Egeszegrede: Hungary From the Barrel

This is an oldie but definitely a goodie. It always surprises me when people are surprised to hear that I did a wine trip to Hungary. The Magyar state has quite an old wine tradition, but a rocky history considering the negative effect of the Soviet Union on all things that were not designed for mass production. I spoke with several wine makers there who described their families as six generations of wine makers with a three generation gap in the middle. Land redistribution caused many families to lose large portions, if not all of their vineyards and ethnic/racial deportation in the 1930s and 40s also significantly impacted the ability of small agricultural communities to produce.

Anyhow, I thought I would do a little piece on my trip to Hungary to highlight the GLORIOUS nature of Hungarian wine and gourmet culture that has blossomed since the fall of the iron curtain and why everyone should go there and relish it!

I organized my trip through company called Taste Hungary. Gabor and Carolyn (who met in Washington D.C., of all places!) are absolutely the most charming pair, and run culinary and wine tours of the entire region. Gabor acted as our personal foodie/wine-o extraordinaire, who hit the nail on the head with EVERY recommendation. I heard a little rumour that Anthony Bourdain spent a little time with them....**squeal**

The two Hungarian wineries Gabor took us to were called Jandl (Sopron) and Hernyak (Etyek). We had told him that we really wanted to enjoy smaller, family owned wineries so that we could get a sense of the wine but also the family tradition and people themselves. He did EXACTLY that. At both Jandl and Hernyak we were invited into the homes of the winemakers and taken through their cellars. We had respective lunch and dinners around their family dining tables while we tasted wines and chatted about a multitude of subjects. The warmth and generosity of the families and the history we learned around their tables were just the most enriching and memorable experiences.

At Jandl, the head of the house informed us that he came from six generations of wine makers, but with a gap in the middle during the Soviet occupation. The history of Hungarian wine is greatly tied to the Soviet history of the relatively young state. He told me that when he regained control of his vineyards, he not only had to relearn his family tradition, but re-create the quality of the vineyards that had been reduced by years of Soviet mass production.

At Hernyak, our hosts took us to their cellars to taste every stage of their process, tasting the newly barreled wines, the unfiltered aged wines, and the final filtered (pre-bottle) wines. They also shared with us the interesting new developments in Etyek in sparkling wine, as it had been determined the soil bares similarities with that of Champagne. Many of the wineries there now work with Champagne wine makers in the development of their own Peszgo.

Unfiltered chardonnay, straight out of the tank!

The winemaker and my Papa

Barrel Tasting in the cellar

The Hernyak House aka The Family Living Room

Gabor and the gang

While we were there, we did some eating as well. Gabor and his wife have written two books on food and wine touring Budapest, which was extremely useful! It was full of helpful words and phrases in Hungarian as well for people who like to eat and drink. I was lucky to be given both as a gift from them as a birthday present while I was there (along with a bottle of dry Tokaj white wine). One of the restaurants we visited was BOCK bistro (along with a bottle of dry Tokaj white wine). One of the restaurants we visited was BOCK bistro (Erzsébet körút 43-49) in Pest, which was probably the highlight meal of the trip. The food was so impeccably (and beautifully) presented and the service was excellent. We washed everything down with a generous amount of what is certainly my favorite Hungarian red blend, bikaver. Bikaver, meaning bull's blood, comes largely from Eger and is a blend that used to be associated with pond-water table wine during the Soviet era, but has been turned into something so much more. Jammy, gamey, thick, and full bodied. 

I mentioned Tokaj before, on the white wine front a dry Tokaj is certainly my favorite when it comes to Hungary, but is harder to find. Tokaj is extremely famous for its sweeter dessert wines, which are UNREAL. 

Roman Ruins in Vienna

We also did a short jog up to Vienna on this trip, but I guess that's a story for another blog. This is an extremely abbreviated summary of my trip, I might come back and revisit parts of it in more detail later! 

Just a quick shout out to my grandfather, who made this lifestyle so real to me. I definitely would not be in culinary school right now, nor would I be as in love with this amazing place if not for him. Thanks Gramps!

Until then, Egeszegedre!

(Cheers in Hungarian)