A wonderful weekend here in Tokaj Hegyalja

A wine festival Friday-Saturday, with the Tokaj Hegyalja Market on the Sunday!

Starting Friday 7th September in the neighbouring village of Mád, a settlement rightly proud of its wines, there will be a weekend of festivity with concerts, exhibitions and gastronomy as part of the celebrations of the Furmint grape, the backbone of the Tokaji wines. Of course the wines themselves are in the centre and, as well as wine dinners and tastings, there is also the chance to join guided tours to the vineyards with the winemakers. Join a vineyard tour to explore the terroir where the grapes actually grow before they continue on their journey to the bottle for your delectation.

The harvest is beginning here in Tokaj Hegyalja. Last time at the market it took me a while to realise what one visitor was so outraged about. "But how come there's no grape juice?" he spluttered. I started to explain that Disznókő makes wine, not bottling grape juice, but then I realised from his interjection that he'd just come from the Balaton - a little further south and with earlier ripening grape varieties - and was actually talking about fresh must. But I'm sure there will be fresh juice to taste this weekend in Mád at at least one of the open cellars. The wine festival will give you an insight into this historic wine town, and provide plenty of cultural stimulus too.

Then, on your way home on the Sunday why not stop a while at the Tokaj Hegyalja Market to stock up on some local foods and crafts, have a dance and learn something about the mysterious world of mushrooms. An action-packed weekend in a beautiful place. Look forward to clinking glasses with you.

Mushrooms into the basket

Wow time is flying this year - and I now know that's what everyone has said, but it truly feels like it! Not so long ago we had our celebration of drying and preserving fruits and vegetables, and now here are the 'shrooms to take us into autumn - and what promises to be one of the most vibrant markets yet! September 9th by the Sárga Borház Restaurant at the Disznókő Estate on route 37.

And what a treat is in store...
- the Zemplén Mushroom Society will be providing an exhibition of all things seasonal, local and fungal. Always one of the best ways to find out more about the magical world of mushrooms is to see them. Obviously out in the field - or the woods - is ideal, but the Society's exhibitions are always carefully arranged to give you a feel for the habitat of the particular species.They are also organising "what do you know about mushrooms and fungus" games so you can test and extend your knowledge.

Mushroom expert from the Aggtelek wildcrafting company Gábor Koltay will be joining us to give a talk about gathering mushrooms (tips as well as do's and don't's). In Hungary an "inspector" was always present at the market and foragers could ask for authentication, thus ensuring that the mushrooms on sale were edible. We are privileged to be joined by one such fountain of knowledge! So, if you find any mushrooms, bring them along and see if you were right.

And what will you bring them in? A cardboard box? A plastic bag? (Hope not, the heat and airlessness will do nothing but harm to them.) From 10.30am the Málta weavers of Tokaj will be presenting their craft, and of course wicker is perfectly suited to gathering as it lets air through, so the mission is to design the perfect "mushrooming basket". Any ideas? Indeed, this exchange of ideas is key to the current development of the charity group who are keen to work with clients, gain commissions, and create practical and attractive works, bringing the craft to life. 

The Zemplén Mountains are a veritable larder for the wildcrafter. A treasure trove of truffles among others, and where better to buy them than here at the market. Not yet cooked with them – or have a recipe for a mouth-watering dish? Then come to the mushroom recipe swap. We'll publish the best recipes here and on our Facebook page.

Truffles-but couldn't find a photo of that kind! These are made by a passionate confectioner, a delightful woman who left mainstream industry to set up her own chocolaterie business.

The market will also offer the chance http://www.lesko-tokaji.hu/ to meet the István Leskó, the “plant doctor” who has a guesthouse in Mád with wonderful dispensary garden, who will be talking about herbs and spices. This is the first time István will join us, but we hope he will become a more regular visitor and comes to share his extensive knowledge with us.

Well, of course, we are at the gateway to the Tokaj Wine Region, so no market would be complete without wine! Following the success of the “wine and soda bar” last time, several esteemed winemakers will bring their wines for you to taste in the serenity – or should I say buzz – of the Sárga Borház terrace. A gracious setting to enjoy fine wines.

