DANCH & GRANGER SELECTIONS
Importer of Memorable Wines from the New Old World of Eastern and Central Europe
Importer of Memorable Wines from the New Old World of Eastern and Central Europe
In the Press
OUR NEWSLETTERS
A Doctor Recommended Kolonicsoscopy
A Doctor Recommended Kolonicsoscopy
While perhaps not as evasive, these wines will make it to your small and potentially large intestine at some point. And much like the names on the barrels (more on that soon), these wines are just as persistent, strong and full of character. And while the family name unwittingly lends itself to this particular medical examination, it’s more akin to the intensely concentrated volcanic minerals and salts that form kidney stones, but we digress and hopefully digest. Károly Kolonics is essentially a 4th generation winemaker on Somló albeit with an odd and miraculous hiatus. Continue > >
Furmint Horizon
Furmint Horizon
After doing at least 3 minutes of research about what an Event Horizon is in terms of a potential pun title for this newsletter, it turns out to be quite fitting. If we establish that Furmint is the gravitational pull inside a black hole, then Central Europe is its theoretical boundary – Furmint’s Event Horizon. On the colloquialism front, being a point of no return also rings true in terms of how many we represent and how much money we owe. Continue > >
We’ll talk, no big whoop
We’ll talk, no big whoop
Trying to strike a delicate but firm tone with this one. Definitely a little pubescent slamming of the bedroom door, crying into a pillow, and playing dramatic music at full volume, but also getting fired up to carve out solutions and move forward too. Much like a death by a thousand cuts, it didn’t take full shape until we recently looked back at the numbers over the holidays. The overarching theme is that everything is getting prohibitively expensive and cash flow is being stretched up and down the supply chain. What can we do? Continue > >
I got 99 problems, but a Batič ain't one
I got 99 problems, but a Batič ain't one
Despite knowing Miha Batič [Baht-itch] for over a decade, there are moments where schizophrenia seems like the most appropriate diagnosis. He often speaks in poetry, possibly and simultaneously in multiple dimensions, and yet can be so transparent and surgical with his eye contact that you hang on every word. He is impossibly generous, kind, philosophical, and while wine is important, it’s the bigger picture that always takes precedence. Continue > >
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick. Oh, Barra-Barakonyi…
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick. Oh, Barra-Barakonyi…
Even though “Barracuda” was written as a rage fueled revenge song, apart from our feeling towards wine buyers (kidding), it’s now become more or less a timeless rock classic. In the 1990s, Tokaj was indeed a rough and rage worthy place post Communism along with the rest of the country. In the midst of this, Sarolta Bárdos began replanting the then fallow Barakonyi vineyard in 1999. While perhaps an appropriate soundtrack for those early years, her wines have now become timeless classics as well. Continue > >
I've got my pride, I drink my wine. My Name is Mud
I've got my pride, I drink my wine. My Name is Mud
Timely Primus references aside, the village name of Blato does literally translate to “mud.” A massive field near the town used to regularly flood. These muddy and incredibly fertile soils were ideal for figs, olives and grapes and became the foundation of the local economy for centuries. Once they learned to drain and manage the water with canals and dams, agriculture really took off eventually making it the 6th largest city in Dalmatia. Sadly, after WWI there was a massive exodus to Australia and Brazil followed by WWII and the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. Despite this, the fertile mud of Blato persisted. And for the past two decades, farmers like Petar Marinović and his family have been dutifully growing a variety of crops, raising livestock, making olive oil, and of course growing Pošip and Plavac Mali. Continue > >
Blue-Plate Sefu
Blue-Plate Sefu
We royally screwed up trying to visit the Brutler family this past May. Coming from Hungary we didn’t realize certain driver’s license laws had changed in the past few months and we could not take our cars into Romania. After some choice and futile words with the border police followed by mild panic, we left our cars in Hungary, grabbed our luggage, and walked into Romania. Continue > >
The Karner-vore Diet
The Karner-vore Diet
