FEKETE VINEYARDS IN SZEKZARD

A 50 minute train ride from Villany to Pecs, a bus out of Pecs, and an hour and a half later I am in Szekzard, one of the notable wine regions of Hungary.  I use my ‘new’ app, called ‘maps.me,’ for directions to my lodging, a little over a mile away.  No problem.  The route starts out flat, and then the gradient proceeds to steepen - a lot.  No choice but to continue onward, toting my Rick Steve’s soft luggage with back straps and my Champion backpack.

By the time I reach the Koroza Guesthouse, I am bushed.  But wait.  The door is locked.  A sign in several languages is affixed to the door.  The English portion reads ‘if you are not here call this phone number'.  That sign tells me two things.  It is likely that the owner’s English is practically nonexistent, and, I am screwed since I need Wi-Fi to make a call.  However, I find myself smiling at the sign's wording and thinking about the sound of one hand clapping.

I sit on the steps and wait half an hour.  No one shows up.  A car pulls up to the curb.  It turns out to be the neighbor across the street.  I ask her if she will call.  She calls - her husband - who comes over and makes the call.  He tells me it is not the first time this has happened.

The landlady shows up 15 minutes later.  It is not uncommon for folks here not to know English, and she is one of those folks.  She explains about the room, the kitchen, etc. very nicely, in Hungarian.  I nod.  Thankfully, from having stayed in upwards of a dozen places by now, I get the gist of what she is saying.  I pay, she bids me good day after giving me a map of the area and the Wi-Fi code, and leaves.

It is late afternoon by now and time to go to a small grocery to stock a few supplies, then head to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

On the way I see two people making wine.  One is pressing grapes in a cellar that is open to the street.  The other has a portable augur on a trailer hitch and is feeding risling grapes into it out of the back of his station wagon.  I ask what grape the two fellows in the cellar are pressing.  No English, but it does get me a glass of red wine.  Nice, light and fruity.  Makes me think it is PortaGeza.

Here is a picture of the grape vines piled up against the building where they were running the risling through the portable augur.

 The next day it was off to Fekete vineyards to taste their wine.  Again maps.me showed me the way – which turned out to be up and down two mountains.  If I were to suggest one improvement to the app it would be to give a poor unsuspecting soul an idea of the elevations to be traversed using their recommended route.  This is just one of the climbs up the first mountain on the way to the vineyard.

A reward for my huffing and puffing up to what was no doubt the highest pinnacle in the area was a of a sculpture of grape vines, leaves and clusters, and view over the city.

Finally half way down the second mountain I reached the winery. I was met by the wife who spoke no English.  After a minute of miscommunication she summoned her husband who was also ‘Englishless’’.  I used my trusty Google translator to explain that I wanted to taste their wines starting with their Cabernet Sauvigon Selection 2011 that won a gold medal in the 2014 Challenge du vin held in Bordeaux, France.

Out came a new bottle which he uncorked and poured.  I should have let it sit for a while before tasting to get the full benefit of bouquet and flavor.  However a sip out of the glass a minute or two after it was poured revealed a lovely slightly dry Cabernet. 

Then came other award winning wines, a rose which is on the wine list of one of the Budapest Michelin starred restaurants.  As delightful as a rose could be.  Then came a shiller which is a relative of a rose but the skins are left in longer and the wine develops a red color between a rose and full red wine.

There was a show stopping 2009 Chardonnay done in oak.

Somewhere during the tasting he got up from the table and made a phone call.  A young lad and his father subsequently drove up.  The young man in his teens spoke English.  Conversation through interpretation flowed smoothly after that.

After tasting a several more wines I said I would come back the next day to purchase some.  I tried to pay for the tasting but he would not accept any money.

Here are some tasting notes and more photos.

Fekete winery 

Cabernet Sauvignon 

2014 challenge international

France gold medal

Light bouquet

Slightly dry and claret- like

2015 rose

Cuvee

70% blue Frankish

30% !???

Light bouquet

Refreshing

Faintly tart

Delicious

Schiller Kadarka 2014

Dark rose 

The best Kadarka  Schiller I have drunk on my trip. 

Chardonnay 2014

In oak

Mild oak bouquet 

Delicious wine

White Kadarka

(made from a red grape, but the skins do not come in contact with the grape juice)

Clear white wine 

Delicious flavor

Kadarka 2011

Ripe berry bouquet

Very dry red wine 

The young fellow who spoke English told me to go a much better way back.  It involved a ten minute walk down a steep road to an intersection with a bus stop.

Here is the reward for my hard day's labor: