Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Wine of Kings, the King of Wines

Tokaj, Hungary.  Several years ago, before the floods hit the region, we had the good fortune to join a couple dozen or so friends on a bus trip to Tokaj.  What an amazing experience.  The Hungarian brothers who organized the trip knew where to take us for three great days of food, fun, and fantastic wines.  We visited the earthen caves lined in the fungus, Botrytis cinerea, (also known as noble rot) and tasted wines straight out of the barrels.  An unforgettable experience in which we immediately understood why this delectable wine was, for centuries, so valued by royalty and given as gifts between royal houses.  It became known as the wine of kings, the king of wines.  Thomas Jefferson imported it and served it at important state occasions...and, I would imagine, private ones as well.

We returned to the region last weekend en route to Romania and again sampled the golden, deliciously sweet wines of Tokay.  Few perfumes can match the memorable fragrance of a good Tokaji wine.


1 comment:

  1. I can almost taste the wine in this photo. Have a great time, and keep an eye out for more images along the way.

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