Others who know their wines are the members of the renewed Confrérie de Tokaj making their first public appearance since the changes to the society. Meet the members, find out more their passion – and see if you would also like to discover more about Tokaj and its wines as a member of this esteemed group working to promote Tokaji wines, bringing them to a wider audience.

As always there will be music – and dance for those so inclined! Who better to provide notes to move the feet as Agyagbanda with Moldavian music and dance house. Yes, for those of you unfamiliar with the Hungarian term “táncház”, that means they play music and also have a teacher to help you match feet to rhythm. Excellent! I highly recommend it. You can see a clip here from the first market when Agyagbanda played for us all back in April.

As always there is the supervised play area too. Fun for the little ones, care provided by experienced nursery teachers. So the adults can play too!

For those of you outside the Tokaj region this is a special weekend. Not only can you visit the Tokaj Hegyalja market, you can also combine it with a trip to nearby Mád, the town of the legendary István Szepsy, and home to numerous high quality winemakers. The Mád Furmint Festival (7^th-8^th September) is an excellent opportunity to find out more about these wines and their creators. There will be vineyard tours, open cellars, wines to taste and a whole host of cultural events too. Certainly one of the highlights in the area – and how lucky for all that the dates coincide! Whether you have or haven’t been before, I would definitely say it is worth a trip. The harvest is starting, so you will also experience the grapes of the coming 2012 vintage!

And if you can’t make it next weekend, then an October visit... Fortuitously the market also coincides with another outstanding wine event of the area, the Mindszent mulatság in the village of Bodrogkeresztür (a chance to visit wineries and the vinegar manufactury too!). (More about these events later.)

So, apart from a short diversion, I’ve only just finished translating the poster! There will of course be our old favourite traders, and some new too. New friends and old - and ones you haven't yet met. Tokaj Hegyalja Market may only have started this year, but it has already found its way deep into people’s hearts. People who are delighted to have a chance to celebrate the producers, their wonderful creations, and life itself. Look forward to seeing you there!

Thirst for taste

The elixir of the holy sheep, soft clouds rhythmically munching the green shoots. The hairy pig, snuffling around in the orchard, savouring the curds from the freshly made cheese with stone-ground bran from the bread-flour milling. Enjoying the drunken apple from last year's harvest, snuggling into a self-made ditch with a handful or two or straw...

Wines, carefully made, shared. And the next possible step, the barrel-matured vinegars, with honey, herbs and fruits. Of Furmint, Muskotály and Aszú. Balsamic vinegar, caramel syrup that tingles with sweetness and acidity equal and opposite to a good Aszú.

A community buzz. People delighted to see old friends, and meet new. For a stranger is only a friend in waiting. How does that sound as a way to perceive the future?

Here is the poster in Hungarin, for the next market:

12th August 2012, 10am-5pm

And this time the market will be followed by a concert at the top of the hill. August means Zemplén Festival in Tokaj, and here at Disznókő we will also have a band playing too In Media Brass, leading us on a journey through time with their notes sounding out from the top of the hill. There will also be a wine tasting included in the 2000 HUF ticket. The market is obviously free.

Honey, Honey, Honey

Sense, a sense of beauty in what we eat, taste, savour. With what we can gather in the forests, by streams and in our own gardens, to gather with the basics, the staples, the foundations - and yet also the cream on the cake. Honey, nectar of the gods and shared by the bees, being more gentle too, ensuring healthy, carefree orchards for their flights, their devotion. A colourful playground. Blossoms, jewels to look up to, a background of stars.

The July market, Honey, honey, honey! was on Sunday the 8th July, one day after the bicycle ride through vineyards and forest above Erdőbénye, the Drőtszamár ("cable donkey" - or bike!) Festival.

Our beekepers joined us with an impressive array of hives, an antique extractor and fresh honeycomb to taste. A local oganic beekeper came to talk and answer questions about the magical vocation of the beekeeper and charges, the honey makers. And there was an interesting selection of honeys from cream honeys to acacia honey, nectars flavoured with fruits, teas and even tinctures. A wide variety to choose from indeed.

There was also a film showing of the documentary charting the plight of the bees, The Queen of the Sun. We are trying to make the market as rounded as possible, giving additional information and activities connected with the theme. Education about our products is an important part of the market and its mission.
And fun too - we always have live msuic...