The carnivore diet is essentially a marketing pitch hinging on beliefs and convictions that are pseudoscientific at best. That seemed to work really well for some companies, so we’re giving it a shot too. Don’t be worried. We’re not going down a weird antioxidant, zero sugar, weight loss, increased longevity or spiritual enlightenment path here. What we are saying is that every year, albeit in limited quantities, we get to briefly add the wines of Gábor and Fanni Karner to our collective diet and we are happy for it. To loosely paraphrase Michael Pollan - Drink wine. Not too much. Mostly Kékfrankos. Continue > >
The Abeles-tion of Man
The Abeles-tion of Man
Born and raised along Lake Balaton, Imre Halász has had quite a number of past lives. He was once the head of a Soviet state run wine COOP where he “learned to make the best of the worst kind of wines. I was everything but a winemaker.” He then moved onto being the head of the Hungarian Mint – our second guess. Some of the details were a bit lost in translation, but suffice to say, it was not a job of purpose and passion. He felt like it was slowly killing him. As it turns out, it was literally killing him. He was soon after diagnosed with lung cancer at 43. The politics and bureaucracy of the time had taken their toll. Continue > >
Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours…The Kasnyik Club.
Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours…The Kasnyik Club.
For the past three years Kasnyik has felt like the Breakfast Club trope of claiming to have a girlfriend, but she’s in Canada. She’s totally real, you wouldn’t know her, you can’t meet her, she can’t come and visit, and we don’t have any photos of us together either. Continue > >
Zoltáns of Swing
Zoltáns of Swing
A number of years ago I had the opportunity to meet Warren Winiarski. Founder of Stags’ Leap Winery, won the best Cabernet at the 1976 Judgment of Paris, conservationist, philanthropist and the list goes on. I asked him if remembered a young Hungarian harvest intern from the 1990s. Without hesitation he said, “you must know Zoli.” Continue > >
I'm going going, back back, to Káli Káli
I'm going going, back back, to Káli Káli
The Northern Shore of Lake Balaton is often a tug of war between overdeveloped summer resort towns and some of Hungary’s most compelling wine country. The trust fund baby dreamer in me wants to build a gaudy Danch & Granger headquarters overlooking the 48-mile long lake while the struggling wine importer realist in me is just hoping to find some characters doing something interesting. We can’t all be dreamers. While there continues to be and has been significant tourist based developments dating back to the 1960s, the amount of stunning natural beauty, agricultural bounty, and tucked away medieval towns are all still quite palpable. The Northern shore in terms of viticulture is just under 4000 hectares and organized in three principal regions: Balatonfüred-Csopak, Badacsony, and the Balaton Felvidék. The most inland of the three, and furthest away from the aforementioned tourism onslaught is the Balaton Felvidék. This is where we find Káli-Kövek in the village of Köveksál. Continue > >
We Bott A Zoo
We Bott A Zoo
This marks our 12th vintage working with Judit and Józsi’s wines. Why they haven’t dropped us yet is even more shocking. Over the course of our relationship most of our correspondences have since devolved into sharing music videos from the 90s, memes, and how much wine we need to buy in order to secure a long dinner at Judit’s table in Tokaj. At the same time, for over a decade their wines have and continue to occupy a deeply meaningful place in the portfolio because they espouse a community driven ethos that goes well beyond wine. Continue > >
PIWI’s Big Adventure
PIWI’s Big Adventure
We ended up with a little extra time in our schedule in the Maribor region of northeastern Slovenia on our Spring 2022 trip. Attempting to thwart the algorithm or be swayed by social media nonsense, we just pulled up Google maps and started scrolling around. Adventures on the virtual wine route. Eventually our cursor landed on “Ekološka kmetija - vinotoč Valentan,” about a 15 min drive from Maribor in the village of Vodole. Continue > >
Rakija me like a Hurricane
Rakija me like a Hurricane
Not having a fruit distillate in the portfolio has been a clear dereliction of duty. They are the most ubiquitous, culturally significant, identifying, historical and meaningful drinks in Central Europe and particularly so in the Balkans. Seeking atonement, we’ve finally found something special in Serbia to help us begin walking the long road to reconciliation. Continue > >
What Would Brian Botrytis Do?
