Description
Solano Cellars
3 classes
Wednesdays (July 9th, July 23rd & August 6th)
530-730pm
$150 for all 3 classes ($120 Early Bird pricing until July 8th)
$60 for individual classes
*Each class includes 6+ wines and a traditional regional dish
Fresh off the success of our first series with Oliver McCrum, we're ready to get back to it, this time in collaboration with our friends at Danch & Granger for a deep dive into one of the most culturally and historically significant wine regions in the world: Hungary.
We've said time and time again - Hungarian wine is entirely captivating, both in terms of the quality of the product itself, and the role it's played in shaping winemaking around the world. The country is home to a remarkable range of terroir, ancient indigenous grape varieties, and a shared tension and complexity that, even when drawing from diverse and distant subregions, are the hallmark of Hungarian wine as a whole.
Each class will focus on specific subregions, their unique history, and the winemakers working within them to preserve their traditions while keeping an eye fixed firmly on the future.
Class #1 (July 9th) - Volcanic Western Hungary: Somló & Lake Balaton
The result of the erosion of ancient lava flows, Somló's steep slopes of ancient sea sediment, hardened lava, and basalt are home to Hungary's most densely planted vineyards, despite being by far its smallest appellation. We'll explore what makes the vineyards that stretch from the shores of Lake Balaton to Somló hill so special (and why we believe this to be the greatest region for white wine anywhere in the world).
Class #2 (July 23rd) - Remote Hungary: Pécs, Mátra, & More
Throughout Hungary's interior, and in the deep south and far east, winemakers are working to shake the constraints of the Soviet era, and the structural and bureaucratic challenges of the modern government to produce wines of immense character. In these isolated regions, winemakers are using centuries-old traditions and historical production tools, and there are often few, if any, other commercially exported producers. In their refusal to fall victim to the challenges facing them, these are radical winemakers crafting wine of great tradition through a radical lens.
Class #3 (August 6th) - Tokaj: "The King of Wines, the Wine of Kings"
Before there was Burgundy, there was Tokaj, the iconic region in southern Hungary. Perhaps most known for sweet wine - it's home to the first recorded wines to use botrytis, or noble rot, in production, predating even the famed Sauternes in that category - the broad offering of Tokaj doesn't end there: the ancient winemaking tradition includes savory, elegant Champagne method bubbles, nervy, mineral dry whites full of texture and nuance, botrytized wines fermented dry and aged under flor (Hungary's compelling alternative to sherry), and more in between.