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As we mentioned previously, we were rather big fans of Sopron. It's a small, yet pretty town in a nice part of of Central Europe at the border of Austria and Hungary. The amount of quality wine that's there can be a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, there are a number of wine bars in the area to provide a more compact method to sample the region.     Kocsis Pinceszet sits just outside the old town center. Right about here on Várkerület utca. The interior of the place isn't anything to write home about with its long wooden benches and tables, but it's inviting and relatively homey. The owner's name is Alex (which in Hungarian is said more like Ow-lex) and he's a charming fellow who speaks Hungarian, German, and a good deal of English. The later of which is not too common in this area.     The best part of this wine bar is the fact that you can find just about every single wine from around Sopron (both on the Hungarian as well as on the Austrian side of the border) and Alex knows everything about all of them. He has some imports as well on a limited basis, but his real focus and love are the wines where his bar is located. Naturally, one of the most common wines he has there is Kékfrankos. He stocks the wine in various vintages from such producers as Weninger and Pfneiszl. Perusing his list and keeping the Hungary alphabet in mind, one will also find producers like Ivancsics, which is pronounced Ivanchich. If you think that sounds more like a Croatian name than Hungarian, you'd be right. There is a sizable Croatian minority in the region and a great many of them make good wines alongside their Austrian and Hungarian neighbors.     So if you're in Sopron and not looking for dental care, but rather tasty, tasty wines, stop in to Alex's establishment. It's a great way to get a flavor in your mouth for what they offer. Then you can set out to properly tour the wineries.

And so for now we draw to a close with the Europe Travels. It was an incredibly delightful way to spend four months of our lives. But now we're back in the US and thought we'd look back on the trip, giving both an overview and a map for some visual representation of the trip we took.     It all started with landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where we first spent time in the Konavle region to the south (bordering Montenegro) and then in Pelješac to the north. Pelješac offered us some great red wines from Dingač and many other winemakers in the region that are doing wonderful things with Plavac Mali grapes.     From there we went up to the island of Mljet, where wine production is very minimal and then it was a short catamaran ride to Korčula where a great amount of wine is produced, including the Čara Pošip.     We headed south from there, in to the coast of newly independent Montenegro, tasting their Vranac along the way. It was then up in to Serbia, where we had some very good white wines and were very fortunate to get to attend the Novi Sad International Wine Festival. We also learned about Bermet, this very interesting sweet wine they make up there.     We started heading a bit west and south, going through Sarajevo and then Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina. It was here in the south of the country that we got to taste the very lovely varietals of Blatina and Žilavka along their very well-organised Wine Route.     It was then back out to the Croatian coast, hitchhiking our way to the west end of Hvar island to taste the mind blowingly good Plavac Mali there. The best were from Plenković and Srviče.     After a few days of actual beach vacation, we went to Brač island to discover the hidden gems of Baković. From there, it was the island of Vis where we had their take on Plavac Mali along their Wine Route.     Before we left the coast and began heading up north, we made a memorable stop at Bibich winery in Skradin. And from Skradin we just kept going inland until we hit the very top of Croatia in the Međimurje region, tasting Horvat-Hudin. Then we hopped across the border in to Slovenia for a quick taste in the eastern part of that country at Vehovar.     It was from there we went back west, out to the coast again (in high season nonetheless), and in to Istria off the far west edge of Croatia. That was a memorable week where we tasted great Terans and Malvazijas by Demian, Žigante, Veralda, and Kozlović.     And after a short trip back to Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, we went to Venice for a couple of days before catching our connecting flights back home.     Again, a very memorable trip, but also a busy one. We wouldn't recommend such a huge scope for everyone because language can be a problem some places (we can get by in Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian) and also the fact that almost any single spot we were at would be a perfect two week trip for any wine lovers out there. The region is developing a great deal in regards to wine drinking.     Of course, if you can't make the trip anytime soon, try some of the wines today!