What Would Brian Botrytis Do?
Writing about botrytized wines in December is about as lazy and predictable as writing about the virtues of drinking Champagne beyond the realm of special occasions or not all Riesling is sweet. But still. For the time being, these kinds of wines are still tied to the holidays so we will bend to market forces while simultaneously making a plea to consider them year round. Continue > >
Treasure of the Somló Madre
Treasure of the Somló Madre
For most winemakers on Somló, water is either rainwater catch, a rare access to a well, or pulling from the small local Séd Spring on either side of the extinct volcano. All of these hard water sources also make it notoriously difficult to polish stemware for super high maintenance California importers. As if there wasn’t enough dissolved minerals and salts in the wines already, you can’t even escape them when it comes to doing the dishes. Continue > >
Romancing the Ston
Romancing the Ston
Anyone who doesn’t smile ear to ear after eating oysters from Ston is dead inside. Some are still using 100+ year old wooden lattices and techniques from the Kingdom of Dubrovnik. Each oyster is 2-3 years in the making. They are also grown in some of the best brackish water and conditions anywhere in the world. Had we continued to eat them alongside healthy pours of travarica (herbal rakija) and wine, the aphrodisiacal effects might have taken our relationship with the Miloš family to the next level. Continue > >
Homoky-stroika
Homoky-stroika
When Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30th, we went down a deep Soviet rabbit hole learning about his life, doctrines, successes, failures, and even listened to his 2009 musical debut entitled The Ballads of Mikhail Gorbachev. One of his biggest ideas was Perestroika, or New Political Thinking doctrine. Instead of thinking about the USSR as not needing to change, or what his predecessor Brezhnev called the “further perfectioning,” Perestroika was about more independent decision-making, more interdependence, and supporting the greater good over anything else. He didn’t want to end Communism, but instead make it work better. Spoiler alert, it didn’t go exactly as planned and opinions on him are deeply divided. Continue > >
Tinon The Librarian
Tinon The Librarian
I recently asked Samuel Tinon about how he feels about the last 30 odd years in Tokaj. With zero delay he replied, “Now I’m 50. I was 20. Same feeling. Let’s make this happen.” To be fair, a lot has happened, and very few people have had a more outsized role in Tokaj since the system changed in 1991 than Samuel. Above and beyond his own wines, the Confrérie de Tokaj and the soon to open University of Tokaj, he was also instrumental in ushering in the very first vintage of Royal Tokaji in the early 1990s alongside Hugh Johnson. Continue > >
The Karlovci Kid
The Karlovci Kid
We landed in Belgrade around 2pm and by 2:30 we were surrounded by at least 20 bottles of Rakia and enough cured meat to choke a donkey. A perfect Balkan welcome party and required acclimation before visiting Oszkár Maurer the following morning up in the Fruška Gora. Continue > >
The Adventures of Barta Munchausen
The Adventures of Barta Munchausen
One of the taglines for the 1988 Terry Gilliam version of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was “Adventure, Comedy, Romance. He was full of it.” Despite summing up my overall marketing strategy, there is a scene where the Baron makes a life or death wager with the Ottoman Sultan promising the finest bottle of “Tokay.” We don’t know the exact vineyard or vintage the Baron procured. There’s a good chance it came from land once owned by the prominent Rákóczi family and one of their most prestigious vineyards was the Öreg Király Dűlő (The Old King Vineyard). Continue > >
Vrhtigo
Vrhtigo
Jet-lagged, clay caking on my boots á la mafia cement shoes, feeling deeply malnourished due to a 100% cured meat diet, and desperately searching for some wild asparagus to offset my gut health, I still couldn’t wipe the sh*t eating grin off of my face to be back exploring the Balkans again. The nearly three year travel hiatus was even more compounded when we finally made it back to see the Brečević family in Istria. Dimitri is someone with whom I share over a decade of partnership. We’ve put faith into and extended risks out to one another for longer than our mutual children have been alive. Continue > >
