Mar 10 '10
It doesn't quite make the "three examples and it's a trend" rule, but over the last few days there have been two bits of public controversy surrounding the Tokaj wine region. First, on Monday came the news that Slovakia had sneakily arranged to have the small wine region that sits just over the border from Hungary's Tokaj entered into the EU's official registry as "Tokaj," despite what many here assumed was an earlier agreement that they would only tack similar-sounding adjectives ("Tokajsky" / "Tokajská" / "Tokajské") on to the name of the wines produced there. Even though the Agriculture Ministry said that they assumed it was all just a mistake, the local winemakers' council is demanding that the government take immediate action to prevent the Slovaks from claiming that the wine they call Tokaj is in fact, Tokaj.
Feb 22 '10
Longtime readers may have wondered why we haven't seen more from our esteemed contributor Carolyn Bánfalvi. Well, in addition to all her various book projects and children, she and her husband/collaborator Gábor have also been busy with a new events company called Taste Hungary, which (as the name indicates) specializes in culinary tourism and education here in Hungary. And when I say "specialize" I mean specialize. Just consider the event they are hosting this Thursday at Kashmir restaurant in District VI, which addresses head-on a question I know has long baffled local wine connoisseurs, namely: Just how well does Tokaj go with Indian food?
Feb 16 '10
If it wins the upcoming elections as most believe it will, Fidesz will partially lift the ban on the private distilling of pálinka, Kossuth Rádió reports. The law would be modified to allow people to make an as-yet unannounced amount for personal consumption. Distilling your own pálinka is illegal under a law enacted in 2004, and in order to make pálinka from your own homegrown fruit, you would have to take it to a licensed distiller, and only after paying all taxes and fees can you collect what you could have just made at home.
Many Hungarian winemakers are concerned that the Ft 1.3 billion (€4.8 million) collected over the past two years for a common marketing fund will not be spent wisely, index.hu reports. Following the collapse of the winemaker-created Magyar Bormarketing Nonprofit Kft (MBM) late last year, many winemakers have raised their objections to IDMC Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft, who won the tender to replace MBM in January this year. IDMC, according to the Opten company database, functions primarily as an events organizer, is listed as a construction company, and does not even possess its own website.
Dec 08 '09
After the recent scandals surrounding Hungary's 2005 "Winemaker of the Year" the people who give out the award must have been pretty darn careful about who they chose to give their gong to this time. So it's not a big shock that the honors this time went to György Lőrinc of St. Andrea (left, with his wife - and winery namesake - Andrea), who over the past few years has done more than anyone to show the world that Eger is not just about Bull's Blood. If you haven't tried any of their wines, you should, as I've never had a dud from them. The bottles themselves are also famous for being remarkably well designed, making them perfect holiday presents - assuming the award doesn't mean they are all sold out. Congrats.
Oct 15 '09
The bad news about Béla Vincze - Hungary's "Winemaker of the Year" in 2005 - keeps getting worse. Vincze (above, looking… well, you tell us) apparently shrugged off earlier reports that some wine sold under his label had been improperly fortified with added glycerol by claiming that he hadn't produced the offending batches himself. But today's Népszabadság reveals that some wines he did make contain elevated levels of the stuff. Even worse, the doctored wine is from 2005, the same year he was chosen "Winemaker of the Year." All we can say is, at least he wasn't voted Hungarian rum distiller of the year.
Oct 14 '09
This year's vintage promises to be excellent, but a 10% lower crop is expected than the average, said Head Secretary of the National Council of Wine Communities (HNT) Csaba Horváth. In 2009, 500,000 to 550,000 tons of grapes are expected to be harvested in Hungary, which means 300 million liters of wine will be produced, writes napi.hu, based on an MTI report. Some 60% of this year's harvest had been snipped by the end of September, so the picking season could stretch on into late October, if the grapes haven't been blown away by then. For some hands-on info on winemaking in Hungary, the latest on this year's harvest and more cute pics like that to the left, check out Patrick Pince's excellent blog.
Oct 07 '09
By my count there are now three different annual pálinka festivals in Budapest. The smallest and least exciting of these - the so-called "Pálinka Promenád" - took place a few weeks back, and, frankly, it seemed so small and unexciting that I didn't bother to mention it. But you can bet your liver, brain and all your other vital organs that I'll be going to this weekend's second-annual Budavári Pálinka- és Kolbászfesztivál (Buda Castle Pálinka and Kolbász Festival), which offers all the high-proof fruit brandy your body needs and all the nitrate-rich, high-fat sausage it craves.