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          This is a continuation from Part 1 where we discussed the history and thinking behind the wines. Now, let's get in to the wines properly.     We started with the 2006 Malvazija which is the core wine the Kozlović production. The nose has this nice, soft, lilting grapey set of aromas to it. The body is bright and tones of grapefruit come through on top of everything else. The finish is nice and smooth. There is dryness, but it works wonderfully to refresh you. As described elsewhere the color is really lovely on this wine. It's a nice, pale, beckoning yellow that sits well in your glass on a hot day.     We then moved in to the 2004 Santa Lucia. This is a Malvazija that has a great meaty nose that speaks of pršut, the ham that they eat with great abundance in Croatia. There is light fruit throughout it and a touch of sweet melon aromas as well. It is an incredibly fresh wine, bright and like a meal for the nose. The wine is mixed with 10% of it aged in local oak barrels and the other 90% not aged, so a light balance is achieved with the wine not getting overly woody, but still having a bit of oak spice to it. As you get more air in to it, some honey tones come about in both the nose and the body, which all get stitched together in a nice clean finish.     Gianfranco next poured us the 2006 Muškat. The nose is sweet, but not unduly so and is fitting given that the wine is classified as a half sweet wine. It has a nice leafiness to it and is crisp on the tongue and finishes up well. There is a light sweetness to it that falls down the back of the mouth. We were told the thinking behind the wine was to have a Muškat that could be drank with the meal instead of just once finished as it is usually had.     Next was the Ruža Rosé which is classified only a 'stolno' or table wine. It goes to show that you can't pick what you want to drink based solely on a classification for the wine is really very good. You almost can't detect the nose, it's so soft and subtle. There are very delicate peach tones throughout the entire wine. A tad bit of almond comes across the top with more air. The body is very dry, but has a pleasant hint of sourness to it that works very well. In the finish, it slides back very easily. It's a very refreshing wine that is a quintessentially perfect end to a meal.     We closed with the Dolcinea. Like the Ruža Rosé, it is also a 'stolno' level of wine. It also happens to be a late harvest wine, which means that there is a good deal more sugar in it. Despite this, you are not punched by a glass of sweetness. It is conscientiously delicate and delicious straight out of the bottle without getting a breath of air in it. The nose is this soft, blushing bouquet of aromas with hints of sweetness that all come in the body. It is a very clean wine and refreshing. Again, another perfect wine to finish a meal with.     It was quite a line up of wines that made us thankful we were very close to home after drinking. Gianfranco and his family are making some excellent varietals up in the north and their plans for expansion are both well-balanced and also very fortunate for us as we will hopefully get more of their wines here in the future. For now, try the 2006 Malvazija if you haven't already. It's a wonderful example of how well a white wine can be made.     

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          The last stop on our whirlwind tour of Istrian wines was Kozlović. The location that the family has settled in is spectacular one, near the village of Momjan. While the village is typical of the type you see in Istria, it has a nice standout feature which is the ruins of a fortress up on a hill. Like something out of medieval fairy tale, this stony skeleton floats about the small valley where the family built their current cellar in 1904 on a hill, overlooking some of their vines.     Even when you strip away the setting and just focus on the wines, you see that this is a family that knows what it is doing when it comes to the grape. Their Malvazija can be gotten here and is getting to be recognized as a quite stellar make of this Istrian varietal. But there at the helm of everything is Gianfranco Kozlović. He is a character who loves his wines and loves the process of making wines.     His various philosophies and ideas about wine are one of the few drinking companions that are better than a well-cured pršut. For instance, he really wants to stay with the native varietals that grow in the area, but he isn't afraid to try a little Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon to see what happens. He likes to age his in Malvazija in acacia barrels (which is traditional), but he'll also try aging other wines in acacia to see what the result is. He finds barrels to work very well with reds, but thinks that the whites should only be touched by them for a bit of spice and toast. He is a big believer in the new technologies that make wine production more easy to control, since while producing the old way is fine, why do it if there are better ways? And our favorite idea of his is that after you've finished experimenting, you really need to go back and ask yourself what is it that you like to drink and enjoy. It is this line of thinking that made their very clever logo come about (two friends drinking together), which Gianfranco sees as a symbol of the pleasure of drinking, friendship, and the moment of the toast.     Once we worked through the thinking behind the wine, we learned that Kozlović is producing 100,000 bottles a year and he is fortunately looking to export more, which is good news for us. His production is mostly white, with that taking up about 80% of his bottles and the other 20% of red being comprised of Teran (Refošk).     It was 15 years ago that they started as the business that they are today and in 1998 they built a new addition on to the original cellar that is now over 100 years old. They have been growing in other ways too. Just three years ago, they were producing from just three hectares. Today, they cull their grapes from 16 hectares. While they are looking to have much more land, this has been difficult due to the political issues (yes, even wine is political) and they are looking to get their grapes from a focused 25-30 hectares in order to maintain a consistency to the wine, which is always appreciated by we drinkers.     So, we've learned a bit about the history and thinking that goes in to these wines, lets talk about the wines themselves in Part 2 .

