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Having visited Pfneiszl last year, I've been intrigued by the wines that Birgit and her sister Katrin have been making.     In preparing for her career as a winemaker, Birgit literally traveled around the world to learn about winemaking in Italy, California, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. The result of this was an interest in trying out the various wines from these regions in their vineyards in Hungary. These few vines were just starting to produce last year and they had they have had their first proper harvest of them.     The end result is the távoli világ, a wine that is a blend of Shiraz, Carmenére, Malbec, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese. Definitely a wild blend (that I hope I never have to pronounce in front of a Hungarian), but one that is done quite delicately reflecting the fact that Birgit learned these grapes well in her travels. It's quite subtle at first, but then opens up with mint and watercress in a decently mineral nose. That watercress then turns in to a peppery, enjoyably spicy body that is light and fresh with the slightest tinges of strawberry and much more prevalent dark chocolate flavors. Raspberry also comes out after some decent breathing. On there finish there is a slight effervescence which is also in the nose when first opened.     An interesting wine that, due to the small amount of vines is not a large production, which is shown in the 500ml bottles and the fact it's most likely not going to be available outside of Hungary and Austria.

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.

Pfneiszl is a young winery on old lands. Or actually, it's an old winery on its own old lands if that makes any sense. You see Pfneiszl (or Pfneisl depending on which side of the Hungarian/Austrian border you're on) is an old family winery based in both Hungary and Austria. It's just that in Hungary, the 27 hectares that made up their wine growing lands were seized by the former communist regime of Hungary in the name of collectivization. After that happened, they had to "make due" with the 70 hectares that the family kept in Austria just on the other side of the border. In 1993, these lands were returned to the family after decades of pumping out cheap bulk wine that was mostly sold to Russia. By this time, on the Austrian side they had been making very well-recognized wines and in what must be one of the most incredible gifts I've ever seen from a parent, they gave this 27 hectares to their daughters to work up and establish as a Hungarian winery.     These stories are not uncommon in the area of Sopron (pron. Shohprohn) in the far east of Hungary on a peninsula of territory that sticks in to Austria, right in to the middle of the very nice Burgenland winegrowing region. The Pfneisl sisters (they grew up in Austria, thus the spelling), Birgit and Katrin have now been running the vines for several years and bottled their first vintage in 2004. A good deal of replanting happened 10 years ago to replace a number of vines, although some of their older vines still remain. These days, they're growing Kékfrankos, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Sangiovese, Malbec, Carmenére, Zenit, and as amazing as it is, even some Zinfandel. Birgit's study of winemaking around the world quickly becomes evident in the diverse selection of grapes.     While they have a tasting room near the center of Sopron, they took us out to a tasting amongst the vineyards overlooking Lake Fertö, which is a wide, flat, reedy lake that is at most two meters deep. Once up in the vineyard, one can see that it creates for an excellent micro climate that allows for a great deal of sun to hit the vines all year. Overall, you can taste this in the wines, as they hold a great deal more depth than other wines from just over the hill. But, enough about history, let's talk about the wines themselves.     We started off with their take on the Sparkling White Wine, which they call Sparkelina. We tasted the 2007 vintage and found it to be not too dry and very even-tempered. It has a clean finish and while I'm not a huge fan of the bubbly in general, I found their version to be quite pleasant and pleasing to drink. From there, it was on to the Kékfrankos 2006 'Classic'. It's a blend of grapes that have been aged in stainless steel with 30% in old Hungarian barrique. The nose is very calm and mild. The body is easy to drink and rather light and seemingly typical of Kékfrankos from the region, but light blackberry tones give way to a touch of pepper and other spices that you can taste near the end and in to the finish of the wine.     It was then on to one of Pfneiszl's signature wines, which is the Tango. We tasted the 2006 which is a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% Merlot, and 10% Shiraz. The nose is light with a hint of vanilla and stronger blackberry elements to it. The body is smooth and the finish is pleasing. As the wine breathes more, it becomes more and more pleasing and is a wine that I would really recommend for just bout any meal as it is even-tempered and mellow, while at the same time carrying a good deal of flavor.     The Kékfrankos 2004 is a vintage that was aged in barrique for 22 months. Again, the nose has blackberry aromas to it, but it develops a slightly more complex nature with herbs coming through. A number of the aromas drop out in the body, but the berry tones stay quite prevalent and the body is a good deal more dry than the other wines of theirs we tasted, yet it is still quite pleasant.     The 2005 Shiraz has what I describe as a very creamy body which according to Birgit is from an extended fermentation period in the barrique. The barrique are French oak due to the 18 month stay in them, the wine takes on a number of vanilla qualities.     Their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon proved to be a nice surprise. Other Cabs from the region, I've often found to be rather flat given that I've been spoiled growing up on California Cabs. But the Pfneiszl Cab is not flat at all. It is dry, but very flavorful. The body is complex and earthy. It doesn't have the "cherry nose" to it that I've often found in other Central European Cabs. Birgit said that it had just been bottled a few months previous, so it was still under a bit of bottle shock, but irregardless, it was a very enjoyable wine to drink. Perhaps this is due to the 24 months it spends in Hungarian barrique.     The Impression Rouge is a blend of 50% Kékfrankos, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Merlot. There is good deal more oak to it, which is probably due to the newer barrique that are being used. The finish has a delightful touch of boysenberry to it, which was quite unexpected. It is also a delightful wine to drink with deep, woody tones.     One thing to note about these wines is that Birgit's style is to allow the wines to be a bit more "wild" in their flavors. She doesn't try to force a particular consistency to the wines and this allows them to each be their own and age as they may. While this may be a death knell for other younger winemakers, she manages to work the wines in this manner with a great deal of success, making each Pfneiszl vintage quite unique. To this end, they also give each wine vintage its own name based upon how they feel the grapes tasted for that year. For instance, 2004 was, "Cool Elegance" and 2005 was "Starling's Favorite". It's a nice touch that makes the wines have a bit more character than just a numerical year on them.

