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Day 10 Near Lake Balaton, Hungary

April 3, 2019 – 7:33 am

Pezsgö, sparkling wine at Garamvári.

On the 10th day we traveled about two hours to reach Lake Balaton,the largest lake in Central Europe. The area around the lake to home to tourist spots, traditional homes and not far away are wineries. A ferry provides easy transportation across the lake.

The first visit of the day was at Garamvári where we met one of the owners and the winemaker. Garamvári was established 25 years ago. Today the winery, an 85 hectare estate, produces sparkling and still wines. The temperatures of the vineyards are moderated by Lake Balaton. 

We then enjoyed lunch at Kistücsök, a restaurant owned by a brother and sister. The restaurant menu offers a variety of Hungarian foods. The atmosphere is friendly with touches of low-key elegance including fabric tablecloths. After lunch we reached the far side of Lake Balaton by a short ferry ride.

Weeping vines at Jásdi Wine Estate

Our next winery stop was Jásdi wine estate which included tasting wines. We learned that the vineyards were once owned by the Bishop Ranolder of Veszprém. István Jásdi bought the property in 1998. Today Jásdi is producing more than 100,000  bottles. As we closely observed the vineyards, we noticed the vines beginning to weep.

We enjoyed dinner at the Bock Restaurant. We stayed the night at Hotel Zenit and looked forward to our visit the next day at Pálffy winery.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Day 9 in Hungary

April 2, 2019 – 10:19 am

Wine cellar at Bodri wine estate

We began day 9 in Hungary by traveling to Szekszáred to visit Vida Péter, a boutique winery, where Mr. Péter Vida is both winemaker, vineyardist and owner. At a young age, Peter’s father had Peter and his brothers tending a vineyard. Eventually, Péter learned to make wine and  Péter entered wines into a contest without his father’s knowledge. When his father read the newspaper and saw that the wines had won, he told Péter, “God will help you with your work.” Years later Péter is enthusiastic about producing the best possible wines from his vineyard.

After a delightful visit with Péter Vida, we traveled to the Bodri wine estate where we learned that the family has been involved with vineyards for eight generations. A restaurant where we enjoyed lunch is also on the property. Large cellars include a section that wine collectors can rent to store their collection of wines.

Takler Kúria wine cellar in Hungary

Later in the day we visited Takler Kúria cellar for a wine tasting and dinner. Our overnight stay was comfortable at the Takler Kúria Hotel. The family has been involved in the wine industry for several generations. The wine cellar is located eight meters below the surface.  Dinner in the evening in the Takler Kúria Restaurant was elegant and a lovely way to end the evening.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

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Day 8 in Hungary

April 1, 2019 – 10:34 am

Vylyan Wine Estate cellar

On day 8 of our visit to Hungary we traveled to Villány to visit Vylyan Wine Estate and enjoyed a large elegant lunch with the owner. The winery produces a unique Hungarian wine with the grape Csoka. Vylyan winery claims to have the largest vineyard of Csoka with 0.6 hectares.

After a delicious lunch at Vylyan, we visited Gere Wine Estate. The winery has 75 hectares of organically grown grapevines. After the end of Communist domination, the owner’s parents, Attila and Katalin, began buying vineyards. The maternal grandfather, Adam Wéber, remembered where the good vineyards had been located and this helped to locate which vineyards to buy.

Gere Wine Estate

Bock Cellars acoustical room

To end the day, we visited Bock Wine cellar which included dinner at the Bock restaurant. Bock winery now produces sparkling and still wines. Bock began producing sparkling wines in 2007. The large cellars were delightful to visit. One room of the cellar had outstanding acoustics and Terry could not help singing a verse from Pie Jesu. The owner is ebullient and extra enthusiastic about life. His enthusiasm added to the quality of our visit to the winery, restaurant and lodging.

We had a great day in Villány.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

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Day 6 in Hungary

March 29, 2019 – 12:48 pm

Tasting rooms in the Valley of Beautiful Women

On our sixth day of visiting Hungary, we returned to The Valley of the Beautiful Women in search of the two statues that we had read about. The Valley of Beautiful Women includes two rows of tasting rooms.

We also visited the Farmer’s Market of Eger, where the outside of the building was filled with an array of colorful plants. Inside the market were many farmers offering a variety of vegetables and fruits. Sweet and hot ground paprika was available in various sizes. Unfortunately for us, we knew that in order to take paprika back to the US, we needed to purchase the paprika in “sealed” packages.

 

The cellar at Gal Tibor is 500 years old.

Our final visit to a winery in Eger was to Gal Tibor. The cellar at Gal Tibor is 500 years old. This is a second generation family owned winery. Gal Tibor is in the hands of the brother and sister team. The winery and tasting room is located in a busy, walking area of Eger. On the day of our visit, the winery was busy with several small crafters offering a selection of products to the visitors.

