Eat Curry & Meet The Winemaker Dinner, February 25

Katalin Hudácskó, winemaker at the family-owned Hudácskó Winery in Tokaj, will be guiding guests through the unique and complex process of creating Tokaj wine, the differences between the many types of Tokaji wine, and the principles of pairing it with food. While Tokaji wines are most often thought of as dessert wines, they are also the perfect match for Indian food, and other heavily-spiced cuisines. The complexity of flavors and spices begs for off-dry to sweet wines with good acidity to balance the heat.

New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov recently wrote an article about Tokaj wine, in which he mentioned pairing it with Indian cuisine: "in an Indian restaurant I managed to find a 10-year-old bottle of dry furmint from Tokaj Classic, and its delicate floral flavors complemented the spicy food beautifully. I also found a 2007 furmint from Royal Tokaji, with beguiling aromas of exotic fruit, Asian spices and anise. It, too, had that waxy quality..." This dinner will go even further by pairing specially-selected Tokaj wines of varying sweetness with the spicy Indian dishes.

This dinner with Hudácskó will provide an introduction to her winery, which is an off-the-radar family-run winery with 15 hectares of vineyards. Small family-run wineries often get over-shadowed by the big foreign-owned ones in Tokaj, and this five-course dinner paired with eight wines will provide a rare up-close look at this winery, whose wines have been well-rated, but aren’t readily available in Budapest.

The dinner will be on Thursday February 25th at 6:30pm at Kashmir Indian Restaurant (V. Arany János utca 13, Budapest). The price is 9,000 HUF per person which will include the five-course dinner, eight selected wines, mineral water, and gratuity.

Advance registration is required. Email hello@tastehungary.com to reserve.

This is the first in a lineup of food and wine-related events that Taste Hungary has planned for the coming months.
• March 6th: “Wine & A Movie”: Every month they will be featuring a themed tasting of eight Hungarian wines preceding a select film at Örökmozgó. Sample some new wines, and then stay and enjoy more wine with the film (during which you will be able to purchase wine at the back of the theater). The first film will be the Hungarian cinematic classic Szindbád, which will be paired with Hungarian native varietals from around the country. Tasting begins at 5:30pm, movie begins at 6:30pm.

• March 25th: Taste Hungary Wine Workshops {Class #1: Hungarian Sparklers}. This will be the first in ongoing series of monthly interactive classes on Hungarian wine themes. This English-language lineup of wine classes is appropriate for wine beginners, as well as experienced tasters who would like to grow their knowledge of wine, learn about the Hungarian wine regions (including their distinct terroirs, grape varietals, and winemaking methods), and be able to better understand Hungary’s place in the winemaking world. Tasting will be an important aspect, with at least eight wines featured during every class. Workshops will cover everything from technology and history, to tasting and food pairing. The world of Hungarian wine continues to rapidly evolve. Taste Hungary’s Wine Workshops will keep you up to speed.

Instructor László Bálint has created an exciting class to introduce you to the joys of Hungarian sparkling wine, which are underrated, despite many of them being great in value and quality. Hungary’s wine producers are creating an increasing number of excellent sparkling wines, many or which are made with the traditional method in small quantities.

This class will cover: The discovery and history of Champagne/sparkling wine; traditions in Hungarian sparkling winemaking and early Hungarian sparkling winemakers, what is happening today in Hungarian sparkling wine, the different methods of producing sparkling wine, and the difference that terroir makes. Bálint will be pouring eight sparkling wines (with light snacks to accompany them). Come discover some new favorites, meet some new people, and learn all about the great variety of Hungarian sparklers! 6:30pm to 9pm at the Első Pesti Rétes Ház (V. Október 6. Utca 22).

Source and more information: tastehungary.com