The long run of the Danube River from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.

It is with pride and pleasure that we invite the trade and media to join us at our special upcoming tasting events. We will be introducing the latest arrivals from Hungary and Croatia. Our hosts, A Cote, Da Flora and Mignon, will be serving appetizers inspired from their travels along the road from Budapest to Venice. This is our best selection from Hungary ever and the U.S. Premiere of most of the wines:     * First organic vintage of the popular Pfneiszl Kekfrankos.     * First U.S. showing of the fiery Kadarka from up-and-coming estate Eszterbauer.     * Vylyan’s Pinot Noir, considered the best Hungarian PN to date (Caroline Gilby MW).     * New vintages from red wine super star Attila Gere: Portugieser, KOPAR, SOLUS.     * Sweet and dry premium Tokaji wines from top estate Patricius.     * First arrival of beautiful Tokaji wines by artisanal wine maker Judit Bott as featured in the recent NY Times article on Tokaj--Hidden in Hungary,Treasures on the Vine.     From Croatia we will introduce our first red Teran, delve deep into the story of Malvasia and share super premium wines from one of the most ambitious new projects in Croatia:     * Naturally made Malvasia and Teran from the young Istrian estate Piquentum.     * Two Malvasias made in different styles by leading wine maker Matosevic.     * A rare wine made from almost extinct grape Malvasia Dubrovnik by Karaman.     * The new ABC of wines from well known Bibich winery in Dalmatia: B5, B6, G6.     * And if the shipping stars align: the Premiere of a Dingac and Nevina from cult wine producer Saints Hills.     We know you are very busy, but these wines should be on your lists and shelves for this Holiday Season. We are hosting three events you can choose from:     * Tuesday Nov. 30 | A Cote | 5478 College Avenue, Oakland | 1 - 4pm     * Tuesday Nov. 30 | Mignon | 128 E Sixth Street | Los Angeles | 1 – 4pm     * Wednesday Dec. 1st | Da Flora | 701 Columbus Ave | San Francisco | 1 – 4pm     Please R.S.V.P. (650) 941-4699 or frank@bluedanubewine.com – trade and media only     Contact us if you are unable to join us. We will be happy to schedule a tasting appointment with you.     Cheers and see you soon,     All of us at Blue Danube Wine Company

A full program during the month of November.

It is our pleasure to announce that the one and only Hungarian restaurant in Los Angeles, Maximilian's is celebrating the Hungarian Heritage Month in November. There will be a series of cultural events, dances and music, special menus, and of course: Hungarian wines. Please see Maximilian's web site for more information.          We invite all of you to a special tasting event with a superlative line-up of wines at Maximilian's on Sunday, November 28th from 2 to 5pm. On this day we will present for the first time our new arrivals from Hungary. We are convinced that our Hungarian portfolio has never been better and is really showcasing what this ancient wine country has to offer: Taste with us the first organic Kekfrankos made by the Pfneiszl sister. Another premier in the U.S. is the spicy Kadarka from Eszterbauer in Szekszard. From the red wine paradise Villany we'll pour wines from wine maker super star Attila Gere, including his famous KOPAR. And from Tokaj we'll bring the dry and sweet wines from top estate Patricius. These fine wines will please everybody and they demonstrate that quality wine production is back and alive in Hungary!

Lou loves 3 Liter Batič.

One of our early supporters, Lou Amdur of LOU on Vine has always been one of my favorite people to work with. His love of wine and food extends far beyond his sensitive nose, palate. Tasting with Lou is more history, science, farming and people than strawberries and tannins. As a space LOU is intimate, slightly psychedelic and smells good, it attracts a whole host of interesting food and wine affiliated individuals oftentimes to dine and sometimes to host events. Coincidentally “A Feast for Ed Behr” editor of “The Art of Eating” was to be held the same day as our follow up tasting of all of the Croatian samples from our trip this summer with our partners Empty Glass. All of us really wanted to go to the Ed Behr dinner; the guy is kind of a legend. Thankfully Lou offered to let us hold the tasting there before hand so that we could.     In 3 hours we tasted 60 wines that ranged from international varietals produced in a global style to obscurities like the white grape Gegic. Lou tasted most everything and at the same time readied the restaurant for the dinner, wrote feverishly on his laptop and make astute observations of the wines. Part of what makes Lou a great taster is his openness. He does not prejudge. After looking very serious and saying little during an expansive line up of concentrated Plavc Mali we asked what he thought of them. He liked the way the slightly off dry quality in some balanced their rustic charms. This was music to my ears. The powerfully flavored Plavac grown on the ocean vineyards of Peljesac have long been tempered by a gentle sweetness. Dry examples can be found and they have their place but with Croatia so eager to reach out to the world if we (importers and buyers) fail to embrace the typical styles, run the risk of homogenizing what is unique and indigenous. Thankfully Lou is a junkie for the indigenous.     Dinner started with a refreshing intermezzo of sparkling unfiltered Cabernet Franc (the aperitif for the rest of the crowd). Some of our favorite people from the trade were also in attendance as enthusiastic guests, Mike Green from Woodland Hills Wine Company, wine PR consultant Dan Fredman, and French wine importer Charles Neal to name a few. It is rare to see such a crowed at a public event. Would be dinners take note - LOU is the choice of some discriminating folks. Before the simple delicious creations of chef DJ and Lou’s subtle pairings started rolling out Ed Behr spoke. A gentle but curious personality with palpable energy, he painted a truncated (his own word), but beautiful world of food and place and how they have shaped his life. What was clear was that he loved food and was in a room full of people who also loved food the mood was electric.     Where else other than LA can one find a place like LOU. None come to mind. Culture is hard to identify, it is a moving target but between the locally sourced food, far reaching selection of wines, thoughtfully informed guests and industry professionals dinning together, sharing food, wine and ideas, culture could be felt. In a dingy strip mall on Vine near Melrose in Hollywood, USA culture flourishes.     Thank you LOU

Visual Aid :} to demonstrate different taste bud sections of the human palate

Under this funny title two wine professionals will offer a series of six sessions in Orange County. Both instructors are well known to us as very competent and passionate about wine. They are David Scales, owner of MAWL, a wine store in Garden Grove, CA and Blue Danube Wine's new sales representative for Southern California, Stetson Robbins.     In their promotional flyer for this innovative class they state: "Palate Builders is an in-depth, 6 week course designed to aid in your journey to identify what you like and why you like it. Our classes will help you to develop the faculties for understanding wine in a way that adds to the pleasure of buying wine, tasting it, analyzing it and sharing it with friends in a fun, casual and informative setting.     Our classes will take place at various restaurants through North Orange County on Monday evenings beginning August 4th. Each class is $50 and includes a tasting of 8-10 wines. We will have special guest speakers and guest winemakers. It is strongly encouraged that you sign-up for all 6 classes in the series as they are designed as one whole lesson, but it is not required."     If you'd like to RSVP for the courses, or if you have further questions, please email David Scales at ds@palatebuilders.com