Losoncing my Religion
Losoncing my Religion
In preparation for this nearly two week late newsletter, see also grasping for straws, I was able to have a long overdue 2 hour+ ZOOM with Bálint Losonci. Turns out we had a lot to cover. We got into the reality of Ag labor in Hungary, aggressively tackling regenerative agriculture, losing 50% of his production, and finding more harmony between family and his work to name a few. Continue > >
Mátra Libre
Mátra Libre
One of my favorite Hungarian colloquialisms is, “Sírva vigad a Magyar.” This more or less translates to a Hungarian is only happy when they are miserable. I’ve also heard it described as a “melancholic intermingling of joy and sorrow.” Despite being the future title of my autobiography, this sentiment is also acutely felt while walking around the various Pincefalu in the Mátra appellation Continue > >
Das Leben der Andert
Das Leben der Andert
Much like a Stasi officer secretly listening in and becoming emotionally consumed by the conversations of playwrights in Das Leben Der Anderen, fueled by two and half years of no travel, I’ve been ogling Andert’s social media posts in an equally unhealthy and obsessive way. I hit a breaking point when I recently watched a video they posted of guests dipping their fingers into a bowl full of fresh pigs blood and then licking them clean in between bites of raw pig heart sashimi. I want this to happen to me. Continue > >
She’s Grál That
She’s Grál That
Every newsletter is a struggle, but January is particularly rough. My first attempt at grasping for straws was describing New Year's traditions in Central Europe. Things like eating fish scales and lentils symbolizing coins for good fortune and avoiding crab and chicken because they walk and scratch backward instead of moving forward. It got worse so I stopped. Then in a moment of good fortune, I learned of two new terms that perfectly set the stage for introducing a new producer from the Hungarian region of Tolna - Grál Borpince. Continue > >
Giving Somló a Launching Árpád for Something New
Giving Somló a Launching Árpád for Something New
Perhaps due to exhaustion, barely keeping up with existing partnerships abroad, and not being able to travel since forever, we haven’t really explored beyond our existing producers on Somló for a while. For one, we feel extremely lucky with our existing relationships, and secondly, nothing had really jumped out at us until we tasted the wines from Árpád Tomcsányi. Continue > >
Somló Like it Hot
Somló Like it Hot
Due to Hungary’s Land Reform Bill of 1945, thousands of families were given vineyard land previously owned by the Church and the aristocracy. A massive liquidation of the feudal system followed by mass fragmentation ensued. The Somló (Shome-low) appellation as it stands today is just over 500 hectares, yet there are over 1200 growers, 40 or so are allowed to label wine and far fewer with enough quantity to even consider selling outside of Hungary. When you consider that the Jura is almost 4 times as large, it’s no surprise that wines from Somló are hard to come by. The wines of Fekete Béla are no exception. Continue > >
Can I Kikelet? Yes you can!
Can I Kikelet? Yes you can!
Like so many wine terms, I get lazy with being specific. Acidity is certainly one of them. And when the vast majority of our portfolio consists of white grapes from cooler climates, the laziness can cut deep. The wines from Stéphanie and Zsolt are a welcomed excuse to slow down and reconsider what all too often dribbles out of my mouth to fill dead sales air. Put simply, the acidity of Kikelet is sweet. Continue > >
Bačka to the Future
Bačka to the Future
The more we work with Maurer, the more we feel like we’re sawing off the tree limb we’re standing on. His ultimate goal is to sell all the wines locally. The more success we and his other markets have around the world only serve to highlight to his home market what they are missing.

