Maybe it's all a dream? I think I just stepped into a fairy tale...
Palić shows it's history of wine If you've been following this blog for a while, you might remember my post back in January called Hungary for something different... I'd only been writing the blog for a few weeks, and I'd just come back from Budafest, the biggest West Coast Swing dance festival in Hungary so I wanted to share my wine experiences there. I was really surprised (and pleased) by the reaction to this post and to the fact that I followed up to find out more about the wine I'd enjoyed the most. That has led to a further adventure in a country I've never visited before, Serbia.
The DiBonis winery produce a rather lovely Shiraz and I felt that I'd like to buy some on my return home. Sadly, this wasn't to be as they aren't for sale in the UK (yet). However, we started a conversation and with my encouragement, they entered the Decanter World Wine Awards and received a commendation for the Shiraz and a bronze medal award for their Cabernet Franc. I was given the opportunity to test some bottles on the British public at Alfred the Grape, one of my favourite local wine stores, and the reaction was pretty favourable, so let's hope we can find someone willing to import these wines so that we can share them with you, and a much wider audience. (Importers and potential vendors, please feel free to get in touch!)
The DiBonis winery produce a rather lovely Shiraz and I felt that I'd like to buy some on my return home. Sadly, this wasn't to be as they aren't for sale in the UK (yet). However, we started a conversation and with my encouragement, they entered the Decanter World Wine Awards and received a commendation for the Shiraz and a bronze medal award for their Cabernet Franc. I was given the opportunity to test some bottles on the British public at Alfred the Grape, one of my favourite local wine stores, and the reaction was pretty favourable, so let's hope we can find someone willing to import these wines so that we can share them with you, and a much wider audience. (Importers and potential vendors, please feel free to get in touch!)
Inside the Barrique room at DiBonis Back to the adventure. When you get an invitation to come to Serbia, it's not without some trepidation that you board the plane alone. After all, when Serbia has been in the international news, it's not generally been for positive things. Luckily, the country's war torn past is all behind it now, with membership of the EU a possibility in the next few years. Fortunately, any fears were completely ungrounded and from the moment I arrived at Budapest airport I was met with a warm welcome and swiftly transported safely across the border to experience the best of what DiBonis have to offer.
The winery itself is between the lakeside town of Palić, and the larger Subotica, both of which have some interesting fin-du-siecle architecture, with much of it appearing to step straight out of the pages of Hansel and Gretel. There's a thriving tourism business based on the historic lake and spa of the region and plenty of Hungarians coming to taste the wines. The area is around 200 kilometres from Budapest and a similar distance from Belgrade. Largely unknown to us in the UK, it was a rare privilege to visit the hub of the local wine tourism route, which is the DiBonis winery, and my lodgings were in a mansion formerly used each summer by the Yugoslav President, Tito. could life get any more surreal? (Hint: yes it could...)
The winery itself is between the lakeside town of Palić, and the larger Subotica, both of which have some interesting fin-du-siecle architecture, with much of it appearing to step straight out of the pages of Hansel and Gretel. There's a thriving tourism business based on the historic lake and spa of the region and plenty of Hungarians coming to taste the wines. The area is around 200 kilometres from Budapest and a similar distance from Belgrade. Largely unknown to us in the UK, it was a rare privilege to visit the hub of the local wine tourism route, which is the DiBonis winery, and my lodgings were in a mansion formerly used each summer by the Yugoslav President, Tito. could life get any more surreal? (Hint: yes it could...)
Entrance to the Shiraz Tasting room, surrounded by fruit tree, and the wine treasury inside... The "Shiraz" tasting room is home to a Wine Treasury where prominent locals can store their wine. It's also got seating for around 40 people and can cater for tasting parties and also prepares food for groups of visitors. The winery itself is just a block or so away and the vineyards are mostly close by, although they also own a small parcel of land in the Somló region of Hungary, where they grow Riesling with much higher acidity than can be achieved in Subotica, even producing a gorgeously sticky Icewine from it. The mineral content of the land there is very high, given it's volcanic history, and this minerality really shows through in the wines.
