This weekend will be dedicated to fine gourmet moments. Every year my favorite outdoor festival is organized at the Millenáris Park, which is a nice, green surrounding in the heart of the city. We were lucky with the weather on Thursday, that was the first day of the event. Charming stands welcome the food-lovers accompanied by the best chefs and outstanding wineries. Hungarian sparkling wine experiences a rise, Sauska and Kreinbacher are offering their best selections. Bliss, bliss! I’m so happy to meet familiar faces from my beloved Tokaj wine region: Grand Tokaj, Béres, Barta, Holdvölgy, Royal, Tokaj, Sauska, Zsadányi, Tokajicum and Grof Degenfeld wineries are present at the event.

The entrance ticket can be purchased online or on spot. It comes with a tasting glass, a glass of wine at the Grand Tokaj, the Tokajicum and welcome beer, plus some street food bites at the Electrolux stand.  This weekend you can taste the best cuisine created for the event by more than 60 bistros, restaurants and confectioneries. Join me for a culinary experience now!  

HERE is the list of all kind of food you can taste during the festival. Every year three topics are featured, this time the following ingerients are chosen: paprika, bread and beer. I must admit, that delicious creations and bizarre pairings were born as well, I was curiously tasting the Bori Mami’s menu. My favorite Gyöngyös - based restaurant is well-known for its creativity, professionalism and its amazing staff. Traditions and modernity are both joined in the menu by building a bridge between past and present. The entree goes perfectly with a good glass of champagne, Hungarian lecsó with truffle, pure harmony! The second course is gray cattle with beer, the meat was cooked in a kind of pasta, the spices and flavors are such a perfect match. I was skeptical about the dessert first: noodles with blood and plump might sound strange, but if you think about it, it all has some sweet taste and the creation was just delicious.

You won’t stay thirsty at the festival, there is a wide selection of drinks this weekend. Besides wine and champagne you can enjoy whiskey by Jameson and other short drinks, coffee and Belgien beer. At the stand of DiVino and Bortársaság taste a wide variety of premium selections! You might see me snipping a glass of champagne at my favorite Taittinger stand.

Check out the upcoming EVENTS! You can enroll into special courses and tastings as well as lunches and dinners dreamed up by the most talented chefs in Hungary. I’m participating in the Ferrari masterclass on Saturday afternoon, tickets are still can be purchased HERE! I can’t wait to taste the best of their sparkling divines! Besides the exclusive workshops, there are great programs going on all day on the gastro stage.  Learn about paprika, cocktails, food and cultures, you can deep into different topics related to gastronomy. Kids won’t be left out neither, at the kids' corner children are registered for fun courses, they can make little cakes and get to know the basics of cooking and baking.

All in all it’s a lovely weekend with exceptional programs and tasting. Experience the culinary diversity with me!

See you there on Saturday!

The whole Danube Palace turned to be a special scene on Friday: Spanish Fiesta, elegant cavas, exciting wine courses. It was the first time that Vino Castillo - specialized on Spanish wine - organized its grand wine tasting event in Budapest.

The program started at noon, the first presentations were dedicated to the fantastic world of cava. This refreshing, bubbly drink is produced in the Penedés area in Catalonia and it represents a light, elegant style with unique character. Eight wineries introduced themselves and we had the chance to taste their sparkling miracles. According to Agusti - the owner of Agusti Troello Mata - you should drink cava for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He is 85 years old, so he probably knows what he is talking about. From the company's selection we tried a standard product from 2011, made from Grand Reserve. Crispy and complex,  it was one of my favorite ones.

Let me briefly introduce you another very traditional winery called LIopart, this is the 25th generation in the row, the winemaker himself is 90 years old and he is so passionate about his job. The vineyards are just about 15 kilometers far away from the sea and they are surrounded by the hills. No wonder that in this special climate great selections are born. Some of the grapes are over 70 year-old and the company only uses their own grapes. The cava from 2012 was gold and creamy with a hint of salt due to the sea. 

We tasted a limited selection from Rimarts. The owners are the three brothers, their father settled down the company and shortly after making this special cava, he passed away. We tasted his last creation, that's not available on the market anymore. The label is white and empty, but if you have a closer look, you are able to touch the father's name on it. This is how the brothers commemorates their father, heart-rending indeed. It was such an honor to taste his wine from 2007 made from 100% Chardonnay.

The second course was focusing on top selections from white to red types, we could taste the best products of Spain. I got to know a very typical grape called albarino and tasted the wine from Paco&Lola, a very modern, innovative company that spreads the world with their premium wines in 45 countries. Albarino is grape with botanical aroma, I felt a touch of ocean flavor and some minerality in their wine. I'm really into red wine types, so I couldn't wait to taste the best ones from the Rioja region. I must say that all the wines at the course represented a high quality, in many cases they do biodynamic farming, passion and tradition above all. From the red ones my favorite was Bodegas LAN from 2015. I immediately noticed the chocolate and red fruit notes in this special product.

The highlight of the day was the wine and food pairing course. Pata Negra, the Spanish tapas bar prepared the fine bites strictly from the best ingredients: Grape, cheese, salmon paté and ham variations matching the style and flavor of the seven presented wines.  It was just a pure bliss. At the end of the day we tasted sherry from Lustau. It's a world-class benchmark from 1896. The dark mahogany colored drink offered vibrant notes of maple syrup, raisin and nuts.

After the wine courses you could enjoy the ultimate Spanish Fiesta downstairs with live music, dance and a lot more wineries from all around Spain. Wine is culture, art and way of life to me. Enjoy the unique Spanish selections by Vino Castillo everyday!