When Oszkár started making wine in 1994, everything was organically farmed and made without any additions including sulfites. That’s the way wine was made in his home growing up. Continue > >
When They Go Low, We Go Hajós
When They Go Low, We Go Hajós
In my darker moments, I wonder if I can crack the calm, sincere, and loving veneer of the Sziegl family. It’s difficult to even imagine Petra or Balázs raising their voices under any circumstances let alone losing their cool. At the same time, they certainly aren’t risk adverse in terms of taking on huge debt, farming difficult grapes organically, and having two kids in the process. They also keep pushing themselves to experiment with their limited amounts of fruit through the uncertainty of the COVID market. Continue > >
Válihalla
Válihalla
At, and always at, the expense of a pun, the title isn’t actually too far from the reality at Válibor. In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic temple where soldiers killed in battle go to drink excessively, eat copious amounts of pig, maintain battle readiness, and are reborn daily until Odin needs them to fight during the Ragnarök (Doomsday). Apart from the death in battle and doomsday bits, this has largely been my experience over the past few years at Péter Váli’s. Because you’re tasting non stop as he cooks and platters of meats and veggies fill the time in between, before you know it, you’re well into the weeds. Continue > >
Smokvica ‘Em If You Got Em
Smokvica ‘Em If You Got Em
Croatia, easily the most touristed of any country we work with, has had very little incentive to change the status quo in terms of wine and food. A guaranteed clientele riding high on the Honeymoon effect and willing to spend a little extra on top of that. Some of my best food experiences have been in Croatia along with the absolute overpriced worst in all of Central Europe. Continue > >
All Bets are Herrenhof
All Bets are Herrenhof
As a part of my due diligence before meeting Gottfried for the first time back in 2018, I stumbled upon some older Youtube clips he had posted. One of them had a Kraftwerk meets Mission Impossible vibe in black and white where he speeds to the city of Graz to make a clandestine hand off of his very last bottle of Verjus. Back then I thought it was weird and funny, but in the years since I’ve come to understand that the underpinnings of the video are in fact dead serious. He does see himself on a zero compromise mission that befits the soundtrack and aesthetic of this video. That mission is the Buchertberg hill. Continue > >
The Law of Kasnyik and Effect
The Law of Kasnyik and Effect
Less than a two hours drive northwest of Budapest and only 20 minutes northwest of Bott Frigyes you’ll arrive in the village of Strekov. If you opt for the bus, I recommend hitting up one of the cheese vending machines and then washing it down with a bottle of Kofola (the Czech rival of Coca-Cola). It’s immediately apparent that you’re in a border area. Strekov was first mentioned in 1075, but has largely been shaped by the Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Czechoslovakia, attempted Germanization by the Nazi’s, briefly back to Hungary, back to Czechoslovakia under 40+ years of Communist rule, and then finally becoming independent after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 Continue > >
Oppan Garam Style
Oppan Garam Style
The front label of the 2019 Olaszrizling pretty much sums it up. It would be a single guess Pictionary drawing for Bott Frigyes. It also describes exactly how I first came to visit them. Heading north from Budapest you’ll pass the Basilica of Esztergom along the shores of the Danube. It’s as impossible to miss in person as it is on the label. In the service of superlatives, this is the tallest building in Hungary, contains the largest altar painting on canvas in the world, is the standard bearer for Renaissance art in the country, and is the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. Continue > >
I am Iron Gate Man
I am Iron Gate Man
This is a COVID time capsule on the importing front. Vaskapu Kastély (Iron Gate Castle) was on my Spring 2020 itinerary that was never to be. A mutual colleague in Hungary had already visited and verified the vineyard and cellar info that checked all of my boxes. It was everything else that I was missing. Géza and I ended up speaking over the phone and it was like I had already visited and was simply following up with a purchase order. We had so many mutual friends and shared points of view that I’m surprised our paths hadn’t crossed earlier. Continue > >
Beltiug! Beltiug! Beltiug!
Beltiug! Beltiug! Beltiug!
