits Competition (London, June 2024)

Grape White Blend – the first fortified drink by Chateau Chizay, created from grape distillate – received a Silver Medal at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. The competition dates back to 1969, and this is the first international award for this drink.

Mondial des Vins Blancs Strasbourg (France, March 2024)

The prestigious competition in France, in the legendary Alsace region, where only white wines compete, brought two top awards. Furmint Late Harvest – a special type of sweet late-harvest wine – won the Grand Gold Medal. Ice Wine – a sweet “ice” wine made from Rhine Riesling – won the Gold Medal.

Mundus Vini (Germany, February 2024)

The highly strict and prestigious international wine competition Mundus Vini, akin to the World Cup of winemaking, awarded Chateau Chizay two medals, including gold!

The legendary Troyanda Karpat won the Gold Medal: the vintage white dessert wine from the 2021 harvest, aged for 24 months, scored 91 points out of 100.

The vintage red dessert wine Troyanda Karpat – Silver Medal (88 points).

Ukraine Wine & Spirits Awards (Kyiv, May 2024)

The tasting competition Ukraine Wine & Spirits Awards – 2024 brought seven medals – one for each of the seven samples from Chateau Chizay.

Gold Medals: Zakarpattia Cognac “Mala Hora” 7 stars; Furmint Orange with a record score of 87.57 points; vintage white dessert wine Troyanda Karpat; and aged dry red wine Pinot Noir 2019 vintage.

Silver Medals: sparkling brut Carpathian Sekt Rose Blaufrankisch; aged dry red wine Cuvée 2020 vintage; Zakarpattia Cognac 5 stars.

Ukrainian Craft Spirits Awards (Kyiv, April 2024)

Chateau Chizay’s strong beverages received top honors at the 5th All-Ukrainian professional tasting competition Independent Craft (Ukrainian Craft Spirits Awards – 2024).

Fortified grape beverages – Grape Red Blend, Zakarpattia Cognac 5 stars, Zakarpattia Cognac “Mala Hora” 7 stars – brought the company Gold, Grand Gold medals, and titles of Best in their categories (grape distillates and brandy).

Awards 2023

Japan Wine Challenge (Japan, October 2023)

For the first time, a Ukrainian winery participated in the oldest and most prestigious competition in Asia, the Japan Wine Challenge, held for the 26th time in Tokyo:

• “Troyanda Karpat” (premium dessert wine, vintage 2021) – Platinum Medal
• Chersegi Chateau Chizay (dry white wine) – Bronze Medal

Wine & Spirits Ukraine Awards (Kyiv, November 2023)

• “Troyanda Karpat” (premium dessert wine, vintage 2021) – Platinum Medal
• Carpathian Sekt Chersegi (sparkling white extra dry) – Gold Medal
• Sekt Selection Chersegi (sparkling brut nature, traditional method) – Gold Medal
• Grape White Blend (strong grape beverage) – Gold Medal
• Grape Gold Blend (strong grape beverage, aged for 6 months in barrels from “Rose of the Carpathians”) – Gold Medal
• Cherry Liqueur “Cherry” – Gold Medal

Ukrainian Craft Spirits Awards (Kyiv, October 2023)

• Grape White Blend (strong grape beverage) – Gold Medal
• Grape Gold Blend – Gold Medal
• Cherry Liqueur “Cherry” – Gold Medal

Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (Belgium, September 2023)

• “Troyanda Karpat” (dessert varietal wine, vintage 2021) – Gold Medal

Wines – ambassadors at La Cité du Vin (Bordeaux, France, August 2023)

• Carpathian Sekt Chersegi (sparkling white brut wine)
• Furmint Late Harvest (special type of sweet wine made from late-harvested grapes)

Decanter (United Kingdom, May 2023)

• Cabernet Franc 2018 (dry aged red wine) – Bronze medal

Paris Wine Cup (April 2023)

• Carpathian Sekt Chersegi (sparkling white brut) – Bronze medal

Wine & Spirits Ukraine Awards (Kyiv, March 2023)

• “Country of Dreams” Pinot Noir 2019 (dry aged red wine) – Gold medal
• Pinot Noir 2018 (aged dry red wine) – Gold medal
• Carpathian Sekt Rose Blaufrankisch (sparkling rosé brut) – Gold medal
• Furmint Orange (orange dry wine, skin-contact) – Silver medal
• Furmint Late Harvest (special type sweet wine from late harvest) – Bronze medal
• Carpathian Sekt Chersegi (sparkling white brut) – Bronze medal

Mundus Vini Dusseldorf (Germany, March 2023)

• Merlot 2018 (aged dry red wine) – Silver medal
• Pinot Noir 2018 (aged dry red wine) – Silver medal

Paris Wine Cup – 2022:

• Troyanda Karpat 2017 – 91 points, Gold medal
• Furmint 2019 – 68 points, Bronze medal
• Cabernet Franc 2018 – 71 points, Bronze medal
• “Troyanda Karpat” was recognized as the best wine of the competition for its quality – Best Wine By Quality Award.

Decanter World Wine Awards – the most influential wine tasting competition in the world:

• Cabernet Franc 2018 – Silver medal
• Furmint 2019 – Bronze medal

For the first time in 2022, two wines from Chateau Chizay become ambassadors of Ukrainian winemaking at the world’s Center for Wine Culture, La Cité du Vin:

• Carpathian Sekt Chersegi brut
• The unparalleled “Troyanda Karpat”.

London Wine Competition:

• Chersegi, Furmint 2019, and “Troyanda Karpat” – Silver medals

Wine & Spirits Ukraine Awards: 13 medals, including 5 gold:

• Pinot Noir 2018
• Cuvée 2018
• Furmint 2019
• Transcarpathian Kahor 2018
• “Dreamland” Pinot Noir 2018

Meet our team, diverse individuals united by a common cause.

Some have been working since the foundation and remember building the winery, while others have joined recently. However, love is the same for everyone here, named Chateau Chizay.

This team was created by the founder of the winemaking company, Hugo Gutman, who is the “playing coach,” overseeing all creative and work processes.

And it seems that this team can handle everything:

• taking care of 272 hectares of vineyards
• creating legendary wine
• ensuring production, accompanying wine from vine to glass
• representing wine in Ukraine and abroad
• hosting guests
• organizing international projects
• arranging vibrant festivals…

You may already be familiar with some, but there are others who work diligently in their responsible areas whom you may not know yet.

Managers, technologists, laboratory workers, bottling and warehouse workers, tasting hosts, engineers, security guards, electricians, drivers, administrators, logisticians, economists – a modern company brings together specialists of many disciplines with diverse qualifications.

Special respect goes to our grape growers, as wine is born in the vineyard.

Experience and youthful energy, knowledge and desire for development, conscientiousness, responsibility, and inspiration – this is all about the Chateau Chizay team.

Because the company’s mission is to revive the glory of Ukrainian wine, born in Transcarpathia.

Get to know those whose dedication to the cause makes Chateau Chizay wines special!

Of course, not everyone from the team is featured in this mini-gallery: it’s just very challenging to catch some for a photo between work, but we’re working on it…