Winners of the second annual American Wine Blog Awards were announced yesterday by Tom Wark who writes the wine blog Fermentation and who started them two years ago to give recognition to dedicated wine bloggers and stimulate new ones to start.     Among the winners we found one of our favourite wine blogs, San Francisco's acclaimed Vinography by Alder Yarrow, who won the awards for best overall wine blog and best wine blog writing. Not only is Vinography an excellent source of information and inspiration on restaurants and wine bars in San Francisco, but he has also reviewed several Austrian and Slovenian wines in the past, as well as one of our favourite Croatia whites, Bibich's Debit. We strongly suspect that he's been getting more into Croatian and Slovenian wines lately, since he celebrated the award with a bottle of Malvazija from Koper (perhaps by Santomas?).     Other winners of the American Wine Blog Awards included Good Wine Under $20 (best wine review blog and best single subject blog), Tablas Creek (best winery blog), The Wine Collector (best wine business blog), Chateau Petrogasm (best wine blog graphics), and Grape Radio (best wine podcast/video blog). Grape Radio is an excellent podcast (an online audio blog) that a while back devoted a very interesting show (click here to listen to it) to the Hungarian winery Disznókő, which produces really good quality Tokaji (such as this one or this one).     Twenty-four blogs in eight categories made it to the finals for the awards. Nominations were made by voters, and then winnowed down by a panel of 6 judges, followed by a vote of both the public and the judges to determine the winners. The public's tally got 70 percent of the weighting, with 30% of the voting power given to the judges. According to Wark, the judges were Jack Everitt, of the Fork & Bottle blog; Dan Fredman, of Dan Fredman Public Relations; Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast Magazine's West Coast editor; Derrick Schneider, Obsession With Food blogger; Wolfgang Webber, Wine & Spirits Magazine's associate editor and blogger, and Tori Wilder, of Wilder PR.     Tom Wark, who said that currently there are more than 700 American Wine blogs, commented on the winners: "Anyone who has been paying attention to the development of the world of wine blogs will likely recognize the winners of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards. They represent a variety of things in this world: The Standard, The Expert, The Innovators, The Dedicated".     For a more detailed description of all the winners, check the announcement, or if you're curious to see who the finalists were for each catergory, here's the complete list, which will provide you with a lot of good wine reading.