The upstairs of the building where we enjoyed tasting wines paired with a variety of Hungarian foods including sausage, fish and breads.

After our visit to Gal Tibor, we made our way to Budapest about two hours away. 

Cheers!

Kathy and Terry

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Day 7 in Hungary

March 28, 2019 – 3:55 pm

The Hernhyák winery started in 1993 and is a family owned winery offering many wines including Noir.

We began our Sunday early in Budapest by visiting the historic church of St. Matthias. Inside the religious facility has aged statues and old ornate pews with wood kneelers.

On Sunday, many shops are closed or have shorter hours. Most wineries are closed but after breakfast we did visit a small winery about 40 minutes outside of  Budapest. The Hernhyák winery started in 1993 and is a family owned winery offering popular events for the public. They also produce distilled products. We visited the large greenhouse on the property where we saw small seedlings that had just been started.

We traveled a short distance to another small Hungarian village and had lunch outdoors at Sonkamester. We enjoyed a pleasant, sunny afternoon with members of the Wine a’ More Travel agency and their families.

Lover level of Rókus Falvy tasting room along winery row.

Before going back to Budapest for the evening, we visited a short section of very small wineries located along a main street. This winery row was intriguing to walk along the street to see the many old buildings that were home to a wine tasting room. We stopped at Rókus Falvy for a tasting and to learn about the winery.

A short time later we were on our way back to our Budapest lodging for the evening.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

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The Fifth Day Visiting Hungary

March 26, 2019 – 12:38 am

Kovács Nimród Wines

On our 5th day of visiting Hungary, we continued exploring Eger. Our day included a visit to Kovács Nimród Cellar, sightseeing in historic Eger, a visit and wine tasting at St. Andrea winery as well as dinner at Szépasszonyvölgy located in The Valley of the Beautiful Women.

At Kovács Nimród we saw a number of crucifixes and our winery/wine tasting guide noted that people would pray for a good harvest. We walked, tasted wines and walked through the wine cellars while our guide talked about the history of the winery with special emphasis on the owner. 

Eger Castle in Hungary

After our visit to Kovács Nimród, we explored the area of Eger near the castle. An array of small shops are available to enjoy shopping for souvenirs and Hungarian products. Eventually we made our way to Eger Castle, the site of the renowned Siege of Eger in 1552. This was the setting of the legend of the well known Bull’s Blood wine. However while at Eger Castle we saw no mention of the connection of Bull’s Blood wine and the battle. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch at the castle outside of a restaurant which claimed to be one of the top two restaurants in Eger. (laborbistro.hu)  I chose a Caesar salad and was surprised at the large size and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh flavors.

St. Andrea Wine Cellar

After lunch we drove to the laidback Valley of Beautiful Women as our guide related one of the legends of the valley.

Our next winery visit was to St. Andrea where we were quickly greeted and followed by a tour of the St. Andrea cellar caves. After the tour we went to an upper level for the wine tasting. We were surprised to learn according to our tour guide (a deacon for the Byzantine Orthodox Catholic church) that there was no St. Andrea. The winery was named for the winemaker’s wife. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of religious paintings and icons in the room. It was explained that the deacon and the winemaker had painted these. Soon we sat down for the wine tasting that was accompanied by a plate of bread, meat and cheese.

In the evening, we returned to The Valley of the Beautiful Women where we stopped at Demeter, a small wine tasting room, set amongst many other wine shops/bars. These wine tasting rooms are set into a cliff/wall of carved out caves. After tasting two wines at Demeter we wandered for a time through the park and past numerous brightly lit wine shops.

Eventually we made our way to the Ködmön Csárda Restaurant. This restaurant, also in The Valley of Beautiful Women, is large and divided into several parts. The staff is friendly and very polite. One waiter in particular was happy to regale us with two variations of the legend behind the name of the valley.

Thus concluded our 5th successful day in Hungary in the Eger region.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

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The Fourth Day of Visiting Hungary

March 23, 2019 – 12:55 pm

Árvay Family Cellars in Tokaj, Hungary

Our fourth day in Hungary began with a visit to Árvay Family Cellars. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by family members who are very involved in the winemaking, vineyards and marketing of the Árvay  wines. The vineyards of 17 hectares are organic. The vineyards consist of Hungarian and international grapevines. Upon entering the tasting room, visitors will quickly see a large display of the rocks that have been found over the years in the vineyards. The family knows details of the rocks including the ones that have fossils. Later our discussion included the improvements to the Hungarian wine industry including the more recently produced good, food friendly, dry wines.