Seriously: What kind of evil geniuses came up with this idea, and how can we ever thank them for it? Even the URL of the official website - www.palinkaeskolbasz.hu ("pálinka and kolbász") - oozes the sort of manic purposefulness that is the hallmark of something not to be missed. The action kicks off tomorrow and runs until Sunday - or until everyone is dead. God Bless.
Oct 06 '09
I've always been pretty dubious of the whole "winemaker of the year" business in Hungary, on the assumption that it is as much an award for good PR and connections as good wine. And now I'm vindicated! Last Thursday, regional daily Heves Megyei Hírlap broke the news that the country's wine industry regulators had ordered 2005 "Winemaker of the Year" Béla Vincze to shut down for 30 days, following the discovery that some of his Bull's Blood had been doctored with added glycerol, apparently to give it a bit more body. While the stuff is apparently not a health threat - it occurs naturally in wine, and is a common food additive - it is still pretty grubby of Vincze to be caught adding it to his bikavér. Also grubby is the likelihood that, unlike athletes caught using banned substances, he'll be allowed to keep his gold medal.
Sep 08 '09
The biggest autumn wine festival in Budapest, the 18th International Budapest Wine Festival, will kick off tomorrow and run until Sunday and as in previous years, the event will be held at the Buda Castle with the participation of 250 wine producers from 15 countries all over Hungary. And this year's honorary guest is the Catalan Freixenet Group, which will bring the Spanish cava sparkling wine to Budapest, as well as wines from some of Spain's top regions. Programs at the festival will include 60 cultural events, a charity wine auction on September 17, and a gala concert at the Palace of Arts the following day. That's 120 cultural events if you are seeing double.
Sep 04 '09
While what can and can't be sold as pálinka is governed by strict EU laws that require the use of only fruit grown and distilled on Hungarian soil, tens of thousands of liters of illegally distilled fruit brandy are appearing on the Hungarian market each year, while the number of legal distilleries in the country is falling continuously. The reason being that laws pertaining to distilling hard liquor by other names in neighboring countries are much more liberal, writes napi.hu. In Hungary, excise duty applies to pálinka and other spirits and high fines are meted out to anyone found making the firewater illegally. By contrast, in Austria and Germany, distilling "Obstler" or "Schnapps" is allowed for personal use, while distilled alcohol is subject to taxes in Slovenia, but distilling equipment is free of limitations and inexpensive. Fruit growers interviewed by the portal said there is thriving market for legally transporting food abroad, distilling it and smuggling it back to Hungary with or without irregular papers. The illegal business is also helped by the worsening economic situation, increasing the incentive for residence of border areas to work as "alhocol couriers" smuggling "pálinka" across borders, such as hiding it in the windscreen washer tanks of cars. All of which kind of dilutes the government's aggressive marketing efforts and increases your chances of drinking the worst pálinka ever.
Aug 27 '09
Hungarian winegrowers tend to consider themselves to be a cut above foreign competition, particularly from those upstarts in the new world. But as much as Hungarians would like to claim their wine is superior in every way, the recent deluge of highly drinkable wines from around the world has proved otherwise, particularly when it comes to price. Now the National Council of Wine Communities wants the government to take action to protect the industry, telling daily Népszabadság it will be "in serious trouble" unless new markets are found or tax discounts are introduced. The immediate danger is that grape growers may not get paid for this year's harvest. According to Secretary Csaba Horváth one solution could be the introduction of tax discounts, which have helped in other countries. For example, four years ago in Austria, the excise duty on champagne made in the country was reduced to zero percent in order to encourage consumption. Still, we contend the problem continues to lie in the large quantity of mediocre Hungarian wine hawked for more than Ft 2,000.
Jul 30 '09
Reader F.Sz. points us at this epic story about the growing popularity of quality dry wines from Tokaj that was published last month in the Wall St. Journal, and which we somehow missed at the time. While there is nothing earth-shattering in the piece, it should be interesting for anyone keen on Tokaj - or who isn't, because they don't like sweet wines. It also includes several decent capsule reviews of some of the wines in question, most of which you'll be happy to know are cheaper in Hungary than the euro prices given.