DiBonis are a premium wine producer in the area, but are perhaps even more renowned for their traditional fruit brandy products, known as Pálinka in Hungary, where that name has a PDO status. These are made from a large variety of fruits including apple, pear, quince, plum, muscat grape, raspberry, strawberry, apricot and more, all grown locally and distilled with the finest care under the guiding hand of Laszlo Boni, the owner and general alcohol producing genius at DiBonis. This genre of spirits is not one I've had a lot of contact with, though had I tasted these before, I may have been tempted. They also make a Calvados style Apple Brandy called Almados which could surely fool those from Normandy, just as Japanese whisky recently had me wondering if I could tell it from Scotch.
DiBonis are a premium wine producer in the area, but are perhaps even more renowned for their traditional fruit brandy products, known as Pálinka in Hungary, where that name has a PDO status. These are made from a large variety of fruits including apple, pear, quince, plum, muscat grape, raspberry, strawberry, apricot and more, all grown locally and distilled with the finest care under the guiding hand of Laszlo Boni, the owner and general alcohol producing genius at DiBonis. This genre of spirits is not one I've had a lot of contact with, though had I tasted these before, I may have been tempted. They also make a Calvados style Apple Brandy called Almados which could surely fool those from Normandy, just as Japanese whisky recently had me wondering if I could tell it from Scotch.
A selection of the different types of fruit brandy made by DiBonis with world cup labels on the neck for winning products. Side by side 2 types of raspberry flavour - one the pure distillate, and the other then allowed to sit on partially dried residue for a number of weeks I think I managed to taste one from almost every fruit variety, although, I did wonder how wise this was given that it was before dinner! Apricot, Muscat Grape, and Raspberry tied for my favourite, but whatever your favourite fruit, there will be one for you. The fruit brandies are made from anywhere between 50-100kg of fresh fruit per litre, meaning they are a world away from cheaper distilled products or fruit vodkas made from grain with a natural or artificial fruit flavouring added later. They are distilled up to around 93% and gradually, through a meticulously controlled process, diluted using distilled water down to 42%. This is done by adding small amounts of water at a time and leaving a few days for integration to occur, creating a harmonious product which captures the real essence of the fruit flavour in a very smooth drinking alcohol. This kind of attention to process detail may well come from Mr Boni's background in electrical engineering.
Grapevines grow while Mr Boni and I share some post lunch, demi-sec Muscat in the tower from which he can see all his vines Laszlo grew up in a family with a wine tradition, surrounded by vineyards, but he didn't follow in his father's footsteps and instead pursued a technical career. However, the lure of the vine, called him back around his mid-40s when he went back to his roots and set up DiBonis. He's hoping his own two sons will carry on the tradition without such a long break! Not that he has any intention of quitting the business any time soon. Serbian wine law dictates that all wineries must employ someone with a oenology degree. Rather than hiring someone qualified to make his wines for him, Laszlo decided that he'd take the degree himself, and, at the age of 58, was in celebratory mood when I arrived, as he'd just finished his final exam on that very day. It's clear he's passionate about sharing his wines with an appreciative audience, and while he used the latest techniques and equipment to control the wine making processes, with his engineer's eye, he also has a creative side that's led him to experiment with grapes not commonly grown in the area, with different techniques, and with blends "just to see what will happen". For example, I tried a 2009 blend in American oak of 2/3 Shiraz and one third Vranac (a powerful local grape, which produces dark, inky wines that respond well to oak). Despite it's age, this wine will still benefit from more time in the barrel, and probably from some bottle age too. Both wines on their own are dark, powerful and spicy, yet together they create something new.
A barrel with "wine bleed" As a blogger more used to reviewing my travel and restaurant experiences as well as readily available wines from our UK supermarket shelves, it was a rare privilege to share in the DiBonis wines direct from their barrels, while they're still developing. What was fascinating was the length of time some of these wines were in barrel. I was luckily enough to have a vertical tasting of the Shiraz which had first brought DiBonis to my attention. While I have previously tasted 2007 and 2008 from the bottle, this time I tried still maturing 2007, 2008, and 2009. It's astonishing to think of the value of wine tied up in these lovingly tended barrels and to think that after almost 6 years in oak, it's still got somewhere to go. The 2007 definitely stole my heart.
As with the fruits for the brandies, it's fair to say that the grapes at the centre of production really benefit from the warm Serbian summers and the local soils. With high quality fruit, it's much easier to make high quality wines and spirits.
