Every year, for two days only, wine cellars from Bratislava to west of Trnava, open their doors for one small fee, for wine lovers to taste their wares. I heard about this experience almost immediately when I came to Slovakia last July and couldn't wait for the spring offering. Some of my co-workers at Skypers decided to buy our tickets early (the event sells out quickly) last March and finally the time was here. Yesterday, eight of us rented a van with driver (of course) and took off to visit 20 out of the 142 winery and wine shops for a day of fun and wine loving extravagance. The event didn't disappoint.
We visited five cities; Vinicne, Pezinok, Limbach, Vinosady and Modra (the largest city). I have to admit after the first couple of hours my taste buds were pretty worn down. We visited about 20 shops and makers, in about 7 hours, all of them fairly different. Some were family owned, some more commercial. The cost of the ticket was 40 Euro however that included 20 Euro of coupons for wine, so needless-to-say, you would get a lot of wine for just a small investment. Most of the wines offered were young wines 2011, 2013 but there were a few 2008 and 2009 wines that could be purchased for a higher price. Many of the wines were in the 6 - 8 Euro price range.
Most all the wineries offered bread and cheese to clean the palette between tastings and in Limbach we stopped at one family winery for Gulas. It was quite tasty.
Pezinok was probably the largest town and where I purchased many bottles of wine. One to the best places for atmosphere was the castle. It boasts beautifully designed tiles and exquisite frescos.
The last stop on the tour was Modra and unfortunately it was quite late and many of the wineries and shops were closing. It gives me an excuse to come back to the city to take in more of the views.
Now...let's start drinking!!
We visited five cities; Vinicne, Pezinok, Limbach, Vinosady and Modra (the largest city). I have to admit after the first couple of hours my taste buds were pretty worn down. We visited about 20 shops and makers, in about 7 hours, all of them fairly different. Some were family owned, some more commercial. The cost of the ticket was 40 Euro however that included 20 Euro of coupons for wine, so needless-to-say, you would get a lot of wine for just a small investment. Most of the wines offered were young wines 2011, 2013 but there were a few 2008 and 2009 wines that could be purchased for a higher price. Many of the wines were in the 6 - 8 Euro price range.
 |
| Translation: If you drink man, you must work |
Most all the wineries offered bread and cheese to clean the palette between tastings and in Limbach we stopped at one family winery for Gulas. It was quite tasty.
Pezinok was probably the largest town and where I purchased many bottles of wine. One to the best places for atmosphere was the castle. It boasts beautifully designed tiles and exquisite frescos.
 |
| Mosaic tiles in the Castle entrance to the winery |
 |
| Original frescos |
Now...let's start drinking!!
No comments:
Post a Comment