We liked the Cirfandli best! 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. ...

The winning wine at this event for us was definitely Szabó Zoli’s 2008 late harvest Cirfandli. Nice texture, intense aromas, most notably the quince, with an acidity that is in absolute perfect harmony with the sugar, this wine will put your taste buds to work as it fills your palette. Not too syrupy, more fruity, long finish, medium body, great desert wine. By the way, Cirfandli could be found at almost all the wineries present at the convention and I am beginning to believe more and more that it could be this region’s great desert wine. Our second favorite was also a sweet Cirfandli from Pécsi Püspöki Pince. The pear, peach, sun-dried apricot aromas for some reason reminded me of roasted duck served with mashed potatoes and peach preserves. While we’re still on the subject of Cirfandli, we also found a great dry wine from Lisicza winery. Nice yellow hay color, good balance and acidity, citrus notes that carry through to the long finish. A great food wine that I can imagine pairs well with spicier sauces, fish, and poultry dishes. In the rosé category, we like the Kékfrankos – Cabernet Sauvignon from Lisicza the best. Very trendy, crisp, full of aromas, a great summer wine. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything noteworthy in the red wine category.