Ponzichter (from Hungarian poncichter) is a term coined at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries to describe German-born winegrowers in the area around the Hungarian city of Sopron (German: Ödenburg). The name Poncichter is a verbalized form of bean grower and comes from the fact that these wine growers used to plant beans among the vines. Probably one of the first written mentions of the term comes from a magazine in 1897. The cultivation of beans brought additional income to the winegrowers or could mitigate losses during poor harvests, and furthermore, no taxes had to be paid on the beans produced. In addition, the cultivation of beans had a positive effect on the vines, since beans belong to the legumes and nitrogen-collecting bacteria live on their roots. The Poncichter belonged to an important social class in Sopron and played a decisive role in the development of the northern part of the town, their vineyards stretched all the way to Lake Neusiedl. In the cellars of the houses, besides the large wooden wine barrels, there were tables and a few chairs, and in the courtyards there were taprooms. Thus, almost every house had a small wine tavern, where the social life of the Poncichter took place. The taverns were marked by a fir branch or a wine wreath on the wall of the house, white or red ribbons indicated the color of the wine served. In Sopron, a neighborhood (Poncichter negyed) was named after them. In the town of Kőszeg, thirty kilometers to the south, the term Poncichter is also used for wine growers. See also Gizella Frang: A soproni poncichter nyelv szókincse. In: MTA Nyelvtudományi Intézet (Hrsg.): Magyar Csoportnyelvi Dolgozatok. Band 61, ELTE Budapest 1994, . External links Poncichter (gazdapolgár) hagyományok – gazdapolgár-negyed Sopronban – kulturális örökség bei Győr-Moson Sopron Megyei Önkormányzat (ungarisch) Poncichterek at Sopron anno (ungarisch) Sopron Wine regions of Hungary