EASTERN EUROPEAN WINE TASTING ADVENTURE

There’s an old Czech proverb: ‘extol the virtue of water, but drink wine.’ Well, we couldn’t agree more - which is why we’re celebrating one of the most underappreciated winemaking regions in the world. Eastern Europe is a region of huge cultural and culinary diversity, and that is also reflected in the drinks. The seven wines our team have selected for this tasting offer a cross section of the winemaking epicentre of the region - from Slovenia to Hungary via Serbia. Plus, there will be cheese and charcuterie to accompany, so that you can really get the most out of each and every glass.

Matic Wines, Mea Šipon Petnat, NV, Stajerska, Slovenia

This is a sparkling we just love to šipon (if you pardon the pun) - Matija individually doses each bottle, meaning that no two are identical. Each has its own unique personality: complex, but effortlessly drinkable, you’ll wonder why you never gave Slovenian sparkling a try before. 

Kvaszinger Borászat Tokaj Dry, 2019, Tokaj, Hungary

What happens when you ferment furmint grapes, before they have been infected by the noble rot? You end up with that most unusual of things - a dry Tokaji. As much as we love the sweet stuff, this is a bit special. The Kvaszingers made wine throughout Hungary’s turbulent 20th century, through world war and Communist tyranny - this is a wine made through hard work, and steeped in history.

Kvaszinger Borászat Furmint Superior, 2018, Tokaj, Hungary

Certainly superior in name - this creamy and complex offering from Kvaszinger is made from the same furmint grapes as the Dry Tokaji, but aged for half a year in oak, it’s Eastern Europe’s answer to a Chablis, and will certainly leave you Hungry for more (apologies).

Matic Wines, "Get the Party Started Amphora" Riesling, 2019, Stajerska, Slovenia

The alternative name for this sparkling orange wine from Matic is ‘Get the party started’ - we’ll be having it at the halfway point just to make sure we don’t peak too early, but this is really something. Hand picked riesling grapes are left on their skins in a clay amphora for more than two hundred days, before it is then pressed and left unfiltered before bottling. It may sound crude, but the result is complex, sophisticated and, most importantly, fun.

Gönc Winery Blaufränkisch, 2019, Rabelčja vas, Ptuj, Slovenia

Blaufränkisch is not a grape variety you hear much about - it is known as ‘the Pinot Noir of the east’, with its pleasant acidity and ripe berry flavours - but we think it should be on more people’s radars. Peter Gönc left his job in marketing to go to his father’s vineyard and do what he was born to do: create sensational wines whilst listening to classic rock, and this is a wine which is the taste equivalent of the Rolling Stones jamming out at full blast (though this does actually get better with age.)

Vinarija Virtus Mlavac, 2016, Žabari, Serbia

Serbia may not be the first place you look to for red wines, or even the second, but we think the world would be a better place if more people bought Balkan bottles. Made from a blend of Prokupac, Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir grown on the banks of the Danube, this is balanced and a little bit spicy - a wine which takes elements of winemaking from across Europe to create something distinctly Serbian.

Kvaszinger Borászat, Tokaji Szamorodni, 2017, Tokaj, Hungary 

We can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to pronounce this by the end of the tasting, but we assure you that this is the stuff that sweet wine dreams are made of. The sweetness of nobly rotted grapes is balanced with a pleasant acidity and an underlying note of marmalade. This liquid gold put Hungary on the global winemaking map. ‘Szamorodni’ translates to ‘as it comes’, and all this wine requires is a light chilling to really get the most out of it.