As with the fruits for the brandies, it's fair to say that the grapes at the centre of production really benefit from the warm Serbian summers and the local soils. With high quality fruit, it's much easier to make high quality wines and spirits.
Well concealed Cabernet Sauvignon Another experiment was to compare Cabernet Sauvignon which had been in oak barrels for 5 year, some in Hungarian and some in American. Side by side, and well hidden behind the stainless steel tanks, sits one barrel of Hungarian and one of American oak. Being offered this comparison gave me a real sense that my opinion was valued, but what if I gave the wrong answer? The pressure mounted as I was presented with 2 glasses with no idea which one was which. Luckily, the test was a lot simpler than I had feared - simply, choose a favourite. Mind you, not that it was easy! And after the amount of sampling I'd done by that stage I do recall that one was 51% and the other was 49% but I can't remember which was which. What I will say, is that it was interesting to understand the choice of oak, and see up close how these choices really can drive the flavour of the wine. Luckily, there wasn't a "correct" answer and my hosts said that quite often their favourite changes from one day to the next. This led us to a discussion of the "biodynamic" calendar, and whether there is such a thing as a "good day" to drink wine and less favourable days. Boni has been keen to explore biodynamics and produces many of his products as "naturally" as possible, but he's struggled to find a biodynamic calendar in his own language.
Scenes around the lake in Palic
Two rieslings enjoyed with dinner, showing the old and new DiBonis branding If you're wondering what all this biodynamic mumbo-jumbo is about, a brief resume goes like this. In 1924, Austrian philosopher, Rudolph Steiner first proposed that that the energy of plants can be affected not only by human actions and the weather but also by the energy of the moon, stars and planets. Fast forward to the 1950s, Maria Thun, a German farmer, decided to make some controlled tests, which she began with the radish plant. Her approach was a lot less hippy trippy than Steiner's, with a control groups applied to the experiments. Over the next 10 years, she came to confirm that she could see different germination patterns on different days. With the help of an astrological or lunar calendar, and her biodynamic practices, she noted different and measurably better results when she followed a particular pattern. Her observations over many years revealed that there was more a suitable day to sow leaf, root, flower and fruiting seed types and her calendar was first published in 1962, giving guidance to biodynamic farmers ever since. She carried on her research at her own farm until her death last year just 2 months short of her 90th birthday. In 2010, she and her son Matthias, published "When Wine Tastes Best: A Biodynamic Calendar For Wine Drinkers".
This takes the philosophy to the next level, that aside from just the growth cycle, products like wine "live on" long after they've been bottled. Winemakers, buyers and enthusiasts around the world are starting to appreciate subtle differences in the way a wine tastes when consumed on leaf, root, flower or fruit days. Have you ever noticed that you really enjoy a bottle of wine so the next day you open another bottle of the same batch only to be a little disappointed? This is the kind of phenomenon which has reputedly led Sainsbury's and Tesco to run tastings according to the biodynamic calendar.
If you're intrigued, then you can run some tests at home yourself. There's a calendar here that tells you whether it's a root, fruit, leaf or flower day. Root and leaf days are best avoided while fruit and flower days are much more favourable. The good news is that from 8:32pm tonight, (June 6th 2013) till 9.30pm on Sunday are all flower days so get those aromatic wines opened this weekend and you're purportedly in for a treat. I may have to do some experiments of my own if only to find a few days where I shouldn't be drinking wine! More on this another day, perhaps.
This takes the philosophy to the next level, that aside from just the growth cycle, products like wine "live on" long after they've been bottled. Winemakers, buyers and enthusiasts around the world are starting to appreciate subtle differences in the way a wine tastes when consumed on leaf, root, flower or fruit days. Have you ever noticed that you really enjoy a bottle of wine so the next day you open another bottle of the same batch only to be a little disappointed? This is the kind of phenomenon which has reputedly led Sainsbury's and Tesco to run tastings according to the biodynamic calendar.
If you're intrigued, then you can run some tests at home yourself. There's a calendar here that tells you whether it's a root, fruit, leaf or flower day. Root and leaf days are best avoided while fruit and flower days are much more favourable. The good news is that from 8:32pm tonight, (June 6th 2013) till 9.30pm on Sunday are all flower days so get those aromatic wines opened this weekend and you're purportedly in for a treat. I may have to do some experiments of my own if only to find a few days where I shouldn't be drinking wine! More on this another day, perhaps.
