We stopped in Forro for gas and motor oil at the Avia station. The woman running the place was extremely friendly and helpful and did not sneer at the idiot (me) asking if we needed to top up the oil. It has got to be the friendliest gas station I have ever been to.

In Erdőbénye, we unpacked and went for a stroll around the town to see what we could find in terms of breakfast options for the next day, locate the vineyards we wanted to visit, and check out dinner options. I had already looked on the Internet and identified the Magita Hotel as a good bet for dinner. In fact, besides the place we were staying, it was the only bet unless you ventured to other nearby towns or into Tokaj itself. The Magita, named after a woman that hid Hungarians from the Turks and was later drowned for her troubles turned out to be a very reasonably priced and friendly place with very good service, prompt and friendly, and delicious food. Considering where we were, 1600 huf for an entree was a good deal for a large plate of food. However, a fresh salad at 750 huf was overpriced. I had a dish of chicken strips cooked with two kinds of onions and a large fresh salad that came with the meal. Kata had a catfish coated in walnuts with braised vanilla semolina bread - a strange combination that worked. Presentation was also nice. However, with most things, it is the details that can make keep a good experience mundane or raise it to a higher status. The Magita got a lot of things right, but:

- My salad, with cress, rocket and carrots was dry without at least some oil or vinaigrette, and none was on the table;

- Kata had to ask for lemon for her fish; and

- Candles would have been nice on the otherwise romantic terrace.

Kata enjoyed her house sargamuskataly wine, the Magita. Knowing a few of the vineyards on the wine card, I went for the unknown Béres Fürmint 2011 and was disappointed. OK, it was not a very expensive option, but in a region of excellent Fürmint wines, one would think even a mediocre wine would be better than it was. And yes, Béres is the same folks that give us all those Hungarian vitamins. I have never been fan of sargamuskataly, and the Magita, also from Béres, did not change my opinion. The bone dry Söptei sargamuskataly last summer in Csopak, the best wine of the bike tour, did open my eyes to the possibilities though.

Somehow, we were still hungry and each ordered a couple palacsinta (400 hu for 2). My turo palcsinta were good, as were Kata's grape jelly (common in the US, rare here for some reason) palcsinta.

We were going to the Abraham Vineyard the next evening, Karadi and Berger were on holiday, and Homonna, which I had heard good things about,  were not at home either. So, we took a chance on the centrally located Illés Pinceszet.

The cellar, located in the centre of town is a very basic hole in the wall, even bordering on a nice dirty pub feel.

We sampled 3 wines:

- Harslevelo  (dry, 2012, 2000 huf/bottle) - never a big fan of harslevelo, this did nothing to change my opinion. *

- Fürmint (dry, 2012, 2000 huf/bottle) - a nice dry Fürmint ***

- Kövérszőllő (2011, half-dry, 3000 huf/bottle) - an interesting grape from Tranylvania, and worth exploring more***

We went on a tour of the cellar, which, like the entire town, is part of the massive Rakoczi wine cellars. For some reason it was so foggy below ground that we could barely see, but it was an interesting tour. I would have bought the Fürmint or kövérszőllő but felt both were overpriced, like most Hungarian wines. In fact, I did not feel any of the wines were reasonably priced at any of the cellars. In a country with over 150 kinds of wine and countless vineyards, an average 3000 huf bottle price at the cellar itself I feel is unreasonable. Especially when one can get very decent wines, both foreign and domestic at the supermarket for under 1500.

There is a beautifully removed market square complete with tables and playground, but when we asked around, nobody knew of an actual Saturday (or any other day) market being held there. But ever the positive thinkers, we got up early on Saturday to see if we could get a decent breakfast without having to go to the hotel. In this instance, our hopes let us down. Apparently the town won a grant for the market square, but it remains unutilised. So we started out for Tokaj on empty stomachs.

In Tokaj, we found parking near the new Sauska Vineyard building under renovation near the centre and walked around until we finally located what could be one of the two existing pastry shops in the region. Sauska, based in Villany, invested in Tokaj as well a few years ago. I am a huge fan of their Cuvee 7 as well as their rosé. Unfortunately, the building was not open for business yet, attested by the construction work in back of the building. The town was quite dead for a summer Saturday morning and major tourist destination.  In fact, there really not much to see or do in town. Tourinform could not recommend any local producers to visit, and it was a bit early to start drinking. We visited the one art gallery, which although it had some nice paintings and a screen we admired, the highlight was when we left and crossed the street and noticed the extensive porcelain cat collection on roof balcony. We walked around for a couple hours, then headed back towards Erdobenye.