The next market is in perhaps the most productive time of the season, August. A time of abundance and surplus, reaping the fruits of our labours - and wondering what to do with the kilos of, for example, courgettes that are growing so amazingly profusely. (Bread, cakes, pancakes, warm and cold cream soup, bottles and fresh ratatouille, pickles, and I'm going to try chutney too this year!)

So the next theme will be bottling and drying - with a focus on traditional fruit tree types that we hope to weave as a thread through the market and the region. More about this soon.

A budding community

of people happy to see each other again. The human ability to make connections and build relationships - and the joy this brings was clear from the moment I arrived yesterday. Smiling faces of producers greeted me and were on their faces when bid their goodbyes.

And I love this...

 

I would like to share a few gems I heard yesterday, the third market...

"It is so great to see each other again"

"I love my necklace and wear it every market. She is making matching earrings for me too."

"How wonderful that at last something is happening here in the Tokaj region and we need not wait for the state to do it." (This is expressed by many.)

"The quality of the goods is so high - there is no kitsch or plastic" - and we aim to keep it this way with a careful selection process (4 of the 7 organisers have to agree)

"My son loves cycling, so he goes out to the forest to collect the blackberries, sloes and elderflower. And I am still fit enough to go up the hills, down into the valleys - and I love it. We do not write that our jams and syrups are organic, but we know the fruits come from clean areas because we harvest them all."

"The market will soon outgrow itself" - so we will make some more space in the carpark to extend the area (and the police and their transport expert will join us this week to work out the best way to organise the traffic)

And from the volunteer community police woman whose face was shining after wandering around, who comes from the extremely deprived neighbouring village, "My mother crochets, my son is a smith and my daughter does embroidery. How can we join?"

10 Years as part of the World Heritage

The Tokaj Wine Region has been part of the World Heritage, a Historic Cultural Landscape, since 2002, thus we thought it appropriate to celebrate this with the market too. Dr András Takacs, head of the Tokaj-Hegyalja Programme Office, will lead a talk and discussion relating to the region's past, present and future, held in the cool of the historic cellar under the Wine Boutique.

We will also be joined by master smiths and a cooper demonstrating their crafts, as well as a keen ornithologist who will offer his knowledge - and his telescope! There's a play area for children and the chance to explore the splendid Disznókő estate (on your own or on a guided tour that will take you up through the vineyards and then down into cellars both new and old).

Of course, a fair is not a fair without music - this time a player of the traditional tárogató (similar to a clarinet), and no less than two accordion players - one of them accompanied by a sweet voice. What a treat! As is the wine tasting which promises to be a real gem, reaching much further back into the past, linking past and present, founded upon the first vineyard classification in the world which happened here in this region in the 1730s. Significant areas of Disznókő vineyards, for example, were then classified as premier cru / first growth.

The blend of old and new... Reinventing the past - or a contemporary interpretation? It's for you to experience.

"Hetedhéthatár" single-vineyard wines talk and tasting

Ever wanted to know more about single vineyard wines? Well, here is your chance. Tokaji wine expert László Alkonyi, author of several influential books about the region and blogger, has just released his most recent work, a guidebook and map to the vineyards of the Tokaji Wine Region - the first place in the world where a system of vineyard classification was introduced (in the 1730s!). László will open the tasting at 11am with a short talk, and together with his map he will help us better understand the mysteries of terroir, and its influence on the wines. The title? Hetedhéthatár refers to a mythical land, so it's certainly appropriate for the magical land of Tokaj.

László suggested a number of superb wineries, large and small, to invite to the Tokaj-Hegyalja Tasting (held in parallel with the Tokaj-Hegyalja Market) on the 10th June. We are delighted to announce that the following will be joining us:

AZ Nektar

Bartha 

Bott Winery

Zoltán Demeter

Disznókő

Erzsébet Pince

Tokaj Kikelet

Török Béla 

We are very excited. What a wonderful opportunity to meet the winemakers who will present their single vineyard wines! A shared space for us to taste some of the best the land has to offer - with a little help from skilled hands too, of course.

It promises to be a wonderful tasting, so do come and join us if you can.

Date -10th June 2012

Time - 11am - 3pm (the market is from 10am to 5pm)

Venue - the Sárga Borház Restaurant function room at the Disznókő estate