Any Budapest wine buffs thinking of taking advantage of the unseasonable weather to make a trip out to Eger this weekend should promptly think again, as this Saturday many of the region's top wines and wineries will be in Budapest. From 3:00, everyone with Ft 3,500 in the pocket and an interest in egri borok can take part in the first-ever "Gala of Eger Wines" (Egri Borok Gálája) being organized by the Egri Borvidékért Alapítvány (Eger Wine Region Foundation) at the stately Hungarian Academy of Sciences building in downtown Pest.

Annoyingly, the official communiqués of the organizers seem to be more focused on important-sounding but pointless particulars (i.e., that Hungarian President László Sólyom is the patron of the event) than practical details (what is actually going to happen, what wines are being presented, and whether you need to reserve tickets in advance). But from what we have figured out from calling the organizers, after a morning-long program restricted to wine pros, journalists, and other assorted VIP-types, members of the unwashed drunken masses will be free to drink their way through the wares of 15 leading Eger wineries. There will also be music, speeches, and, if the thing sticks closely to the format of similar events, more speeches, though hopefully not enough talking to seriously impair the drinking.