Bottlehugger had recommended a good pastry shop in Csopak, so we headed there first for some coffee and to lighten the load. But it was only open at 10, so we were forced against our best intentions to visit the first winery. As we cycled up the hill in gorgeous autumn weather, I started recognizing  a number of landmarks and realized that I had been in the area before several years ago. You could SMELL the must in the air. The Jasdi Vineyard  was one that Bottlehugger highly recommended we try.  I had been unimpressed earlier in the week with a Jasdi Chardonnay (too sweet), but looked forward to trying some others. Besides, one of Jasdi’s  Italian Reislings was one of Borigo’s  top picks in June 2009. Istvan Jasdi greeted us even as the harvest was going on. In fact, we were constantly surprised and relieved to find that even with the harvest happening, the vineyards still let us in for tastings. Istvan is multi-lingual (French, German and English at least) and made us feel very welcome at this first stop on our trip. We sampled the following wines:
-    Csopaki Riesling 2008
-    Siralomvago (? + Italian Reisling) 2006
-    Loczedombi Italian Reisling 2008 (not commercially available yet)
-    Loczedombi Szurkebarat (Pinot Gris) 2006 – we found this to have an unpleasant rubbery taste

Not being 10 am yet, we left with a bottle of ???? for the evening, we took a few steps up the road and visited the Tamas Vineyard. They were a bit grumpy this early, but their sign said tastings from 9am. Best to call first. I was particularly interested in trying their Syrah. This grape has become very trendy in Hungary, and I wanted to see what he could do with it. The Syrah 2004 was very good, but the 2006 blew us away. This is a fantastic dry red. At 4000 huf, and almost 5000 huf at stores, it is a pricey wine. Not to pick on this vineyard, but this is yet  another example of the Hungarian wine market being way over-priced. Tamas has a 6 other white and red wines on offer, as well as a wide selection of chutneys and jellies.  We made off with a Syrah 2006, green almond chutney, fig chutney, and a lavender jelly exploding with flavour. Panniers already groaning under the strain of our myriad purchases within the first hour, we thought it was about time for that coffee. The pastry shop was open, but falling way short of the hype if stale pogacsa are any indication. Next stop Tihany…

Cycling on towards Tihany we took a chance on the unknown Salanki Vineyard in Aszofo. Salanki seems to make almost every kind of wine regularly available in Hungary.  I spotted a Rheine Riesling 2008 I was keen to try, after reading the raves about it in Hedonist in the Cellar. The Rheine Riesling was great – probably my favorite wine of the trip along with the Tamas Syrah 2006. Unfortunately, it is not easily available in Budapest – maybe in a Spar or Auchan. But at 825 huf, it is well worth the effort to find a bottle. I wish it would have fit in the panniers
The Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 had a powerfully delicious raisin scent. This wine won the Balaton Region gold medal in 2005 and 2006, but this light black wine tasted almost off. The Mithras Cuvee (Merlot-Cabernet Franc-Cabernet Sauvignon) was black, but betrayed by a lightness, and it was just blah.

I had been up to the top of the Tihany peninsula several years ago during the solar eclipse, but had never had a chance to look around. Since we had taken an earlier train, we figured we had an extra hour to play with and ride up to the top. There is a bunch of gitch and a famous abbey, but the view is what it is all about. A regatta was sailing on the lake, the sun was out, and Jon and I saw the 5.2km distance and route we had swum only a month ago. Let me tell you, we were impressed with ourselves! We made a small mistake on the route down, thinking we could go around the tip, but we got stuck when the road ended in private fenced properties. So we retraced our steps, marveling along the way at all the passed-out drunk fishermen at  11am Saturday.

