Driven Mád in Tokaj

Today was a very special day for Ildi and I, as we ventured out to the delightfully named village of Mád in the beautiful Tokaj winemaking region of Hungary to meet Endre Demeter Winetasters, friend of a close friend, who had offered to show us around his fabulous winemaking establishment Demeter estate and partake in a tasting of his fine wines.

Centre of the estate is this fine house, first mentioned in 1751, former home of the Pulszky family, of which Ferenc Pulszky was leader of the Hungarian National Museum, and later a copperage. Endre and his father Ervin spent more than a decade restoring the property and re-establishing it as a winery. The cellars are located beneath the building, at a depth of some 15 metres Cellar 1 Cellar 2. The Demeter vineyards languish on the steep Úrágya, Király, Betsek, Holdvölgy and Kakas hills. Of the 8 hectares two are cultivated by hand, with only the aid of horses.

We sampled seven of Endre's delicious wines, beginning with a sparkling frizzante and progressing through the dry and spectacular Úrágya, made from the noble furmint and hárslevelu grapes Urágya to the sublimely sweet 6 puttonyas Aszú.

A memorable day for Ildi and I, for which we thank Endre. Afterwards, on Endre's recommendation, we visited the restaurant Anyukám Mondta (My Mother Said...) in the village of Encs Anya for a truly scrumptious meal.

As a footnote, on our way to Encs, we passed through the village of Tokaj and I was intrigued by this curious hut, surmounted by a dragon Tokaj dragon. It was a day for which many blips presented themselves, as you can no doubt tell!