Transylvania has always been a bit of white whale for us. I don’t think you can get further away from what we think of as Europe while still being in Europe. This is where horse carts often outnumber cars, self-sufficient agriculture is the norm, there are more fortified Churches than anywhere else in Europe, and where Vlad the Impaler once vertically impaled nearly 20,000 people on display near the city of Târgoviște to intimidate the Ottomans. Literally translating to "beyond the forest," it also has an unbroken winegrowing tradition going back at least 2000+ years. Continue > >
Chim chiminey Chim chim cher-ee. A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be
Chim chiminey Chim chim cher-ee. A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be
In between evacuations, mass destruction, virus and smoke ridden air, and a litany of other tragedies, there were still harvest photos like this. And while no one burst into song or choreographed dance during this mess of a vintage, there’s an optimistic and determined mindset that can be both seen above and tasted in the fall release from KEEP Wines. Continue > >
Wetzer Side Story
Wetzer Side Story
Much like the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, Péter Wetzer is a Tony like figure caught in between the extremes of the natural wine spectrum. While you can certainly find him at a natural wine fair, he’d be horrified to find himself covering up a faulty wine with “natural arguments.” He also jokes that he has no intention of working with amphora/qvevri, making skin contact whites, or anything outside what he’s been doing for the past 13 years. He’s stubborn in getting after what he wants, but not reactionary or guided by dogmatism. It’s refreshing to work with him. Continue > >
ANDERT ALS DIE ANDERN
ANDERT ALS DIE ANDERN
Nothing hooks a wine buyer like a German play-on-words referencing an Austrian winery, the Weimar Republic, a compassionate look at homosexuality in cinema, and said film being later burned by the Nazis. Tragically, I didn’t think of it. I did however notice the #andertalsdieandern from Andert’s Instagram and did a little due diligence. The original title “Anders als die Andern” literally translates to “Different from the Others.” This is exactly what I hope to get across about Erich and Michael, their land, and their wines. Continue > >
I wish I were an Oszkár Maurer Winery
I wish I were an Oszkár Maurer Winery
There’s exponential change happening right now in the Central and Eastern European wine scene. Serbia is no exception. When I first visited Oszkár Maurer in 2015, we had to meet just over the border in Hungary at a restaurant because our rental car wouldn’t allow us to enter Serbia. Insert politics here. He only had a few wines to show and it was more about what’s to come than what he had at that moment. Since then we’ve visited multiple times, walked through his Kadarka planted in 1880 among many other incredible vineyards from the turn of the century, and his wife Irene has cooked some of the best food on any of our trips. Continue > >
The Bearded Daddy of the Mátra Mountains
The Bearded Daddy of the Mátra Mountains
During the 1980s, Mátra produced over 40% of Hungary’s wine exports — cheap industrial table wines. It’s still the second largest appellation in Hungary and many of the Soviet era COOPs have since been privatized and continue to churn out large amounts of wine to supermarkets. This left very little room for small family wineries and since the reputation was mostly cheap bulk wine, there wasn’t much incentive either. Over the past 10-15 years, a few growers have been taking advantage of cheap land costs and are doing something special. Along with Bálint Losonci, Fanni and Gábor Karner, and a small handful of other small, organic, and minimal intervention winemakers, Levente Major is just getting started adding his wines to this new Mátra. Continue > >
Lock, Štoka and Two Smoking Barrels. New arrivals from the Kras, Slovenia
Lock, Štoka and Two Smoking Barrels. New arrivals from the Kras, Slovenia
