Pannonia Champagne Factory, Pecs

The Pannonia Champagne Factory in Pecs is a testament to the region's long-standing tradition of sparkling wine production. Its story began with the Polish merchant Lorinc Littke, whose family had a rather unusual tradition of treating ailments with warm wine baths. Fleeing to Hungary after the Polish Revolution of the 1830s, Littke joined a tailor guild in Pecs. His son’s trip to France shifted the family from tailoring to winemaking. Initially interested in haute couture, he instead embraced champagne production and convinced his father to start a business using traditional French methods.

After studying in Bratislava, the younger Littke returned with expertise in preservation and bottling. Seeing Hungary’s wine potential, Lorinc Littke bought a vast cellar under Szent Istvan Square in 1858, founding the country’s first champagne cellar in 1859. The mid-19th-century factory, a grand Renaissance-style building, still stands above a 3-kilometer cellar network, 20-30 meters underground.

The Littke family's sparkling wine quickly gained national and international acclaim. Under Jozsef Littke’s leadership, the factory’s reputation soared, attracting visits from the Belgian Major Consul (1888) and Emperor Francis Joseph I (1891), who placed a major order. In 1892, Littke became Hungary’s first champagne producer honored as a "Transporter of the Caesarean and Royal Court."

Despite success, the factory struggled through two world wars and economic crises. Nationalized, it resumed champagne production in 1966 as Pannovin, later merging with Villany-Mecsekalja Winery. Privatized in 1996 under Swedish ownership as Pannonia Cezar, it expanded into winemaking and rebranded as Cezar Winery Kft in 2003. Today, Pannonia Champagne Factory upholds Hungarian winemaking excellence with sparkling and award-winning still wines.