Best of Budapest & Hungary

Autumn is here and though the season of summer heat and ice cold drinks is over there is no reason why the popularity of rosés should be on the wane. Rosés can bring back memories of summer and provide the perfect accompaniment for seasonal dishes. At Nagygombos Winery there is an unwavering belief that rosé is not just for one season either as a wine in its own rights or as a foil to various dishes.

Anna Takács-Barta, the winemaker of Nagygombos Winery in the Mátra region has decided from the very beginning that she wanted to make rosés fit not only for spritzers but ones that embrace the more serious style of the French and Spanish rosé traditions offering a complete experience for tasters. The Mátra wine region with its Northern location boasts a cooler, well tempered climate ideal for producing flavorsome grapes with a slower, more balanced ripening period conducive to retaining lively and refreshing acidity.

Anna believes in natural winemaking. On the one hand grapes are farmed in an environmentally friendly way, on the other hand winemaking is not rushed, processes are given ample time to run their course. Therefore Nagygombos rosés typically hit the shelves of stores no sooner than the end of spring. The 2017 Rosé Cuvée is a blend of almost equal proportions of merlot and zweigelt and thanks to the round acidity made possible by the warm vintage this is an inviting wine rich in fruit aromas. The 2017 Gróf Grassalkovich Gamay Noir Rosé follows in the footsteps of the previous vintage: half of the wine made from this variety which is rarely seen in Hungary was aged in steel tanks while the other half in oak barrels. There is a fine balance between the more substantial and textured palate and the intense fruit flavors promising a longer than usual lifespan. "The style I have chosen is close to the one of Provencal and Spanish rosés. The weight, the creamy texture, the lush fruit and the fact that the winemaking process is allowed to unfold at its own pace means that they are wines not for just one season, so our customers don’t have to dispense with the rosé experience in autumn furthermore the wines go well with seasonal dishes. I love cooking and I consider it important to pick ingredients in season and if our rosés match the dishes then everything is ready for a perfect meal”, Anna Takács-Barta says.

Striving to find the right balance between wine and food Eszter Bodrogi, the author of Spice and Soul blog has created genuine autumn dishes to match the Nagygombos rosés. Beetroot soup with grape must and caramelized grapes and Indian chicken bites with exotic spices – these are not the kind of dishes one would choose to have with average rosés, however with the right wines you can be more adventurous and go for autumn flavors. "When friends come together we tend to start conversations with wines and to my mind rosé is the right kind of wine for such casual gatherings. Beetroot soup with grape must is an excellent choice for meetings like this as it can be served hot, warm or even cold. So it’s not a problem if some of the guests arrive later or stop eating their soups while sipping their wines and return to it later. Tasting the Indian chicken bites along the Nagygombos rosés took even me by surprize as one would normally think that a sweet Tokaji is the right match for such a dish but if you scale down the spices it works really well with rosé. Filled in tiny baskets it can be carried around during conversations and enjoyed with a glass of wine in your other hand”, she notes.

RECIPES TO TRY

 
Beetroot soup with grape must and caramelized grapes

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized beetroots
• 1 small onion
• 2 tablespoon butter
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• a pinch cayenne pepper
• salt and black pepper
• 40 cl grape must
• 1 bunch of dill
• 20 cl double cream
• 20 grape berries
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• vinegar

Wash the beetroots then wrap them in aluminium foil and roast in oven at 200C for 40 minutes. Allow them to cool, then peel and chop them into small dice. Chop the onions and sauté them on butter with some salt. Add the spices and ¾ of the beetroot and then fill it up with the must. Blend the whole lot and if necessary sieve it. Let it rest in the fridge for a night. Whip the double cream into a stiff foam and then add the horseradish. Caramelize the rest of the beetroot and the grapes with some honey. Serve in plates, add some double cream on top, sprinkle it with dill and finally add the caramelized grapes and beetroot.

Indian Chicken Bites

Ingredients

• 1 box of IKEA miniature puff pastry baskets
• 200g chicken breast fillet
• salt
• ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• 200g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 big red onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon red curry-paste
• 1 bunch of parsley

Season the chicken breasts with some salt, coriander seeds and chili flakes. Put them in a vacuum seal bag and sous vide it in water bath at 60C for two hours. In the meantime slice the red onion and sauté it on olive oil. When ready chop the chicken breasts, mix them with the red onions, the cream cheese and the curry paste. If necessary add some more salt. Fill the mass in the puff pastry baskets and add some finely chopped parsley on top.