Jul 27 '09
The annual "Wine Village" festival held every August next to Ötvenhatosok tere on the southwest edge of Budapest's Városliget (City Park) has apparently been canceled this year, making it not so annual. The problem, according to wine blog albertgazda.blog.hu, was that the city was not planning on giving the festival organizers permits for free, and Wine Village organizer Kata Gede said that if they have to pay for the permits, they can't afford to hold the event.
Speaking on behalf of the city, one Attila Ughy said that this year the organizers asked for permits for a larger area and for a longer duration than before. He also added that the city still gives out permits to cultural events, but that the Wine Village, which has operated fee-free for five years, was becoming increasingly commercial and therefore they should be able to pay for their permits. Regardless of whose side you take, Budapest wine lovers will just have to wait for the annual festival in the Castle District, usually held just a week or two later, in early September.
Jun 09 '09
Two bits of interesting domestic booze news from last week. First, market research ACNielsen reported on Friday that a drop in prices for non-alcoholic beer has led to a relative surge in purchases of alkoholmentes sör by Hungarians. Consumption of the non-wicked stuff grew 5% between May of last year and this April, well ahead of the overall 10% slump in beer sales last year. But don't be too concerned that Hungary may become a dry country. That same day, Agriculture Minister József Graf announced that the Hungarian state will grant Ft 3.2 billion (€11.4 million) in development grants to 32 different domestic pálinka distillers.
May 20 '09
Just a quick plug for the upcoming "Bitch, Moan and Wine" tasting, which will take place next Friday night. Unlike some previous BMW events, where the focus on … up and coming producers led to some grumbling, this time Budapest's English-friendly regular wine event is featuring the Sauska Pinceszét, probably the Hungarian winemaker of the moment. Of course, this being Hungary, there will still be plenty of bitching, moaning and whining, though this time only from the people who forgot to reserve a space.
May 06 '09
We recently happened upon the above tableaux of gimmick wines in Budapest, which are made (or at least bottled) by a company called Vinália Kft. In addition to dry whites featuring the likenesses of German Kaiser Wilhelm, Jack Kennedy, Emperor Franz Josef and post-World War I Hungarian strongman Miklós Horthy, there are reds (get it?) adorned with the mugs of international left-wing icons Lenin and Che Guevara, as well as home-grown Communist stars Béla Kun and János Kádár. All the whites are made from Zöldveltelini and all the reds from Portugieser, which seems pretty silly given that Horthy actually spent his years of post-war exile in Portugal. Meanwhile, if they want to expand their line, the obvious move would be some rosés honoring the world's "third way" center-left leaders, perhaps led off by a smooth, semi-sweet Obama Feketeleányka you can buy 100% on credit.
May 05 '09
2009 Budapest Pálinka Festival to start this Thursday
Hard as it is to believe, it's already that time of the year again. As in past years, the 2009 Budapesti Pálinka Fesztivál offers not only hundreds of types of fruit distillates, but live music and plenty of the sort of greasy carnival food you really need when you are gulping down 40°+ spirits in afternoon temperatures that can exceed 30°. The fun starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday, with mild hangovers expected to last until mid-June. Good luck. [Pic via.]
Apr 29 '09
Assuming you are not shooting out of town for the holiday weekend, you might want to check out the fifth annual Budai Gourmet festival, which kicks off tomorrow and runs until Sunday. While the festival is mostly about wine and food, the organizers seem to take a rather broad view of the word "gourmet," and have added in some kind of classic car show. On the plus side, the event is usually far less mobbed on than the bigger Budapest International Wine Festival that takes place at the close of every summer in Budapest, as the above pic indicates. On the down side, it looks like unlike last year's festival, there aren't going to be any high-end restaurants on hand to hand out tasty tidbits. Still, sounds like fun, assuming the same people enjoying all that wine and booze are not also driving those classy old classic autos.
Apr 23 '09
Just a quick (and hopefully not too late) note to let you know that the Tokaj Renaissance Association will be holding its annual "vintage debut" wine tasting event this Saturday afternoon from 15:00-18:00. Traditionally held at Gundel at the end of April each year, the "show-and-taste" this year will be moving to atrium of the building behind the equally legendary Gerbeaud House on Vörösmarty tér and showcase 16 leading Tokaj winemakers and their best 2005's. It's is open to anyone with Ft 6,000, which seems like a deal given all the aszús and even eszencias likely to be on offer, the latter of which can retail for up to Ft 50,000 a bottle. Don't forget to spruce up a bit, as it's traditionally a bit of a fancy-dress event, and if you are a diabetic, make sure to bring lots of insulin. See you there!
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