This wine tasting, the wine will come from North America’s biggest and most famous wine region, from California’s very own Napa and Sonoma Valley. At Thursday’s wine tasting, I would like to present to you an overall picture of what wines in California are like. I hope I will be able to dispell any misgivings you may have when you hear: California wine. Unfortunately, the wines that are available here in Hungary do not represent the quality California wines are known for. For this tasting, I chose wine from Los Angeles wine stores that I thought best represent the wine region, are the best value, and are simply good!…
Willy Nilly, Vörösboros kóla, Jote, Bambus, Kalimotxo, Houba, Catemba, Calimocho—every country, it seems, has a name for the cocktail we probably all drank at some point in our lives: red wine and coke. Ah, the days when we drank anything, fearlessly experimenting, mixing this with that, picturing ourselves as the next Tom Cruise in Cocktail. ...
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.
This week’s wine club meeting was a real pleasant surprise. You know you’re in for something special when as the wine bottles are opened, better and better wines get poured into the glass. Moreover, they weren’t wines that are well-known and that we were already used to, but something new and exciting. After the first spin of the glass, you are engrossed in the wine’s pleasant aromas and begin hoping that the taste will do the aromas justice, and yes! Its all there! This wine is none other than a Malvasia from the Istria peninsula. …
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...
Again, we headed out a bit early to get a head start. Taking this trip in the springtime has it advantages, one being that there isn't a lot of traffic. From Tihany to Füred, we only passed a handful of cars on the road. Only die-hard fishermen dotted the lake waiting for a catch, swans and duck swimming close to shore, and the morning sun danced on the lake's reflection...(how awesome is that). Originally we planned to first stop at Figula winery as soon as we got to Füred, but unfortunately we counldn't reach them in time. Jásdi Pince was also close, so we decided to go with the flow and go to whatever winery we stumble into and is open. Well, we didn't find too many, and that's unfortunate.
Century-long traditions, excellent wine, and steep inclines...
We started the day with a dip in the jacuzzi and after a little pampering, had a filling breakfast and headed out. With a little pain in our rear end, we headed uphill and then finally coasted a bit downhill to our first stop of the day in Keszthely–Kertváros. Here, next to Cserszegtomaj, at one of the region's largest wineries, we were scheduled to meet Csaba Bezerics at nine o'clock, owner and winemaker of the Németh Borház. We spent a lovely afternoon with him. First he showed us around the winery afterwhich he held a private winetasting. In a short period of time we learned a remarkable amount of information about the Zala wine region, its history, and its wine. Csaba is a very charismatic person, with a true passion for his professsion, and really likes to pass on that knowledge to his guests. He hold us about the history of the area going back thousands of years. As he said, a true winemaker is also a historian and of course, while listening to him, we tasted great wine. ...
