I’m in Budapest for the VinCE wine conference, where this morning I am giving a talk and conducting a tasting on biodynamic wines.

I arrived yesterday afternoon, and spent a good bit of time focusing on the wines of a special Hungarian terroir, Somlo, guided by Omar Honigh-Csizmadia of Royal Somlo (www.royalsomlo.com). In particular, I was impressed by the Juhfarks – a variety that seems to transmit the remarkable soils of this volcanic terroir particularly well.

Then in the evening, the opening party. A few random shots follow.

This was a high-end Cabernet Franc, Malatinszky Kuria, in the hands of Czaba Malatinszky (http://www.malatinszky.hu). Rich but fresh with great concentration and a lively spiciness.

Alison Bonnet and Edwin Dublin, who I bumped into.

Not Hungarian, but this 2009 Tignanello went down well. Very suave, with smooth tannic structure. Maybe a little international, but tasty.

Istvan Spiegelberg, ex BMW test driver, now Somlo vigneron, with his wife.

Look at these shoes!