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          In the very top northwest corner of Istria is a small little tip that juts out in to the Adriatic and is where the two very small towns of Bašanija and and Savudrija. It is here that the winery of Degrassi calls home. Of course, they don't grow any of their vines here, those 15 hectares are around Buje which is much further inland to the east. But here are their cellars and tasting room. They have been doing business in this location since 2006, although the company has been around for the last 11 years. After a brief glance around, it is easily seen that the family has very good taste with everything appointed in handmade furniture and nice, dark fixtures. It's also here that we learned the difference between Refošk and Teran, which are the same grape. Is the stem of the vine is red, is is Refošk. If the stem is green, it's Teran. There were also some geographical distinctions in the past that have since faded away, leaving just the confusion about the name and the fact that Degrassi is the only maker of Teran in Istria that we found, who actually call it Refošk. So with that cleared up, let's talk about the wines.     We started with the Bomarchese 2003, which is comprised of Malvazija. The nose on it is extremely meaty, mostly from the oak aging it receives. It smells something like prosciutto, which we feel is nearly always a good thing. These aromas do come in to the body and blend with flavors that are predominantly oaky in nature. The body is smooth, but can sit a bit heavy in the mouth, but that gives way to a smooth finish.     We quickly tasted the Malvazija 2006 for comparison and found it to have a smoother nose and some chestnut aromas to it. The body is smooth and the finish rather dry. It's a rather interesting wine overall as it's quite different from any other Malvazija that we've tasted.     For reds, we started with the 2006 and the 2005 Barrique Degrassi's Refošk. The 2006 is very earthy in its base. The body is very bright though, which is atypical of other Terans/Refošks that we've had and the body is very dry. In comparison, the 2005 has a similar nose to the 2006, but naturally with a bit more oak, due to the time spent in the barrel--18 months to be exact. The body is much, much smoother and you can taste a good deal more meat to it. The finish on this one lingers for a good deal of time, which we were pleased with. Degrassi told us that they believe the wine should be aged for a minimum of five years and we would definitely agree, although base upon the two years it already had, it may even be able to stand a few more years and still be optimal.     We closed out the tasting with their Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. It's a relatively dry example of the varietal in this region. It even has a dry nose to it. The body however opens up to some really great dark cherry flavors and the finish pulls the dryness all the way through to the end. It's tasty wine, albeit a bit light for those who really thirst for heavy body of California Cab Sauvs.     While a bit out of the way from the rest of the wineries, Degrassi are making some good examples of the wines in the area and worth a visit for those putting their way along the Vinska Cesta in the area. Their tasting room alone is worth the trouble to see, as it's quite classy.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          When visiting Istria, the most common encounter with the name "Žigante" is in the form of truffles. This is one brother, Gian-Carlo, in the Žigante family who has invested himself heavily in truffle production for the area and they are indeed good truffles. Then there are the other brothers, Duvilio and Denis, who have invested themselves in to the wine making craft and as we found out are making some very good examples of wines from the region.     The truffle thing is relatively new product for the Žigantes, seeing as how their family has been making wine for about 300 years. In 1997, the business came to fruition and started producing a greater volume of wine up on the top of hill near the village of Kostanija. They produce from 14 hectares that are solely owned by the family and a few other growers around the immediate area. Even still, they produce just 50,000 bottles a year, seemingly leaning towards growing a lower yield from the vines.     Duvilio is quite a character that opens up a good deal as he tastes more wines with you and we found that he'll chat great lengths about his wines, as he started us with the 2006 Malvazija, which they like to age in half oak, half acacia barrels. It has a very subtle, light nose. The body is dryer than others we've tasted, but still holding a bit of citric fruits to it. The finish rolls down your mouth quite well. It's smooth, but you can still taste the body in the end.     