I don’t know why it has taken me so long to appreciate Etyek, and the many lovely wines that come from its chalky soils. It produces some beautiful wines from some of my favorite grapes like pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, and zöldveltelini (better known as grüner veltliner). And best of all, it is close enough to Budapest (just half-an-hours drive) to make an easy day (or half-day) wine tasting trips. I’ve been living in Budapest for about ten years, and whenever I feel like making a trip to the Hungarian wine country for some serious tasting, I tend to look further (as I suspect many Budapesters do).

It was a lovely meal and tasting at the small, and very classy, Hernyák Birtok that sealed the deal for me (read what I wrote about that meal a few months back on Chew.hu). Last weekend was the annual Etyek Cellar Festival, a weekend-long event that encompasses the whole town. We went, despite the cold and rain which kept most people away. The kids watched a hilarious puppet show (Hungarians have a real talent for those) and did arts and craft projects while we sipped wines from Kreinbacher (winemakers from all over the country descend on the village) until it was just too wet outside. We headed indoors, back to Hernyák to have a few glasses, and then onto neighboring Etyeki Kúria. Normally at Etyeki Kúria there would be tables set up in the vineyards for the occasion. Instead, a folk ensemble showed up and played a few songs, which the girls loved dancing to.

While in Etyek it’s also worth checking out the Rókusfalvy Pince, as well as Rókusfalvy’s Restaurant where you can taste his wines (and spend the night in one of the six rooms if you’ve had too much to drink). There’s an old cellar row to check out. Most of the cellars seem to be empty, but on our last trip to Etyek we descended into the Krajcsi Pince to taste a few wines and, as it turned out, some pálinka. More memorable than the wine was the pálinka demonstration which the winemaker did. He gulped the pálinka down, and then slowly and dramatically exhaled. This way he releases all of the alcohol in the pálinka, he explained, allowing him to drink more. I can’t personally vouch for his method, but it seemed to work for him.

If you’re in Budapest, come taste some Etyeki wines with us on Saturday (May 22) at our Wine & A Movie event!

–Carolyn