As I promised, we got a little more into Italian wine, making use of the great selection Los Angeles has of European wines. Our wine club has gotten so big, it has expanded into two groups. We tasted Sicilian wines with one group and Tuscan wines with the other. Tuscany won hands down, but it’s true, after our disappointment with Sicilian wines, de didn’t dare touch the bottom shelf stuff when time came for the Tuscan tasting. Everyone brought wines worth at least twenty dollars. It turns out you do get what you pay for when it comes to Italian wine. Here are our wine notes: …
Never the ones to miss out on a good thing, we quickly created the Los Angeles Chapter of the our Wine Club Wednesday on Tuesday and held our first official wine tasting…on Friday. There were four of us in total (I admit, we have room to expand) and we focused on wines from the Collio Orientali wine region. Luckily, in L.A., there is a good selection of international wines, and we went to BevMo to pick out ours. We found about five bottles from Collio Orientali, but all of them were Pinot Grigios. We ended up picking three, one for ten dollars and the other two cost thirteen bucks. Frank and family brought a Barolo from Piedmont, a little further west, but at least we had a red wine on the list.
Thanks Paulo, it was delicious! We have a friend who lives in southern Italy, in Bari. He visits Hungary regularly and, knowing how much we love wine, he often surprises us with wonderful wines from local wineries. He has excellent taste and his selection did not disappoint this time either. I’ll surely remember this wine for years to come. What a wonderful experience! We didn’t open this bottle right away, waiting for just the right occasion to open it, but of course, we didn’t (couldn’t) wait long. …
Laposa Család Pincészet, Bazaltbor Badacsonyi Rozsakő 2007
Laposa családi pincészet is located in Badacsony just off the famous Romai út on the southern slope of a hill with an absolutely fantastic view overlooking their vineyards that makes one want to turn off their computer monitor, hand in their letter of resignation, and leave for the hills there because that must be “the life”. Here we tasted the Laposa family’s Bazaltbor Badacsonyi Rozsako, 2007, a wine that is as exceptional as it is unique. Unlike most grapevines in the world today that are self-pollinating, this wine is a cross between two varieties that pollinate each other, the Budai zöld (male variety) and the Kéknyelű (the female). These grapes are unlike any other in the world and their cultivation is an homage to the traditional winemaking practices of our ancestors.
Summer has arrived and with it the wedding season. And of course, every reception needs to have wine on the table. This is the reason for our latest trip to Villány. You see, one of my friends finally gave in and decided to get married. Because the happy couple have always liked Villány and the wines from the region, we kept our search close to home. The selection, I would say, was average: in whites, mostly Olaszrizling was available, only a few places carried rosé, and Portugeiser was the most commonly available red wine, but of course there was also Kékfrankos and Cabernet Sauvignon. ...
The wine convention was held in the Aranykacsa restaurant on May 13th. Here, fourteen wineries from the Pécs wine region introduced their wines to the public. The visitors who received a wine tasting sheet – and not all of us did – judged wines from four categories: white, rosé, red, and desert wine. The selection wasn't very exciting; for the most part, the wines were pretty average. We enjoyed the Cirfandli most of all, especially the late harvest Cirfandli. ...
Szt. Kristóf Pincészet, Zamárdi - Zöld Veltelini 2006
Szent Kristóf Pincészet was our last wine stop on our trip around Lake Balaton. It is located in Zamárdi nearly at the foot of Kőhegy hill amidst beautiful idyllic surroundings. After looking around the winery we took a seat outside in the shade of tall trees and began to order off their wine list. But after looking at their menu, who could resist tasting their food! Their menu is full of delicious cold cut plates made with fresh, local ingredients and homemade delicacies like goat cheese and delicious pumpkinseed oil. So, waiting for our cold plate to arrive, we tasted their 2007 Irsai Olivér and their award-winning 2007 Zenit, but their 2006 Zöld Veltilni was something quite special…
We found this wonderful bottle of rosé on our latest trip around Lake Balaton. We bought it at Soma Pince in Alsóörs, a sister company of Bortársaság. The label was the first thing to catch my eye: up there, in the upper right-hand corner dances a spirited little cherub called Alfredo (named after the founding partner of the Montes winery, Alfredo Vidaurre) designed by noted illustrator, Ralph Steadman. Remembering the wonderful labels of Picasso and Dali, my heart pulls toward artist-illustrated labels and so I strapped this wine to the back of my bike and continued pedaling uphill...
Wine club Wednesday, Sauvignon Blanc under a magnifying glass...
Sauvignon Blancs were the next up this week at the bi-weekly wine club meeting. All in all we tasted ten wines, all of which were Hungarian with the exception of two. Hands down the winner was the 2008 “Cloudy Bay” from New Zealand in aroma and flavor easily outdoing the Hungarian wines that night. It was a typical Sauvignon Blanc with undeniable varietal character. Very clean floral aromas, elderberry, mint, peach, citrus, especially grapefruit notes. Nicely defined acid spine, tingles in your mouth, with a full mouthfeel and long finish. A perfectly composed wine. No wonder this is one of the most popular New Zealand varietals! The only negative thing about it is the price at first. I bought this bottle in Frankfurt for around 20 euros. In Hungary you can find this bottle at the Bortársaság for 6450 forints. But its worth it!
At the wine festival in Buda Castle on Saturday night, as the last wine of the evening, my wife brought me a glass of pinot and a glass of rosé wine for herself. After my first sip, my eyes lit up (and not because of my slightly intoxicated state), but because there was something special about this wine. The next day we decided to go to Etyek and visit the winery. ...
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