Tag: wine
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Douro Valley in November
The beginning of winter is a questionable time to visit a wine region. The harvest has long been concluded. The bright green leaves of the grapes are gone, and the vines are being pruned. Open hours are shortened everywhere, and reservations are required at the wineries even more so than in the summer. In spite…
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An introduction to Hungarian Wines
Hungary doesn’t even have a shelf in most wine stores around the world. If you search for it, you can usually find a sweet white wine from the Tokaj region or a drinkable red blended wine from the Eger region because of its catchy name “Bull’s Blood”. And that’s a shame. In Hungary, there are…
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Bratislava in November
At the crossroads of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Ukraine, and Hungary lies the small Slovakia. Its capital, Bratislava, is a city in transition. Unlike most of its neighbors, the Euro is the official currency, and cranes dot the city scape. Travelers like us stop through for a quick day trip to taste some…
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Goose, wine, and St Marton
In Hungary, November 11th marks the first day of the year to drink 2011 wines. Also, the geese are fully fattened around this time. Since 1171, Christians have used this as a great excuse to drink lots of wine and stuff themselves on geese. Local restaurants offer goose specials throughout the month. Smoked goose…
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15. Terraza de Los Andes Cabernet Sauvignon
Terraza de Los Andes Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($11 at restaurant) A perfect match for an indulgent dinner of boquerones (sardines served on a bed of tomatoes and onions), a huge serving of entraña (skirt steak), french fries, and dessert of flan mixto (flan served with dulce de leche and whipped cream). This smorgasbord was courtesy…
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14. Doña Paula Syrah 2008
In the past 2 months, the subway of Buenos Aires has been shut down 7 times by striking workers looking for independent union representation. While waiting for what we hoped we the right bus we were passed over constantly by Bus 24 that was too full to stuff any more passengers in. On board, the…
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13. Santa Julia Malbec 2008
Busing around Argentina puts Greyhound to shame. The bus terminals are reminiscent of airports with their full-service cafes, general lack of vagrants, and high level of cleanliness. As for the buses, riding is a revelation from the air conditioned waiting rooms to the seats that recline fully into a bed for overnight travel to the…
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12. Bodega Norton Malbec D.O.C. 2009
After a day of biking vineyards, we wanted to enjoy some wineries without physical exertion. The first obstacle to visiting the renowned wineries of Lujan de Cuyo is finding their phone number, calling the winery, and scheduling a tour. The second obstacle is getting there on time. Technically, tour agencies can arrange all of this…
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10. Finca Flichman Malbec Robles
Finca Flichman Malbec Robles 2008 ($8 in restaurant, $4 in store) Another great value wine enjoyed at a Mendoza restaurant. This Malbec is less fruity than the typical entry-level young Malbec, and you can taste the oakiness (roble in Spanish). There is a lingering taste of spiciness after each sip, and it goes surprisingly well…
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9. Los Arboles Malbec 2008
Arriving at 11:30pm in a city like Mendoza does not make a great first impression. It’s a nice city of about 100,000 residents, but after Buenos Aires it is a little underwhelming even during the the popular Saturday dining hour of midnight. However, there are two things that Mendoza offers in abundance. One of them…