I had my vodka and Red Bull/foam party/clubbing until 7 a.m. for a week straight in Ibiza moments. But that was quite a while ago. For the past few years, it's been a pretty quiet New Year's Eve at home with the usual assortment of family and friends. We do go through quite a bit of liquor though, largely wine and champagne.
I'll be the first to admit I don't have a very sophisticated wine palate. Those floral, fruity, woody notes you're supposed to detect in wine? Totally escapes my tongue. Most of my wine is bought from Trader Joe's, because they describe what the wine is supposed to taste like and because I can get some pretty good stuff for under $5. If the wine ends up being a miss, I just cook with it and I didn't waste much money trying something new. I like white more than red, sweet rather than dry. I even went really ghetto this year and bought a clearance $2 wine in a box from Target. I have high hopes though because it's made with moscato, chardonnay, and chenin blanc grapes. Heh.
So while stocking up my wine cabinet, I found this bottle of Egri Bikaver (Bull's Blood of Eger) at TJ's.
Bull's Blood is a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and several other Hungarian red grapes. But my all-time favorite is the super-sweet white wine Tokaji Aszu, Tokaj is the name of the town and Aszu the method for making the wine.
My favorite travel memories are the unexpected. I mean, if I said I had good wine in France, that's expected. I think in most people's minds, France = wine. But good wine in Hungary? A whole valley of caves where the Huns hid from the Turks and have since been turned into wine cellars? Now that's a story.