Wine at Tóth Ferenc in Eger, Hungary

While we were excited to visit the next wine region of Hungary, we were sorry to leave Tokaj, a world renowned wine region that is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. However before long, we entered Eger another great wine region of Hungary. Our first winery to visit in Eger was Tóth Ferenc. The winery was founded in 1983 beginning with six hectares. Today the owner prefers working in the vineyard and has a winemaker who is excited to make wines in the Eger region. After touring the winery and the cellars built in 2011 we went to an upper floor where we tasted several wines with the winemaker. Two of the special wines we taste were Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) and Egri Leányka Superior 2016.

Our day finished with a delicious five course meal at the Macok Restaurant located just outside of the Eger Castle walls where the legend of the Bull’s Blood originated. True or not the legend is not only entertaining but fascinating.

As we left the restaurant that night, we knew would be visiting Eger Castle the next day where we hoped to learn more about the Siege of Eger in 1552 and its connection with the legend of Bull’s Blood wine.

Cheers,

Kathy and Terry

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A Third Day in the Tokaj, Hungary Wine Region

March 22, 2019 – 3:12 pm

Our wine in Hungary continued for the third day. We spent the entire day in Tokaj exploring and tasting the sweet Azu wines as well as the new and upcoming dry wines. After leaving our lodging site of Gróf Degenfeld Castle, we visited Kikelit Cellars , Hetszolo Estate Vineyard and Oremus.

At Oremus, a large winery, we saw several carboys aging gallons of Eszencia. Oremus was established by a Spanish company. The winery was named for a vineyard. Grape varieties in the Oremus vineyards include Furmint, Hárslevelü, Sárgamuskotály and Zéta. The cellars of the winery remain a constant 11 to 12 degrees Celsius (52 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit).

As soon as we reached Kikelit, we stopped in a room where the types of soil and rocks from the vineyards were displayed. One drawer displayed fossils, another rocks and stones and then the third displayed artifacts found in the vineyards. Guesses were made as to what some of the items were and well as what the items were used for. It was a quick, fun moment. 

Kikelit Cellars

Soon we were provided with a tour of the cellar which are about 300 years old, although no one knows exactly.  Next we went to the upper level of the building where we were enveloped in a bath of sunshine. Glass windows allow in plenty of light. A door leads to the outside patio which is adjacent to a recently planted demonstration vineyard that will include several grapevines of the grape varieties growing in Tokaj.

Far in advance of reaching the Hetszolo vineyards, we saw a “Hollywood” style sign placed high in the hills of vineyards announcing TOKAJ – HETSZOLO.  Arriving at the vineyards, we met American-born Kathryn who provided us with a walk up through the vineyards as she described the organic techniques the winery is currently using. 

Hetszolo Estate Vineyard

Kathryn also talked about the history of Hetszolo vineyards and how grapes had been growing here for centuries. At one time the vineyards had been owned by seven separate winegrowers who eventually sold the vineyards to one individual. After the trek through the vineyards, we went into Tokaj where the winery operates a tasting room located over deep cellars that have their own renowned history. Later we went to an upper floor tasting room where it was brighter and a bit warmer. We tasted several of the Hetszolo wines including a phenomenal Tokaji Eszencia which is produced with free run juice from botrytised grapes.

For our wine journey, Day 3 was another successful day!

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

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A Second Day in Tokaj, Hungary

March 21, 2019 – 12:59 am

Gergely Somogyi is a very knowledgeable guide.

On our second full day in Hungary, we arrived in the Tokaj wine region and met our knowledgeable wine guide an expert on the wines of Tokaj, Gergely Somogyi at Barta Cellars. Gergely guided us through the 400-year-old structure while also explaining the history of winemaking in Hungary beginning at least 1,000 years ago. He noted that the vineyards of Tokaj were classified in 1670. In 1737, the wine region was demarcated  and it became the first demarcated wine region in the world. A wall in one of the Barta buildings displayed a large map of the wine region in 1865.

As many of the world’s wine region did, Hungary and the Tokaj wine region has had its ups and downs throughout the centuries. The Hungarian wine industry also saw the loss of vineyards due to phylloxera as did many other wine regions. Over time the wine industry has also suffered due to conquering conquests and political movements. However, today Hungary’s wine industry is burgeoning once again.

It was interesting to discover that the wine region of Tokaj which found its reputation due to sweet white wines is now discovering that white dry wines especially using the Furmint grape are now highly recognized.

Our first Enzó wine of the day at Barta Cellers

After learning about the history of wine in Hungary, we continued with a tour of the Barta winemaking facility and cellars. Owned by Karoly Barta, the winery has 10 hectares of organic vineyards predominantly planted with the Furmint grape. Winemaking includes aging the wines in oak.

We stopped at another room where we had a wine tasting of six Barta wines that ranged from dry to sweet. Our visit to Barta included seeing the large renovated guest house available for rent.

