St. Andrea Winery



Above: Hans, Lo, Juri and Zsolt.


The owner, winemaker and chief bottle washer is Juri, a client of Janos'. Consequently Janos had a little pull and arranged a private tour and tasting.

The evening was set with the right tone when Juri picked us up at the restaurant following a late lunch. It was 5:00 pm. The pleasant tour was highly instructional and Hans and I were blown away by Juri's excellent English and knowledge of obscure words like cooperage. Of course these words are specific to Juri's profession but even so, his English was outstanding.

Among the things we learned is, first and foremost, that Hungarian wines are more than just their famous sweet Tokaji. We tasted outstnding wines blended from grape varieties with which we were totally unfamiliar, like the Ferenchagy.

We also learned that they bottle 120,000 bottles annually, grow over 40 varities and produce 19 types of wine, all blends. We tasted nearly half their production - 4 white and 4 red. And these weren't the usual thimble sized taste. So to show my respect, I drank every drop. It would have been rude not to.

Their quality was reflected in the price. At the end of the tasting and before I even saw the price list, I said, "I'll take 2 of these, and..." and he stopped me.

"I'll bring the price list," he said.

"Why? Do you think I'll change my mind?"

"You might," he predicted accurately.

I still bought 2 of the ones I had planned, but as it turned out, my second favourite wine cost more than my favourite, so I picked something else. And since I can only bring one bottle home, these were strictly for consumption with our friends.

Their top red, Merengő, goes for $50.

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