…well….maybe not the whole of Eastern Europe. But, I have certainly made a dent in Prague and Budapest…and, I still have a few days to go. I will need to dry out and go on a diet when I get home. But, in the meantime, I’m trying everything and following my philosophy of saying “yes” to whatever comes along…..within reason of course!
The first thing I am going to tell you is that Prague and Budapest are not known for their wine. They are known for beer. If you polled all of the people who visit these areas, I would guess that 95% of them would never even know there is local wine. It’s definitely not the first thing the average person thinks of when making travel plans for Prague and Budapest. In fact, when I told one of my California friends that I was going to do some wine tasting while in Prague she was a bit snooty about it. Why would I do this when we have such good wine in California?
I agree that we have excellent wine in California. I work in the industry there, so I should know. It just happens to be my personal interest. I explore the wine areas everywhere I travel…..just for fun…and for knowledge. And, while I was definitely hoping for some drinkable wine on my travels, I knew that it would never be as good as California wine. But, for me, these wine adventure side trips are not always about the quality of the wine. It’s more about the substance of the people who are making and selling the wine, the evolution of the industry and how the culture of the area is impacted by the wine industry. It gives me a broad view of things. Wine people are friendly, open and generally happy to share information. This is the part I love the most and if I get some good wine along the way, it’s a bonus!
My Eastern European wine adventure started with a day trip with some other wedding goers to the Bohemian wine region just outside of Prague last week and continued with a tour to the Eytek region just outside of Budapest this week. I found some decent wine in Prague. But overall, the wines I have had in Budapest are much more to my liking. Because of cooler weather, both regions are focused mostly on whites, although there are some regions in both countries that produce reds as well. I’ve had a mixture of both.
We visited three wineries in the Bohemian area of Prague. The best day for us to do our wine tour happened to be a bank holiday. So, the wineries were actually not open. But, they graciously opened their doors just for us And, our guide, Michael…….
……gave up his holiday to show us the ropes!
What a treat!
The first winery was probably my favorite, not for the taste of the wine, but for the overall experience. It was a very tiny, family owned business that also runs a bed and breakfast. We tasted wine in their small restaurant while their guests were having breakfast.
The owner was happy to show us her wines and shared some of her home made bread with us, just baked that morning. It was accompanied by a spread made with pork “cracklings”. It doesn’t sound great, but it was really tasty and the acidic quality of the wine was a perfect match for this wonderful treat.
At the end of our tasting, we ventured down a few steps underneath the restaurant to a primitive “cellar” where we tasted a very nice dessert wine made with the equivalent of “grain alcohol”.
I remember this from my college days. But, not in a good way! Oh boy! It is super strong and will blind you if you drink too much. But, it seems in moderation it is the perfect fortifying agent for the dessert wine. Those of us who enjoy sweet wine, gave it a thumbs up!
The owner also shared stories of how the wine industry has evolved in the Czech republic. During the reign of the communist party, all businesses (including wineries) were taken from the owners and became the property of the government. The wineries that remained in production became focused on quantity rather than quality. The owner of this establishment was about eighteen years old when things changed to a more open society and the businesses were turned back to the people. It has taken a long time for them to get the wines up to their current standard. She talked a lot about the joy of owning something and her ability to be creative with her product. As I said, the wines weren’t my favorite. But, her story is. I am rooting for them and hope they will be able to keep things going and continue to improve on their wines.
We also visited two wineries that were much more modern in terms of production and tasting room ambiance.
We had lunch in the second of these wineries.
It could have been plopped down right in the middle of Napa Valley somewhere. The dining room was nicely decorated, and they served us some very well prepared and presented food. The quality of the wines was also a bit better. These last two places clearly had more money to work with. Sometimes more money means a better product. But, not always!
Yesterday, in Budapest, I visited the Eytek wine region just outside of Budapest. We had some very nice wines in two tasting rooms here. Again, they are focused on whites. But, we did have a Pinot Noir that was very unusual and tasty. I enjoyed all of the wines we had at both places.
The first tasting room was owned by a man who had actually participated in some harvests in Italy, Australia and New Zealand. The wines here were of a very high quality. It was evident that he had paid attention during the foreign harvests and acquired a good deal of skill. I enjoyed the stories about the wines and the labels. They were very creative. This one was a blend of two different grape varietals and it was being made at the same time the owner’s wife was having twins. There are two hands coming together on the label.
Here, we again went under the ground to a rather primitive “cellar” to view the how the wines were aged in barrel and stainless steel.
They even had an old wine press that was still functional.
At the second winery, which was a bit more rustic, we had a wonderful lunch that was prepared by the winemaker’s wife. The whole meal was spectacular, but the highlight was the cow’s milk cheese that she had made that morning, along with some venison sausage that was also home made. All of this was presented with some pieces of freshly baked bread.
What a treat…..a home made meal. Yum!
We had a very nice Chardonnay with the cheese and a lovely Pinot Gris with the main course. I was quite impressed with the quality. Each wine was aged in neutral oak and had a small amount of acidity.
I will add that we also met the winery dog, a Scharpe, whose endearing wrinkles made him look a little sad and a bit older than his years. But, he was cute!
As we traveled along, Juliana, our guide for the day, talked to us about the evolution of the wine industry in Budapest. Her family owns a small winery where they make wine just for their own consumption. It has been in play since she was a child. She talked a lot about her memories of how wine production and consumption was restricted during the time of the Nazis and Russian invasions. It was a similar story to the one we heard in Prague. IThings have shifted now and are back on track. Until, of course something else changes. We talked quite a bit about how the political scene here seems to be changing to a more Nationalistic approach, which will impact these small businesses. We’ll see what happens.
There are twenty two different wine regions in Hungary. It is a small country, so all of the wine regions are accessible for day trips from Budapest. I won’t have time to do any further exploration of the wine industry here. But, I feel I have a good sampling and have a good idea of what is available. I also feel that my understanding of the culture is much better from having experienced the wine and the people I met along the way. I have had a real history lesson direct from the people who were living it. It was fascinating.
I have come away realizing that people are pretty much the same anywhere. We all want to be able to call something our own, to be free to express ourselves in any way we like and to lead happy and fulfilled lives.
And, of course, we want good wine!
After all that wine…and also some beer….I am ready for a nap. So, until the next post…..
I am signing off as sleepy and “soused” in Budapest.
Zzzzzzzz……….
Travel With Betsy 
May 19, 2019 at 4:24 pm |
Fascinating info about wine/beer in the region