We then moved to the 2004 Vero, which is also a Malvazija, but one that is aged for a year or more in the barrel. The nose is rather oaky despite the blend of woods in the barrel. Some soft breads come out of the wine as more air gets in to it. The body is wonderfully deep. There is a strong structure to it, but yet it is still smooth and plush. The finish is dry, but at the same time very smooth. Apparently, when the truffles are presented for tasting, it is very common to pair this wine with them as the flavors don't trample each other. Duvilio also told us that the wine goes really well with the local cheeses that have a generally strong character to them.     From there, we drifted in to the reds and 2005 Teran (Refošk), the native varietal to the area. The nose of this wine is very spicy, somewhat akin to a California coastal Syrah, although obviously different. The body is very full, dry, and pulls in to a clean finish that leaves just a touch of the dry tones on the palate. There is also a good deal of earthiness to the back taste of the finish. With air, the spiciness gives we to sweetness. The wine pairs well with anything that has a bit of fat or oil (olive, please) in it. It cuts through all the fluff to get at the true flavors of what your eating. Something of a machete for the taste buds if you will.     We closed with the 2004 Teran. This has a great deal more earth to it then the 2005. There are also syrupy elements in the nose that just aren't present in the 2005. The body has gotten more balanced and smooth with the extra age. Overall it's a very well crafted wine that appears to be aging very well.     So, whether it's truffles or wine, the Žigantes have got you covered, although as we found that they needn't be had at the same time. Both products are very strong and can stand on their own equally well.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Our first encounter with the wines of Demian and the wine maker himself, Andy Šipetić was in Novi Sad, Serbia of all places. It was somewhat logical as we were there for a visit with friends and he was there for the wine festival that they've been holding for the last fourth years. While that visit gave us an initial taste of his wines, a lunch with the wines expertly paired to the dishes, and music played by Andy (who used to tour as a guitarist for the Gypsy Kings before making wine full time) we didn't get a chance to see his winery. For that, we'd have to go to Istria and so naturally, once we got to Istria we made our way down there.     The Demian winery has been producing in one way or another for about the last 80 years. From 1928 to the 1990's, they produced bulk wine for Italian producers. For the last 14 years, they started making their own wines and the last seven has seen their brand and production grow a great deal more. They produced 25,000 liters from six hectares of land in 2006. While this isn't a tremendous amount, Andy says that they are growing and will they'll have nine hectares producing next year. For wines, they stick to the Istrian staple of Malvazija, although they toss in a bit of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon as well.     In both Novi Sad and Istria, we started tasting with the 2006 Malvazija. When comparing the two tasting, it is obvious that this is a wine best served cold. In Novi Sad it was good. The nose was soft and the body was crisp. The finish started off fine, but opened up a great deal more with air. In Istria, we had the wine at about 12C, which is the proper temperature for it. It mellows out a great deal more and is very smooth. Melon flavors come in to the body and it becomes this wine that you can finish without even thinking about. It's very pleasing to drink and have on a hot day when we were at the winery.     For comparison, we had the 2004 Malvazija. It has a tad less alcohol to it and a more earthy nose. The overall characteristics were very similar to the 2006, but the wine was more complex, especially the body, showing how age treats this wine and it treats it very well. You might even be able to age this out for five years or a bit more and have it be quite optimal for drinking, albeit drinking should always be done cold.     We then tasted the 2003 Barrique, which is comprised of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, making it something of an inverse Claret. It's a lovely wine and predictable so given that 2003 was a very good year for this region due to a perfectly hot summer. The nose is soft, betraying subtle earthy tones that grow as you bury your nose in the glass. The body is dry, but still complex, full of flavors and a mahogany woodiness to it that is very pleasing. The barrel comes through a great deal in the overtones of the finish, roughing up the grape a good deal to make you want to keep coming back for more. It's a wine of full, bold flavors that we found delicious and had to take home a bottle of for further enjoyment.     