You may have noticed that today is the kick off to the Pálinka Fesztivál held in the City Hall Park, which is quite different from the pálinka-soaked Sziget Fesztivál which will be held later this year. The event will run through the weekend, where you can sample up to 300 varieties of Hungary's favorite moonshine, presumably not made by Uncle Pista in a vat in the backyard.

But if pálinka's not your thing, and you're more of a wine connoisseur, then we've also got great news for you, as this weekend will also feature a big event by the Open Cellars Association, a group of wine producers who will be hosting open cellars throughout the country to interest more people in wine consumption. The three-day event kicks off tomorrow morning.

According to their website (in Hungarian), the association promotes the more refined consumption of wine, and states that one of their goals is to popularize the concept of wine tourism, which they stated is popular in Western Europe, but relatively unknown in Hungary. Furthermore, the site said it wishes to help foster a dialogue between wine producers and wine consumers.

To be included in the open cellar days, a cellar must be open for two of the three days this weekend, be open from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening, and someone with wine production knowledge must be on hand. Additionally, the cellars will offer around a 50% discount to guests for on-the-spot tasting as well as for those wishing to take some home with them.

The association adds that they want to make this an annual event tied to Whitsunday or Pentecost (whichever term you prefer), and that the aim is to help the cellars by spreading word-of-mouth advertising if people like a wine and tell their friends about it. To find a list of the participating cellars, click on "Nyitott Pincék listája" on the website's front page under "Letöltések."

And from our last wine-tasting experience, we can assure you, there's plenty of good stuff out there to be found.