Taking a turning at Zanka (site of what was once the largest Young Pioneer camp in Hungary), we climbed up to the lip of the Kali Medence. I had been in the area many times before, but on the other side in Kapolcs, Pula, Ocs, Monostorapati , Vigandpetend and Taliandorog for the Valley of the Arts Festival every August. Two people recommended the Koveskali Vendeghaz for accommodation, so we went there directly. The receptionist/bartender at the connected espresso bar informed us that there was only one room, we would have to share a bed, and that the cost was 10000 for the night. Not after the kilometers and the wine tasting we had put in darlin’. After gulping down a cold beer, and chatting with a lively, if drunk, fellow customer, we reconnoitered the area for other possibilities. The Saci across the road was full up. The apartment at the Kovirag Restaurant & Panzio was gorgeous but too large and expensive for our needs (7000/person/night). Maybe sometime later with a girlfriend. The room at the hairdressers was unavailable. But the hairdresser recommended that we check at the ice-cream shop. And there was our drunk friend from the Koveskali Vendeghaz who called into the house. The sister of the hairdresser, her hands full with a toddler, offered us a room with two beds for 5000 huf. Always travel with Jon - he is a great bargainer. The room had been unused for awhile, but with some mopping it was fine (with the exception of the stinky drain in the bathroom). So impressed were we with the ambiance and menu of the Kovirag, we determined to have dinner there in a few hours. Jon had heard of a great new vineyard run by Gyula Szabo, one of the guys from the Bortarsasag, and who had a much talked about Kalibor wine on offer. However, no one was able to point us in his direction, and Jon’s Blackberry could not help either. Instead, everyone pointed us to the Odon Vineyard about 1.5km down the road. Odon was very friendly and attentive, if yawning from the harvest. He started us off with a complimentary tonkoly palinka (grappa) made from grape stems. This was probably one of the best palinkas I have ever  tasted, and I wish we would have thought to buy a bottle. And I NEVER say that about palinka. Not very hungry yet, we enjoyed the view  and sunset over Lake balaton from high up in the hills, and indulged in several wines.

One of my favorite white wines is the Nyakas Irsai Oliver, so we tried Odon’s Irsai Oliver 2007 first. The Irsai was fresh, unfinished, as was the Cserszegi fuszeres 2007. There was no real burst of flavor. The Rizling-Zoldszilvanyi 2007 had slightly more character with green grass-green apple overtones. The Juhfark 2006 had green walnut overtones, while the Juhfark 2002 Selection had the scent of ground strawberries combined with the legs of, according to Jon, “Marlene Dietrich.” Juhfark is one of 4 essentially Hungarian grape varieties, and is known as the honeymoon wine based on the belief that couples drinking Juhfark on the honeymoon night had a better than 90% chance of having a boy. Since so many western aristocrats wanted male offspring, and were willing to pay for a bit of Hungtarian magic, the Communist Hungarian government granted tax-free status to exports of Juhfark to the West.

The Kovirag was hopping when we got back to the restaurant. It was obvious that the owner was on holiday and her brother was trying to cover. But somehow in this chaos, the service and the food were excellent. Odon’s Juhfark was on tap, so we had a couple spritzers with that because we figured we needed the liquid. Jon had a strange but good meat-with-meat soup, while I had what could be the best garlic cream soup, if not the best soup I have ever had in Hungary. Don’t blame me if it turns out to be the wine talking, but I believe it was a truly great soup. Jon got a burnt risotto which they took back with no problems. Hopefully it was not intentionally trying to pass it off on us. Giving the chaos, we are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. The replacement risotto was excellent. My fried home-made goat cheese with braised vegetables (carrots, squash, eggplant, zucchini) was very good. We finished the evening with Konyari’s IKON Vineyard’s Merlot, one I enjoyed this summer at their vineyard in Radpuszta. It is a heavy wine, unusual for Balaton, and too acidic for Jon, but I still liked it. We split a pair of turo gomboc for desert, even though I was fit to burst. The turo gomboc (cottage cheese dumpling) was also great, with a nice touch of edible dried flowers sprinkled on top. The entire meal cost us a very reasonable 7500 huf, if you do not include the outrageously priced 1400 huf quince palinka (as much as a main course) at the end. But even in the confusion of the missing owner, the  service and overall character of the food and ambiance was excellent. So much so, that went back for breakfast thinking that nothing would be open on a Sunday. It seems that the place is only open on weekends, so double-check before showing up at the door. Part 3...