As one of the few people we visited multiple times, we were very thankful to have bumped in to Andy for not only giving us a taste of his very well-crafted wines, but also as an impetus to make the trip down to Istria in the first place. The region is getting hot and with good reason, considering wineries like Demian producing some top notch vintages in recent years.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Fresh off our hibernation from the beach while in Slovenia, we headed back out to the coast of Croatia. This time, we focused on the region of Istria, that little triangle of a peninsula off the far west of Croatia. After the rather arduous task of finding a place to stay without a reservation in high season, we set about exploring some of the wines of the area, especially those along the Istrian Wine Route. Our first stop was Veralda.     We met with the owner, Luciano Visintin. His family has made oil and wine for somewhere around 1,000 years--give or take a few. In 1997 they started they took the family craft and made it a proper business, producing some 300,000 to 400,000 liters of wine a year, once again, give or take a few. They produce this large quantity of wine from 26 hectares of land and they also buy from a few vineyards who neighbor their vines. Out of all this, the bulk of what they produce is Malvazija. Additionally, they produce Muškat, Teran (Refošk), Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Ancelotti.     To begin with in our tasting, we had the 2006 Veralda's Malvazija. Luciano told us that he considers Malvazija as not a pretty woman, but more of a goof friend, which we took to mean that it is a basic drinking wine without a lot of flash. His vintage has a rather neutral nose with a touch of herbs to it. It's rather hard to classify and is drifts towards being quite light. There is a nice effervescence in the body that carries in to the finish and sticks with you. Luciano told us that it is an everyday wine and that it is best drank within the first year of bottling.     From there, we tried the 2006 Refošk. This wine is also called Teran in this area, which can be confusing, although it is essentially the same grape as grown just to the north, up in neighboring Slovenia. The nose is slightly sweet and tasty with bold fruit aromas. It drifts a bit in to being a littler earthy, but it leads in to a very easy to drink body with a bright finish. As it breaths, it mellows out considerably and would most likely do with with at least a solid hour out of the bottle before drinking. This 2006 vintage was harvested quite late in October and we were told that the 2007 vintage is going to be quite good due to the heat of the summer, which will allow for an earlier harvest.     We closed out with the 2004 Merlot Riserva. This is a delightful example of tasty barrique aging as the wine spends a year in French Oak. The body is very soft and the wine is well balanced overall with a nice, easy finish. We found a bit of berry and chocolate tones in the body. Despite how mellow it is, there is a touch of dryness to it that is quite typical of the region, but it is very understated. We found it to have a great deal of depth, which Luciano explained to us was from the dirt in this area of Istria, which is astoundingly blood red.     A nice selection of wines in general and there are others to taste for those who are curious, as well as the olive oil that they produce, which is brilliant in aromas and flavors.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          We cut across the Croatian border to Slovenia to stay with some family there in Slovenska Bistrica. On a previous trip, they had mentioned that their neighbor was a wine maker and that we might be interested to check out his winery. Whether it was fear of someone with a barrel in the garage they aged weekly or just lack of time, we didn't get to it. This trip however, we made a proper visit to Vehovar Winery and were duly impressed.     The winery is family-run affair with the father, Boris, at the helm. His two sons Sebastian and Isidor showed us around. They started up a new cellar in 1996 that has a 90,000 liter capacity and is 11 meters (36 feet) underground at the deepest point. Unfortunately due to a disastrous hail storm last year, they were only using 12,000 liters of that capacity.     Their white wine production currently consists of Traminec, Riesling, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Sivi (grey), Rumeni, Muškat, and Šipon. They do an ice harvest as well, but to add to the misery of the hail storm last year, the weather hasn't been cold enough for the last two years to be a certified ice wine. For the record, in Slovenia, it has to be -10C for four days to qualify. But to liven things up, they have planted 150 new red vines of Modra Frankija to try out. Of course, these won't be ready for a good many years, so we'll have to wait and see how the red does in this region.     