American versus Hungarian Oak Merlot - spot the difference? For those of you who think it's all hocus pocus, I'll get back to the wines themselves...
I also tasted 2 Merlots from 2008, again side by side, and again from the 2 different types of oak barrel. In this case, being a much easier drinking grape, the wines were much closer to being ready for drinking and you could really start to tell how the American oak opens up more readily, allowing the wine to age somewhat faster than the Hungarian, and creating a very smooth drinking Merlot, with the Hungarian one adding a much more spicy note to the traditional plum flavours. You may have gathered from my previous posts that I'm not much of a Merlot drinker, but I could be persuaded if more were like this. Smooth, and easy drinking, but not overly simple. Was it a trick of the light that I also thought the colours were slightly different? Perhaps so, as my iphone couldn't pick up any discernible difference, but it had been a long day.
I also tasted 2 Merlots from 2008, again side by side, and again from the 2 different types of oak barrel. In this case, being a much easier drinking grape, the wines were much closer to being ready for drinking and you could really start to tell how the American oak opens up more readily, allowing the wine to age somewhat faster than the Hungarian, and creating a very smooth drinking Merlot, with the Hungarian one adding a much more spicy note to the traditional plum flavours. You may have gathered from my previous posts that I'm not much of a Merlot drinker, but I could be persuaded if more were like this. Smooth, and easy drinking, but not overly simple. Was it a trick of the light that I also thought the colours were slightly different? Perhaps so, as my iphone couldn't pick up any discernible difference, but it had been a long day.
It's not all about the reds though. With 50,000 litres of wine in the barrique room, it's got something for everyone. Oak aged Riesling? A new one on me, but with the lack of acidity in the local grapes, somehow it worked, and paired surprisingly well with our lamb based dinner. There's a couple Chardonnays too, some with very minimal oak treatment, lest you think that Laszlo is overly fond of the taste of trees. This is crisp, fruity and refreshing. I also tried a rosė or two - one from the bottle and one from the barrel, with the bottle containing nearly all the red grapes DiBonis grow, and the barrel being an unusual oaked Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir blend. These wines are modelled on the French styles of Anjou and Provence rather than their neighbouring Hungarian style. Hungarians demand ultra fresh rosė which is almost discarded after 9 months. DiBonis 2 year old rosės, however, have been a bit of a hit with Hungarian sommeliers, which is a good sign. A demi-sec Muscat followed, lunch. He really has covered all your wine-drinking bases.
A beautiful Pinot Noir Keen to ensure the best hospitality, my hosts quickly deduced that despite my love of Shiraz, I was also rather partial to a Pinot Noir. Being a man who himself loves all kinds of wines, he presented me with one he'd made earlier. As usual, there was the "regular" version from 2009 with 2 years in American oak but also the "experimental" version from 2012 which I sampled direct from the (Hungarian oak) barrel. This one was an attempt at a more "natural" wine and had been slowly fermented using only the naturally occurring yeasts on the grapes themselves, rather than by the more typical process of adding yeast. I have high hopes for this wine, and look forward to tasting some from the bottle in a few years.
Next to this, we tried a Bordeaux style blend direct from it's 2012 (American oak) barrel. Clearly this blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon was going to be young, but what was intriguing here was the fact that all of the grapes were blended together right at the fermentation stage, where they went in for a long, cold fermentation of around 4 days with the skins left in contact for 10-11 days.
From the bottle, I was also able to try another experiment, and a very pleasing one. At the request of a Belgrade wine merchant, DiBonis have produced a trial blend of 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. In this case, the sum of the parts was definitely worth more than the individual grapes can be, at least for my palate. Hopefully, this will be something that's not just available to that one wine merchant!
Next to this, we tried a Bordeaux style blend direct from it's 2012 (American oak) barrel. Clearly this blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon was going to be young, but what was intriguing here was the fact that all of the grapes were blended together right at the fermentation stage, where they went in for a long, cold fermentation of around 4 days with the skins left in contact for 10-11 days.
From the bottle, I was also able to try another experiment, and a very pleasing one. At the request of a Belgrade wine merchant, DiBonis have produced a trial blend of 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. In this case, the sum of the parts was definitely worth more than the individual grapes can be, at least for my palate. Hopefully, this will be something that's not just available to that one wine merchant!
