Saturday October 15, 2011
Join us to explore the wines and food in Tokaj and its surrounding villages. One of the world’s premier sweet wine regions, Tokaj is famous for its aszú dessert wines, but also produces fantastic crisp, dry white wines. We will visit three of the region’s finest small wineries and lunch will be specially prepared for us in the atmospheric mould-covered cellar at one of the wineries. There will be time to explore Tokaj, as well as take a walk in the vineyards to look at the ripening grapes. Come with us to see what it is that makes Tokaj so special!
{8am} Depart from Budapest. We will meet at Batthyány tér and depart promptly.
{11am} Tour and tasting at Gizella Winery. This boutique winery is run by a young winemaker, László Szilágyi, who took over the family operation that was founded by his grandparents. Gizella is especially known for its fabulous furmint battonage, a dry, sharp white with both high minerality and fruitiness.
{1pm} Visit the Erzsébet cellar in Tokaj for a tour, tasting, and lunch. The winery is run by two young siblings, Hajni and Miklós Prácser, who make wine which is both traditional and experimental. We will taste six wines in their cellar, beginning with dry ones and finishing with aszú. The cellar was once owned by a Russian wine merchant supplying the czar with Tokaj wine. Lunch will be prepared by the mother of the winemakers: wild boar stew with tarhonya, salad, and apple strudel.
—Explore the center of Tokaj.
{4:30pm} Tour and tasting with the winemaker at Kikelet Winery, owned by a French winemaker and her Hungarian husband. Like many of Tokaj’s small family estates, winemakers Stéphanie and Zsolt Berecz spent years working at the region’s larger wineries before branching out on their own. They work on just 4.5 hectares, and we will visit their cellar located underneath their centuries old house. A selection of local artisanal cheeses made by a cheesemaker in Mád will be served with the wine.
—Take a walk in the vineyards near the Disznókő, where we will see the ripening grapes.
{9:30pm} Arrive back in Budapest, drop-off at Batthyány tér.
Price: 30,000 HUF per person, all-inclusive of transportation and the above wine tastings and food. Call or email to reserve your place (a 25 percent deposit payable via paypal or bank transfer will be required). Itinerary is subject to change.