Every newsletter is now more or less based on where I would have visited in the past few months if not for current circumstances. While an embittered rant is more than tempting, it’s also been an excuse to reach out to producers, talk more life than wine, and in a way taste these wines without the often rushed “honeymoon” effect of visiting. It’s also forced me to deep dive into some minutia and other ways of thinking about the wines given the shared experience we’ve all had for the past few months. Easily diagnosable as escapism, hopefully it’s useful and interesting as well. Continue > >
By the Power of Grayskull! New “Hei-mann” (& Fiai) Arrivals
By the Power of Grayskull! New “Hei-mann” (& Fiai) Arrivals
The Heimann family has been seeking out the best clones of Kadarka and where to plant them for the past 25 years. With the help of the Pécs University Research Institute, locating old vines, and then grafting and raising them in nurseries, they have helped bring back Kadarka from near extinction. This was a grape that once covered over 60,000 hectares in Hungary (plus more in other countries) but was whittled down to less than 400 hectares by the end of Communist rule in the early 1990s. After years of trial and error starting with upwards of 30 clones, they’ve narrowed things down to a handful of the very best Kadarka and Kékfrankos. Continue > >
Pošip Comes to Shove…
Pošip Comes to Shove…
One of my perennial favorites are the Pošips from The Toreta Winery on the Island of Korčula, Croatia. Even with the frustration I feel due to otherwise being in Croatia this April, these wines still manage to put a smile on my face. The Island of Korčula is the spiritual home of Pošip and by all accounts, was first discovered here. There’s even a monument dedicated to it. The Island's winemaking history dates back to the Illyrians, but had its longest run as a part of the Venetian Empire for nearly 400 years until the late 1700s. Continue > >
The Covidsation
The Covidsation
A mere month ago I was looking forward to therapeutically ranting about how Piquentum’s last vintage was accidentally frozen and destroyed inside the container last Spring. A mere month ago, that passed as a rare tragedy that I could utilize in order to guilt you into giving me a chance to pour you these wines. A simpler and more wholesome time.

Given the current state of affairs, striking the right tone is much more difficult than originally planned. On the one hand, many of you are feverishly building up your curbside pickup, ecommerce and figuring out delivery. Others have been forced to lay off scores of friends and colleagues and are unsure of the path forward. On top of that there’s stimulus and other forms of relief just now coming online. It seems too early to know what this all really means for our wine and food scene at large. Continue > >
Enter Sandman (and a woman): New Arrivals from Petra and Balázs Sziegl and Oszkár Maurer
Enter Sandman (and a woman): New Arrivals from Petra and Balázs Sziegl and Oszkár Maurer
The largest wine region in Hungary is the Duna and includes the Hajós-Baja, Csongrád and Kunság appellations. It covers most of the area south of Budapest and in between the Danube and Tisza Rivers. It is almost entirely sand and loess. Before phylloxera, the wines weren’t very well known, but once everyone realized that it was basically immune to the louse, plantings greatly increased. Then Communism came and the area was forced into the mass production of off-dry reds, sweet sparkling, and other nameless table wines. Largely overlooked and seen as a lower shelf supermarket wine region, there're of course a ton of old vines and a number of people doing really special things. Petra and Balázs Sziegl and Oszkár Maurer are two such examples. Continue > >
These are a few of my favorite wines…
These are a few of my favorite wines…
Visiting Geyerhof and having them entrust me with their wines often makes me feel like they can’t possibly know who I really am. The result of 14 generations since the 16th century all occupying the same place with the same function all add up to a weight that I don’t feel I can lift. During the 1920s, Georg Ritter von Trapp (yes, the dad from The Sound of Music) was even managing the brick and clay operation here. Continue > >
A Terrific 2019 and a potentially Tariffic 2020
A Terrific 2019 and a potentially Tariffic 2020