We stopped at the Dereszela Vineyard in Bodrogkeresztur, only because, I admit, I recognised the cat logo from two of their wines. It could not have been more different than the Illes, as Abraham that night was also to offer a completely different ambiance. Though Dereszela's name may not be familiar, the label for their 2 standard wines probably is  - the green and orange cat logos for their basic Dorombor dry and sweet white wines. We had a nice table outside, and properly, a jug of water, a spittoon and beer pretzels on a string for the tasting.

We sampled:

-  Tokaji Dry 2011 Fürmint Harslevelo, redactive. (1800 huf)

- 2011 Fürmint Lapisdulo, grown on a volcanic soil terroir, tones of apple-vanilla, kept 8-9 months in an oak cask. A different and worthwhile wine to taste. (2800 huf)

- 2012 Kabar Szaraz - a cuvee of harslevelo and bouvier (Austrian) grapes, from 2 terroir, one loess and one clay, kept for 2 months in an oak cask. This is a new variety now allowed to be grown in Tokaji. Kabar is a tribe from the last wave of the Hungarian conquest. Dry, with a sweet aftertaste, maybe chocolate? (3500 huf)

-  2010 Harslevelo in acacia cask, from the volcanic soiled King Terroir, kept for 1 year in a cask. Smoky, with a beautiful yellow colour and honey-raisin scent, it is let down by its bitter taste.

The winner here was the Kabar. We also went on a nice free tour of their wine cellar - like most, part of the former Rákóczi wine cellar system in the area. The service was nice, friendly, informative and attentive. We did not buy wine, since we wanted to buy from my friends at Abraham in the evening. Moreover, the prices, again, were a bit stiff. Instead, we bought must -jelly. On the way home we took a detour to try to visit a local wine-vinegar and grape seed press, but it is closed on weekends.

We returned to the Magita Hotel for dinner. Kata had the bear onion tagliatelle with chicken fillet and a delicious smoked cheese soup with cheese chips on top from a local cheese maker (see below). I had the pullet fillet with mushroom ragout and mashed potatoes, along with a cooling lemon cream soup with lemon chips.

Abraham Pince

Peter and Enikő had been at a party in Pest the night before, but they kindly still entertained us for a few hours with stories of their own and their local acquaintances' wine making history. Under an arbour with cats draped over unused casks like panthers, we sampled 8 of their wines. Abraham was one of the first local winemakers we featured at THD's Bitch Moan and Wine evenings many years ago (see here). At that time, I was very impressed with their dry Fürmints, and was eager to see what a few years more of experience had done for them. We did not taste their sweet aszu wines, as we both prefer dry wines. Prices quoted here are for friends, not normal prices.

- Doxa - their basic wine, steel cask, Fürmint, (1400 huf). I very much liked this fresh and affordable wine for summer.

- 2011 Madi Kakas Fürmint, red clay soil, oak casks, 13.5% alcohol, bone dry, 0% sugar, (3200 huf)

- 2012 Kakas - more acidic, bubbly, (3500 huf)

- 2012 Diókút - grey clay soil, steel vats, harmonious, a bit on the sweet side, (2300 huf)

- 2012 Köleves - special, the most interesting flavour of the evening, 8 months in new oak casks, a full bodied white wine, (2500 huf)

- 2011 Köleves - delicious cherry vanilla aroma, (4000 huf)

- 2011 Maceras - whisky aroma, nice (2300 huf)

I think our favourites where, if anyone can be sure after 8 liberally poured glasses of wine, the Doxa, Kakas and Köleves.

We bought 2 Doxa and a 2012 Kakas.

We left the next morning, after an egg breakfast at the inn where we were staying. With a last look at what we called the "Gandalf House" for the shape and style of its facade we headed out of town. However, we did not get far.

Finally a local producer. Cheese Maker Mrs. Gonda of the Ligeti Juhasz in Erdőbénye is a very pleasant woman. We tried a full range of cow, sheep and goat cheeses. Their pasture is on Aggtelek National Park land, and for all intents of purposes is organic (without certification). We ended up buying garlic cheese, cracked peppercorn cheese, and smoked goat cheese.

On the way back to Szalonna we stopped at Boldogkovaralija. One pays for parking on the approach road, which is good to know ahead of time. The couple at the cashier's desk were a bit dense and unfriendly, which kind of put me off for the rest of the experience. First impressions. Friends Akos and Nori had been here recently, and having seen the pictures, I was excited for the view. Renovated, and part of Aggtelek National Park, the walk along the spine of the hill to the new lookout means an amazing panorama. Why they have a lead soldier exhibition I will never know. Poor lighting, and they could have done much more with the space, but the view is superb.

At a loss again for food, thinking that Forro was bigger than it actually is, we found the lone pastry shop in the region. Originally just wanting some ice cream, we also had a crèmes and a crater. I liked the crater cake a lot.