The Hidden Vine is a perfectly-named wine bar in San Francisco. Sitting on the edges of Nob Hill, The Tenderloin, and Union Square, owners and master hosts, Angela and David Cahill pour wines for the masses with, what cannot be stated in any better terms than "down home" hospitality. Amazingly, no matter how busy it is on any given night, you will always feel like you are their only guest and they are very excited to show you what new wines they have that month. Ah yes, that's an important element to their wine bar that's always fun in that they feature a different region each month to taste, so in addition to their wine list always being updated and tweaked, returning guests can enjoy something brand new, 12 times a year. But more on this in a little bit.     The history of their wine bar starts back on the East Coast. David and Angela bopped around New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina for awhile. It was in Chapel Hill that they encountered the West End Wine Bar. They had great times there and liked the whole setup of the place. They had had the idea to work in wine for some time and so they came out to the West Coast with this idea in mind.     In February, 2005, they officially opened up their doors as, The Hidden Vine. With all of the wine bars sprouting up in San Francisco that seem to be some play on 'vine', 'wine', 'uva', or the like, the name may seem too clever for its own good to those who haven't visited the bar. But, it is true that they are rather hidden, basically in the basement of the The Fitzgerald Hotel, their main entrance being on Cosmo Alley (pictured above) right across from Le Colonial. It's definitely a cozy space, where groups over five are tricky to fit in, but they make it work exceptionally well, bedecking it in big overstuffed chairs and nice, warm colors that ask you to sit, be mellow and have a glass with friends. And as they say on their website, their focus is to have it be low-key. You never have to shout over your glass of wine to your companions sitting next to you.     But cozy, "speakeasy-esque" setting aside, it is really the choice of wines that make this bar, and it is where the real enjoyment begins with The Hidden Vine. Their regular menu always has stellar choices in both glasses and bottles, covering an array of prices, regions, and varietals, both in the old and the new world. However, it is their featured regions of the month where the fun is for anyone who visits their wine bar regularly (such as the author of this article...), which gives them an opportunity to try wines and varietals from regions that they might have never tried before. For instance, I was in no hurry to try the wines of Washington State only to be pleasantly surprised at the selection of whites and reds that the duo of Cahill and Cahill chose for that month.     Some of the regions that have been featured in over their nearly three years in the business include: Germany, New Zealand, North Eastern Spain, Portugal, Southern Italy, South Australia, West Australia, Oregon, Argentina, Bordeaux, and Austria to name just a few. The last of which, Blue Danube supplied a number of tasty vintages for. Currently, they are featuring wines from Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro, which Blue Danube has been happily supplying. People have been enjoying the likes of the Törley as well as Batić, Dingač, Kozlović, and Plantaže. They tell me that people have been very interested in the wines overall and greatly enjoying the Kozlović Malvazija and Törley Fortuna while excitedly learning about the link of Californian Zinfandel to the Dingač Plavac Mali that they're pouring. For those interested to partake, they will continue to pour through all of December and possibly in to January when they do a recap of their favorite wines for the year.     These wines they have selected are not the standard fare found in other wine bars and when asked why they decided to choose these wines now, Angela said that they like to balance out traditional regions with those that are new for most people or being discovered. This set of wines from Eastern Europe are giving them a jumping off point for possibly more in the future. Speaking of the future, some of the regions regulars have to look forward to in 2008 might include a return to Austria, another part of Spain, and maybe some other US States.     So, at their essence, The Hidden Vine is a wine bar that continues to have great service, great wines, great cheese/meat plates, and blindingly good olives (which seem to be impossible to find in other places). When asked if they had any far-ranging plans for the future other than these consistently great goals, David simply said, "Nope." which is the best thing any of us could ever hope for.

Today, we are the recipient of a lucky double whammy: This morning we read in the Sacramento Bee Mike Dunne's favorable notes about the Irsai Olivér made by the Hilltop Neszmély Winery, then the letter carrier delivered the new Newsletter edited by bottle shop owner and tasting bar manager Victor Pugliese of Vin, Vino, Wine, our favorite wine shop in Palo Alto.     Victor has published the VVW News for almost two decades. During that time it has been a monthly guide for us into the wide world of wine. You can imagine how proud we are when he surprised us by selecting one of the Hungarian wines we distribute as his featured White Wine Value of the Month. Here is what he had to say about the Királyleányka:     "The world is a big place. One of the cool things about it is that you'll never master it, you'll never know everything. There are always new discoveries. In that spirit, and in the spirit of bringing you the best, most interesting wines we can find, here is a new discovery for us, a Hungarian white, from an Eastern European grape called Kiralyleanyka.

    It comes from the Neszmély district along the Danube, between Vienna and Budapest. It is in the style of a very good Pinot Grigio, or Gruner Veltliner - bright, zesty fruit, a sprinkling of spices and herbs, a hint of minerality. It is dry and unoaked, with a svelte texture and simple deliciousness that is remarkable for its price.

    The label is a bit kitschy and international, understandable, perhaps, when you think about the hurdles a purely Hungarian language package must have in foreign markets. But the wine in the bottle is what counts, and it is both a bargain and a gem."     We could not have said it any better. Interestingly enough, it is this wine with the funky name which was selected by another wine merchant with a distinguished track record and excellent tasting buds: David Berkley of the fine wines and speciality foods store in Sacramento which carries his name and relies on his reputation. The best advice we can give you, our dear reader, is to follow the advice of experienced wine merchants like David and Victor and let them assist you in making new discoveries. Expanding the dimensions of your wine world and adding new flavors to it can be so much fun!