Our next stop of the day was to Elso Mádi,  a restaurant where I enjoyed a beef consommé soup that included carrots, potatoes and pasta. Terry had the Cauliflower curry, black Basmati rice and Coriander.

Directly behind the restaurant is Ma’d Wine. Wine tourism is encouraged at Ma’d Wine with wine tastings, occasional vineyard walks and tasting wines in the vineyard. The winery building is quite new and in  2019, a new warehouse is planned. After the winemaker opened the doors our eyes were drawn to the over-sized large and colorful wall paintings. Featured in the paintings were comic goats. Inquiring minds would ask what do goats have to do with a winery. Later we discovered that the owners of the winery also have a goat farm.

Very colorful walls in the winery of Ma’d Wine

We returned to the restaurant to taste four of the Ma’d wines. Soon it was time to leave for Holdvölgy where we discovered the winemaker waiting for us outside. Our attention was quickly drawn to the  sight of the tasting room’s living roof. The clear glass front walls of the tasting room highlighted the beautiful gold color of all of the Holdyölgy wines.

Our tour began with a walk down the circular staircase where we entered the large labyrinth cave system. In the rock covered caves, we tasted the first Holdvölgy wine which was dry. We then walked through the “endless” caves filled with wine barrels. Later we returned to the tasting room where we enjoyed a vertical tasting of six Aszú wines which were sweet. The variation between these sweet wines was due in part to the weather for each year. Each wine was a little different.

A vertical tasting of six Enzó wines at Holdvölgy Cellar

Our final stop for day two was Gróf Degenfeld Castle also the home of organic wines beginning in 2017. The winery is located behind the large mansion and also had a large cave system including a cave library of wines.

The cave at Gróf Degenfeld Winery

We stayed over night in the mansion, built in 1872, which offers elegant dinners and cuisine as well as large rooms for guests.

We could not have asked for a better way to spend our first day in Tokaj.

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Aszú Restaurant in Budapest Offers a Taste of Hungary

March 20, 2019 – 1:40 am

Aszu Restaurant in Budapest, Hungary

On our first night in Budapest, we were taken to Aszú Restaurant by Gabriella Gónusz  and Csilla Jánosi of Wine A’ More Travel. This wine travel agency set up our wine journey through Hungary and a region in Austria. Aszú specializes in Hungarian cuisine that has a modern twist whiles respecting tradition. The wine list heavily relies on the Tokaj wine region in the north eastern part of Hungary. 

We began with a Palinka and a sparkling wine from Tokaj. The Palinka, a distilled spirit, was very aromatic. It had a clear color and intense taste of pears. The mouthfeel was velvety with some alcohol heat. This was paired with a  goose liver appetizer that included goose liver cream, Aszú jelly, grape salad and olive powder. Kathy had a duck liver appetizer that included duck liver on french toast with sorrel and hollandaise sauce. This appetizer was paired with a Furmint sparkling wine. This sparkling wine with many small bubbles and a mousse around the circumference offered a fresh taste. It was crisp and dry as well as palate cleansing.

Fresh fillet of trout from Sziluásuárad, parsley risotto, pak choy, zucchinies and gremolata. I paired this with a dry Furmint from Oremus in the Tokaj region.

For my entrée I had fresh fillet of trout from Sziluásuárad, parsley risotto, pak choy, zucchinies and gremolata. I paired this with a dry Furmint from Oremus in the Tokaj region. The Furmint had a yellow color and an expressive aroma of tropical fruits. The taste reminded me of mangos, pineapple, melons and mineral. The finish was crisp. The wine was refreshing and paired well with the trout.

Kathy enjoyed paprika chicken with túrós galuska (Hungarian cottage cheese dumpling), cottage cheese mousse and cucumbers. This entrée was paired with a red wine. 

We decided to have sweet wines for dessert. I had the Szepsy Édes Szamorodni 2013. The wine had a light gold color and offered dried fruits and honeysuckle. The wine was extremely smooth and full bodied. Although sweet, the sweetness was balanced by its acidity.

Bencés Gyógynövenylikör

Prior to leaving, the wine steward brought out a couple spirits he wanted us to try. I tried the Bencés Gyógynövenylikör. This amber colored spirit had an orange hue. It was crafted with over 50 herbs. The aroma and taste were herbal with some alcohol heat. I thought as I was sipping the spirit, that this would cure many ailments. 

Kathy’s distilled spirit, Bencés Meggylikör/ Benedictine Sour Cherry Liqueur,  was produced using an ancient recipe from the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonbalma. This cherry flavored liquor was made with water, gipsy sour cherry, gipsy sour cherry palinka, sugar and citric acid. Kathy is already wondering if this is available in the US. This distilled spirit had 22% alcohol. It was a very enjoyable way to end our first evening in Budapest.

Cheers,
Terry

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