Drinking in Avignon, supermarket wine #3. I can’t exactly remember the price but it falls into the cheap Chateauneuf du Pape territory, which is danger zone – almost always a disappointment. When it’s not, like in this case, it’s a bad value: you better buy wines from less famous appellations, they offer more enjoyment for less money.
An abandoned vineyard or the new way of grape cultivation? It’s the latter – this is intentional. Some brave producers in the Mátra experiments with “no treat” grape growing, and this literally means nothing sprayed, and hardly any soil work, if anything at all. I was told it works somehow – no disease affected the grapes. No need to thin the crop anymore, yields go down drastically, bunches and berries become small. I have not tasted the wines made from this plot, all I can tell is that it’s a pleasure to walk into these rows. While other vineyards nearby have a typical chemical smell, here the air is filled with the smell of summer flowers.
It’s not difficult to get good pizza in Budapest these days. Manu+ makes Neapolitan style pizzas, all the ingredients sourced from there. I cannot judge if it’s truly authentic, but it’s top quality, I loved it. Do not miss the place, if you are in town and looking for pizza. Here is a more detailed post about them: Budapest’s beloved Manu+ pizza place gains more space.
Madal Café at a fantastic location, at Ferenciek tere, in the heart of Pest. I went only for a coffee, but it’s hard to resist when you see those cookies. What do you do when you are on a diet? There are options, luckily, those little sweet vegan balls must not contain too many calories. The cardamom flavored was pretty nice. And the coffee? Great, as always.
Simply the benchmark for entry level Eger wine – this is how they should look. Continue reading
Another good Kadarka! Nothing complicated, it’s in the same league as the Heimann 2017– light, quaffer style. It’s also flawless and a good example of the variety yet has its own character. The most typical rose hips nose, with a twist of some rooibos tea notes. As delicate as the pale cherry color suggests, tannins and acidity at the bare minimum – an easy drink for sure. Unforced yet refined. A very well made Kadarka with personality. Continue reading
