A few weeks ago I was in Villány with an Indian and a Canadian lady, both wine experts. After visiting the fascinating underground labyrinth of Csányi Winery and tasting superb Villányi Franc, we still had some 80 minutes to kill. In a sleepy small town in February, what’s worse, it began to rain, in fact to pour cats and dogs. A sommelier at Gere’s was our saviour.

Fekete Járdovány, a rarity

It was raining, as I said earlier, so we entered the wine bar of Gere’s Mandula restaurant. Thank God we could, it was open though it was only Tuesday morning. You should bear in mind that Hungarian countryside is not really prepared for wine tourists in low seasons, advanced booking for everything is strongly advised. So we could taste another Villányi Franc, this time from Attila Gere, my guests were happy to deepen their knowledge of the brand Villányi Franc. Also we tasted Fekete Járdovány, a rare variety, which was extinct for a long time, until Gere and Pécs Research Centre brought it back to life. Fruity, spicy, exciting wine! But the rain was still pouring and we had immense suitcases to carry. And it turned out that the only taxi driver of Villány had a full time job, so he wouldn’t come. We were hopeless, when I asked our smart and kind sommelier if he could take us to the railway station. You know what? He took us there with his own car, and even packed three glasses for us for the Pinot Noir we bought for the train (to make our tasting longer with this trick). What’s the message of this fable? No, don’t ask this guy again, I am afraid he wants to keep his job, and transporting women during working hours is not the best way to do so, but it is good to know that kindness and helpfulness exist. And we enjoyed our train treat as well!

More about Fekete Járdovány (scroll down for English)

Eastern Weekend at Gere Crocus Hotel

Mandula restaurant – and its sommelier – is just argument besides Crocus hotel. They are innovative, too, recently for example they have introduced “silent wellness hours” between 8-9 AM and 6-8 PM. During these periods the admission is allowed only for guests over 12 years age. They also prepared somevegetarian courses in the spring menu: “We pay attention to offer meat free, carefully prepared courses for our vegetarian guests. On our current menu there are pearl barley risotto with beet and pumpkin, and gnocchi with basil and tomato.” Eastern weekend special offer contains 3 nights with breakfast, welcome drink, surprise gift, 3 meals with 3 courses (lunch or dinner), a wine tasting of 7 wines, unlimited usage of Wellness & Spa, a choice of wellness service, bathrobe usage, wifi, parking. Price: from 80 000 FUF / person (240 euros).

More information and booking