Prof. Dr. Tim P. says: One of the hazards of wine writing is watching bottles pile up all over the house waiting to be tasted. (Somebody has to do it.) Since I firmly believe that multiple opinions are always better than one, I periodically pull together an informal panel to work through the backlog.     I recently did a miscellaneous session—some wines I needed to write about, some I might mention somewhere, some I just felt duty-bound to sample because they had shown up at my door. My two tablemates were a serious student of wine somewhere on the trail of a Master of Wine certificate and the co-author of a forthcoming book on pairing desserts and desert wines. All the bottles were wrapped in brown paper bags (showing what a high-class event this was).     The whites were a particularly odd quartet: two Hungarian whites from indigenous grapes (the Woodsman's White and Carpenter's White in the Craftsman series) and two barrel-fermented California Chardonnays. Trying to be helpful, I noted that the four wines were really two and two. "We noticed!" my pals chimed in unison; the contrast between the pale straw of two glasses and the golden oak tones of the others needed no announcement. We tasted through all the wines before talking—though occasional comments did pop up, things like, "Many trees died for this wine."     Both of the Hungarian whites had intriguing, aromatic noses; we came up with peaches and almonds on the Királyleányka (Woodsman's), white peaches and kiwi on the Irsai Olivér (Carpenter's). The Woodsman’s had a surprisingly rounded mouthfeel, the Carpenter’s left a distinctly tart impression; both had personality. The two Chards were well-made, higher in alcohol, noticeably oaked, and sweet with caramel and cotton candy in the mouth. And roughly triple the price of the Hungarians.     On to the reds. We had three Merlots (not my favorite grape, which is why I have friends come over), two Merlot blends, and a complete ringer, a California Tempranillo laced with an idiosyncratic mix of other grapes. The Craftsman Journeyman’s Red (Merlot and Kékfrankos) was fourth in line, after three Californians at different price points, and I couldn’t help but mumble, "Finally, a red wine that’s actually dry." Then on to the next sweetie.     Again, there was nothing wrong with any of these wines—they were all clean, full of cherry fruit, varietally correct, right on the target their makers aimed at. The Journeyman seemed to come from a different universe: lighter in color and body, thoroughly dry, begging for food, opening with fruit and ending with black pepper. It wasn’t "better" is some absolute sense; it just stood out in an all-too-familiar crowd.     The contrast was so clear that when we got to the rogue Tempranillo, slightly drier and less heavily oaked than the rest of the Golden State lineup, we declared it positively “European.” All in all, a pretty educational hour for a random batch of wines and a trio of jaded palates.

Just a short while ago we visited Tokaj, the historic Hungarian wine region, for the very first time. Here we witnessed a window into the very dynamic renaissance of wine making, fueled by highly motivated and very competent wine makers, the financial interests of (often foreign) investors, and the existence of a rather unique terroir and a proprietary style of wine making.     As my time allows I will report on this trip in short installments, today, let me introduce my co-travelers: my wife Zsuzsa Molnar, and our dear new friend, capable trip organizer, and wine collector extraordinaire, Charles Cruden. Zsuzsa is holding a new publication on Tokaj's Terroir in her hand, while Charles is making arrangements for the next appointment on his indispensable cell phone.     Of course the man in the center of it all is Istvan Szepsy, the wine maker of Kiralyudvar who has been providing so much guidance and leadership for the emergence of the contemporary Tokaj. Our Thank You goes to him and all of his colleagues who are extremely hospitable, cheerful, and passionate in their mission to show the world: THIS IS TOKAJ.

Hungarian wines seem to crack their decade long 'Sleeping Beauty' spider web. These days even the English speaking world is starting to take note. At least the PR engines are starting to spit out English material about the topic. In any event, the Hungarian wine scene is certainly pretty dynamic today with more and more interesting wines being produced by a growing number of capable and very committed wine makers.     You can catch up on the fast moving events try by reading either one of the following magazines: The UK's Decanter Magazine contained a special booklet in their printed April 2004 issue, a US start-up named Wine Country International featured Hungary in its first edition, and a newly formed Hungarian group has posted a long introduction to contemporary Hungarian wine making as a 6MB Acrobat pdf file. It's entitled Hungary Uncorked and is probably the most informative of the bunch. Well worth the download. Be aware that this will be more than 120 printed pages so keep an eye on your printer and keep some extra paper handy!!

Blue Danube Wine Company is proud to introduce the Craftsman series of wines from Hilltop Neszmély Winery of Hungary to California and the West Coast. This exciting new line brings the refreshingly flavors of some of Hungary’s finest grape varietals to American palates.     The six whites, two reds and one sweet wine have been carefully selected to capture the flavor and character of Hungarian wines. The varietals include Királyleányka, Irsai Olivér, Olaszrizling, Muscat Ottonel, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Grigio (Szürkebarát), Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) and Tokaji Aszú.     Hilltop Neszmély Winery is at the forefront of the renaissance of Hungarian wine making and internationally renowned wine critic Jancis Robinson terms the winery "one of the country’s leading wine exporters".     Focusing on importing top wines from Central Europe, in particular from Austria, Croatia, and Hungary, Blue Danube Wine is pleased to expand its portfolio of sophisticated flavorful food friendly wines. Our winemakers combine old winemaking traditions and indigenous grape varietals typical of their regions to produce distinctive wines. more

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