Click here to see a photo gallery of the event

XpatLoop.com’s publisher Stephen Linfitt formally and warmly introduced Declan to the crowd of 50+ Xpat guests, noting Mr. Becketts hardly needed any introduction, plus he thanked old and new friends for coming together for this summer social ‘fun wine tasting’.

Declan managed some truly enthusiastic words of welcome, inviting everyone to make sure and stick around for an extra hour of tasting because of the great wine selection available. And the spirited crowd happily accepted, and drank on well past the official 9pm ending on this Tuesday evening.

For those who couldn’t make it, sorry to say you really missed out, there was a wide selection of sparkling, whites, rosés and reds from local makers Ax, Fritz, Hilltop, Jammertal, and Twickel. Whites and rosés took the prize given the warmth of the evening, though the reds had many fans.

Daniel Kis Gado, marketing manager of Fritz, had this to say on the evening: “The tasting was extremely useful to us as wineries as we were able to find out the tastes and trends of expats, and they were able to find out more about Hungarian wines. By far, the favorite from us was our Pink Panther rosé.”

English solicitor Steven Conybeare added: “The event was a wonderful occasion with some fantastic wines on offer, welcoming hosts at a great venue, and of course a charming crowd of wine lovers. Highly recommended!”

Thanks are due to all the wineries present, naturally Declan O Callaghan too, as well as the regular team behind the Xpat Wine Club: Nora Szegedi, Melinda Székesvári, Stephen Linfitt, and of course Russell Skidmore for the fab photos.

We’re all looking forward to another XWC tasting event soon, as well as details about a visit to wineries, watch this space for more info.

By Liz Frommer