The family was gracious enough to take us on a tasting tour of their wines as well while we were there. We started with the 2005 Treh Kraljev (Three Kings) which has some chardonnay notes to the nose. It has a soft body that then clears out in to a similar finish. It's something of a 'stolno' or table wine that's for general drinking they told us.     From there, it was the Yellow Rumeni Muškat from 2006. It has a great nose. It's slightly sweet, but still balanced and tasty. With more air, some really nice herbs move in as aromas. This all carries in the body and is very satisfying. The finish is clean and very refreshing.     We took a step back in time with the 1998 Traminec. The nose was strong with soft pear aromas. There was a touch of oakiness to it despite the fact it spent no time in wood. With air, a touch of honey developed in it. As it opened up more, this all carries in to the body which was a good deal sweeter than the nose. The finish had more effervescence to it than the other wines we tasted.     For comparison, we had the 2005 Traminec, which happened to be the Izbor or 'select' version of this vintage. It had a rather strong 60 grams of sugar to it that you could easily taste. There was a lot of honey in the nose and the body was very naturally fruit-filled. Despite this, it was definitely a much younger tasting grape even when not comparing it to the 1998. There are however many similarities and it was like all the same flavors are there, but with a good deal of youthful brashness.     We closed with the Laški Riesling Suho Izbor. All of that translates in to a very high quality wine with a massive 165 grams of sugar in it. This also happened to be one of their last ice harvests. It basically boils down to it being outstandingly delicious and one would hope so given that the same grapes used to get 250 liters for this wine usually produce 5,000 liters of a normal wine. The body has this lush oily honey quality to it. The nose is rather light and betrays just a little of the deep quality of the body. The finish is wonderfully clean and washes away all the sugar. A wonderful wine, but it had better be at 40 Euros when all the others are less than 5 Euros!     All in all, it was a great tasting that the next time we visit our family there, we'll have to add to and see how their other wines are coming along.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          After spending several weeks exploring the wines and wineries of the Croatian coast of Dalmatia, we were headed towards Slovenia. However, while in Zagreb for a couple of days, we were advised to check out the Wine Route of the little region of Međimurje, about an hour north of Zagreb in the area bordering Slovenia and Hungary. Once there we didn't regret the detour, for it was one of the loveliest spots in the interior of Croatia that we've seen. In this extremely green area, even in summer vineyards are sparkling and verdant on the slopes of the gently rolling hills that cover the land. In between grape vines there are dots of traditional family houses for those who are still here, making the wine.     Although obviously not as touristic or popular as the Wine Routes on the coastal areas, we found Međimurje's Wine Road to be surprisingly well-developed and organized. Not only were we handed several brochures and maps of the main twenty something wineries that are part of the route, but we also saw plenty of road signs showing the detailed location of all the wineries. It was clear that because of the "off the beaten track" quality of Međimurje, the effort to attract wine lovers to this region is greater. Most wineries have big signs on their front yards (unlike many of them in Dalmatia that required detective skills to find) and big tasting rooms to host visitors, as well as modern facilities and renewed cellars. Needless to say, their hospitality was remarkable.     Although the wines produced in the Međimurje-Zagorje region are almost completely whites there is a great variety to choose from: Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, Pinot Gris, Graševina, Laški Riesling, Rhine Riesling, Mušcat Ottonel, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, etc, etc. There is even a Wine School in the little village of Sveti Urban, where wine-tasting seminars and lectures are organized from time to time.          By the way, if you are interested in other wine routes in the region, check out the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina or the one in the Croatian island of Vis.

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