In production and the finished article: Carp Soup. The Almados was a fitting aperitif on a cold, wet night All in all, it was a rather amazing couple of days. I tasted things I'd never have the opportunity to taste anywhere else, and spent time with some people who are extremely passionate about producing the best products they can from their local fruit. I was welcomed with hospitality I could never have expected, even being treated to Laszlo Boni's renowned King Carp soup, cooked in the open air over a wooden fire (despite hurricane force winds and pelting rain), while I sipped on his Almados, Apple Brandy. Now that is commitment! We washed it down with a glass or two of Vranac, a wine which seemed to compliment the strong paprika spice, yet not over-power the fish.
Some of the architecture of Palic and Subotica
I can't thank the DiBonis team enough for the welcome, I received, and I hope I've left my readers with a thirst to try some new wines from a region they may not previously considered. If you're interested in distributing any or all of the DiBonis portfolio in the UK, then please get in touch! And if you're looking for an unusual holiday destination, then consider the flat landscape of Subotica. The wine tourism is a lot of fun! And if you've not got enough information here, you'll find more photos on my Facebook page. Remember to "like" it to get all the latest on what we're drinking now.
As for how life got more surreal, after leaving the vineyards behind, I headed back to Budapest to participate in the Hungarian Open west coast swing dance championships, where I competed in Open Strictly with a hair stylist from Finland on the Friday night, still with somewhat of a fruit brandy hangover! On the Saturday, I ended up placing 4th in the Novice Jack and Jill with a chap from Minsk in Belarus, after having shared my dance philosophy in a dance psychology class with a group from Hungary, Poland, France, Russia and more. At this stage, I have no regrets about abandoning my corporate career for a life of wine, dance and adventure. It's been amazing. Thank you for reading and sharing in it with me.
Cheers!
UPDATE:
If you're interested in visiting the DiBonis Winery, a small travel company (e-mail: [email protected] www.metropoliten.com www.travelserbiabelgrade.com) has put together the following programme. Please note this has no association with Purple Teeth.
Accomodation: Hotel President Palic ( ****)Spa and wellness hotel.
First day
Arrival 17.00-18.00 to Hotel president Palic
Transfer to DiBonis Winery with coach, 18.30
- 19.00 Dinner at shiraz degustation centre with live music, and local specialities, limitless consumption of DiChardonnay , DiRose and DiMerlot wine, during dinner.
- 20.30 degustation of award winning DiBonis White and rose wines. ( Riesling , sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, muscat and rose wines, in the barrique chamber.
- 22.30 transfer back to the hotel.
Second day
- Spa and brekfast Till 10.00 am.and walking Tour to the lake Palic .
-10.15- 12.15 boat trip on the lake Palic, with live music and rose wine. Guided Tour of Palic and area.
- 12.30-14.30 transfer from the hotel to the lunch at the Shiraz degustation centre with limitless wine consumption ( chardonnay and merlot)
- 14.45-18.00 transfer to the Hotel and free activities at lake Palic and in the Spa and Welness centre of the hotel President.
- 18.10 transfer from the hotel to the Jurta at the wineyards, where with the taste of burek our guests will try 6 different types of fruit brandies ( rakija)
- 19.30 transfer to the Shiraz degustation centre.
- 19.30 Dinner with live music and Fish soup .
-20.45 Red wine degustation at the barrique chamber of the DiBonis Winery
- 22.30 transfer back to the hotel!
Day three
- Spa and brekfast Till 10.00 am
Price in Euro per person 170 - based on min. 30 passengers
Included in the price:
·Transfers per program
·Accommodation in double/single rooms on .........basis
·Sightseeings tours as per program, English speaking guide ,
·Degustations of wine and Rakia per program,
·Dinner x , Lunch x Breakfast
·Glob Metropoliten Tours welcome gift,
·Agency support 24/7
Not included :
·Air ticket or other transportation
·Personal expenses
·
"GLOB METROPOLITEN TOURS-LUFTHANSA CITY CENTER,Beograd, Makenzijeva 26, tel/fax:381/11 -2430 899
e-mail: [email protected] www.metropoliten.com www.travelserbiabelgrade.com
Licence OTP 133/2010. - 05.02.2010.
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