…or the coolest experience in the vineyard
instastory
PUBLISHED ON
May 25, 2025
BY
S for Serendipity (or Stubborn Planning Pays Off)
Call it comfort, but for years, I’d been dreaming of the Liliac vineyards, yet somehow, that 3-hour drive always felt like a stretch too far. Then, on a holiday weekend, Good Friday, no less, the stars aligned for a trip to Bistrița. Not wanting to burn 4 – 5 hours round-trip in the car (Sibiu to Bistrița), we gambled on breaking the journey with an overnight in Batoș, Mureș County. As I’d been stalking the Liliac website for ages, I knew they had something truly special: accommodation right in the vineyard. I was thrilled to book directly online, a package for a 6-wine tasting, dinner, breakfast, and one night for two. But my excitement was premature. I expected an email confirmation post-booking… crickets. A week later, I fired off an email to their office address, and bam, near-instant reply: my original message had landed in spam, but the reservation was locked in. (pro tip : always follow up with an email or call after booking to confirm, I’d reserved three weeks out, and it still nearly slipped.)
P.S. Communication ramped up in the days before departure, we were chasing check-in times and begging for a guided winery/vineyard tour. Alas, it required a minimum of 12 people, and we fell short (initially 
).
Good Friday: Onward to Liliac Lodge!
We clocked 3 hours from Sibiu, a fairly easy drive, blending highway stretches with quaint villages, and rolled into Batoș, Mureș County. There we found both the Wineshop & Winery (Str. Principală nr. 41) and our lodging, Liliac Lodge, just 2 km up a gravel road from the shop.
The scenery on the way to the lodge is absolutely breathtaking, vineyards draping every hill around the village. (We later learned Liliac works two separate vineyards on different hills, about 30 km apart: Batoș and Lechința.) The cabin, perched at the highest point of the Batoș vineyard, is impossible to miss from afar.
A few words about Liliac Lodge, which exudes great style. It’s an ingenious construction with a minimalist design, yet extremely cozy, featuring just one double room (Yes! You read that right… only one room, making the experience even more intimate and exclusive), a tasting room for about 20 people, and a terrace.
Of course, I asked why there was only one room… and our host, Tünde Pappai, the Winery’s Tourism Manager, shared the history of the winery with us, as well as future plans. There are intentions to expand accommodation capacity, there is both demand and potential, but it was unclear exactly when that will happen.
Tünde gives us a tour of the place once we’re settled, then we dive into the 6-wine tasting.
Transylvania is famous for its white wines, thanks to the unique microclimate (big day-night temperature swings, wind, late-summer fog, etc.), which is why I picked the 6-wine package focused on whites instead of the Private Selection, which featured reds like Pinot Noir, Fetească Neagră, an Orange Wine, and a sparkling. I thought—wrongly—that reds might not shine in this region. Boy, was I mistaken! With Tünde’s kindness, we tried the Liliac Pinot Noir, and it blew me away so much that I left the wineshop with 2 bottles 
.
But back to our tasting… Tünde shares the winery’s story, under Austrian ownership since 2010 (just like LacertA, if you recall… we instantly recognize the same style and imprint: impeccable organization, spotless cleanliness, everything meticulously arranged). The owner, an architect passionate about wine and beauty, dreamed up the lodge, he designed it entirely, while honoring Transylvanian wine making tradition. If LacertA had the lizard as its symbol, Liliac naturally has the bat – seen as a protector of the vines.
What blew me away was the freshness and lightness of the Fetească Albă (perfect for summer evenings), both Sauvignon Blanc versions—we tried the standard and the Private Selection… and the latter became a blind-tasting challenge (not in the package, but Tünde wanted to test us 
). It had an exceptional bouquet, a complex wine bursting with exotic pineapple and mango notes, radically different from anything I expected from a Transylvanian SB. Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc (one bottle came home as a souvenir ). Other surprises: the Liliac rosé, the most masculine and serious rosé I’ve ever had, with underripe strawberry and pomegranate notes, yet incredibly elegant (I learned it got its salmon hue from a splash of Cabernet). But the star of the show? Hands down, the Private Collection Pinot Noir. Pinot is a finicky, disease-prone grape that demands attention, which is why I hesitated on Transylvanian reds in a “mostly white” region… but boy, was I wrong. A wine to savor: pomegranate, coffee, rose petals, and velvety chocolate, pairing perfectly with the wild mushrooms we had at dinner: Pinot Noir Private Selection.
We ended with a dreamlike ice wine—and this time, Cosmin nailed it: quince and ripe apricot notes, no hesitation (thanks to his Valea Călugărească & Lechința pedigree… those in the know, know ). Transylvanian Ice Wine.
After the feast, our hosts handed us the cabin keys 
and we were alone at last. We took a walk through the vineyard, even though the vines were still “asleep” (not us, the vines ), and soaked in the blooming trees and dandelions. Back at the cabin, we polished off the leftovers and both agreed: this experience must be repeated.
Morning brought birdsong, a stroll through dew-soaked grass, and coffee with misty hills all around. And because I playfully whined about wanting a winery tour, Tünde, the perfect host, opened the wineshop and cellar just for us. We saw grape processing from Lechința and Batoș, the destemmer, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, and my favorite: barrel aging. We were thrilled to learn Liliac uses only Transylvanian oak from Tonnellerie Vlad, with medium and heavy toasting, especially for the reds.