Since starting this new venture last July and helping Blue Danube wind down into retirement, we would like to thank you for all of the support and risk taking that’s involved in working with a portfolio like ours. There are of course a myriad of things that need to be improved and a bunch of new producers and wines from existing producers that I’m dying to bring in, but the last 6 months have been super promising due to you. Thank you thank you. Continue > >
“We are not normal.” – Judit Bodó
“We are not normal.” – Judit Bodó
The first winery I ever represented from Tokaj was Bott Pince. 11 vintages later, a relationship built in both Hungary and California, and having witnessed both our families and businesses grow, it’s long overdue I dedicate a newsletter to Judit and József Bodó. They are the kind of people whose first impression makes you pray the wines will be delicious in order to justify spending as much time with them as possible. Continue > >
KEEP Fall Release - Vermentino, Albariño, Syrah & Carignane
KEEP Fall Release - Vermentino, Albariño, Syrah & Carignane
If memory and searching Gmail serves, I first met Johanna and Jack back in 2013 when I would attempt to sell Central European wines in wine country but undoubtedly have extra wine by day’s end. I would then take said open bottles to a mutual friend’s house in Napa and have local winemakers come by to cook, eat, and make the best of it. It also helped keep one foot in the California wine community. Continue > >
An Outlier in the Vulkanland: Herrenhof Lamprecht
An Outlier in the Vulkanland: Herrenhof Lamprecht
About an hour West of the Hungarian border and 2 hours south of Vienna you’ll find 9 hectares sloping down between fruit orchards planted to Adelfränkisch, Affenthaler, Augster Gelber, Auxerrois, Bettlertraube, Blaue Frankentraube, Blauelbling, Blauer Arbst, Blauer Elbling, Blauer Hängling, Blauer Sylvaner, Blauer Wildbacher, Blaukölner, Bouquet-Silvaner, Bourguignon, Elbling, Frühburgunder, Frühe Magyartraube, Furmint, Gelber Langstieler, Gelber Traminer, Gewürztraminer, Goldriesling, Grauburgunder, Grüner Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Grünfränkisch, Hartblau, Heunisch Rotgestreift, Heunisch Schwarz, Honigler, Jubiläumsrebe, Kleinberger Kerner, Kleinedel, Kleiner Burgunder, Morillion, Muskat-Gutedel, Muskateller, Neuburger, Ortlieber, Peloursin, Piros Furmint, Riesling, Roter Elbling, Roter Gutedel, Roter Hänisch/Pamid, Roter Heunisch, Roter Traminer, Roter Veltliner, Rotgipfler, Sauvignon Blanc, Scheurebe, Schlehentrauben, Schwarzurban, Süßschwarz, Tauberschwarz, Trollinger, Weissburgunder, Weiße Orleans, Weisser Gutedel, Weißer Heunisch, Weißer Kadarka, Weißer Lagler, Weißer Räuschling, Weißer Tokayer, Weißer Veltliner, Welschriesling, and Zierfandler. Continue > >
From (just West of) Russia with Love
From (just West of) Russia with Love
New arrivals from Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia & Austria
This container has been a long time coming and only the second under the Danch & Granger label. On a personal level, there’s a real when/if the rubber will meet the road with these choices. No one to my knowledge has ever imported a Bakator from Serbia (or any country), or a skin contact Juhfark from anywhere either. Continue > >
Not Now Cato! New Balkan Arrivals
Not Now Cato! New Balkan Arrivals
After an extremely long and tragedy ridden dry spell, we are finally delving back into the Balkans. And whereas most of my travel and experiences are focused further northeast in Central Europe, I’ve probably hosted more producers in California from these regions. Miha Batič was my first ride-a-long ever and was the first winemaker event I ever convinced/begged anyone to do. Continue > >
Sweet heaven, I'm in Love Again
Sweet heaven, I'm in Love Again
As a semi desperate reach aimed at introducing some new Tokaj wines in the context of the 4th of July, there is a Thomas Jefferson connection. Jefferson, a big collector and importer of wines, spent a small fortune on a shipment of Hungarian wines (including dry and Aszú from Tokaj) that arrived in 1804. He proudly shared them with Federalist senators and even noted, “I can assure you that they are esteemed on the continent of Europe among the best wines of Europe, and with Champagne, Burgundy, Tokay are used at the best tables.” Post presidency, he also received some cuttings from Tokaj and planted them at Monticello. So there, be patriotic and follow suite some 215 years later:) Continue > >