Welcome to the first edition of my wine travel blog. I will be your guide to obscure wine destinations and unique cultures across many lands.
As we embark on this worldly adventure together, think of me as your off-the-beaten-path traveler who skips the wine tourist traps. An experiential traveler focusing on authentic immersion into cultures discovering local secrets around famous landmarks, history, and the story behind the wine. We will intently seek out the unknown, the hidden gems, and unexpected stories that shape the wine.
I’m keenly interested in deep niche discovery of wine rather than just hopping around broad countries and regions as a globetrotter. I liken myself to a wayfarer who wanders, walks, and stumbles upon an unearthed treasure, tracks down an unpretentious local joint and hangout, or finds that exclusive spot only known to neighborhood regulars with storytelling.
This will be the premise for the book I am working on. A mixture of creative and narrative non-fiction travel writing with a focus on wine at the local level. The number of and order of places to visit has yet to be determined.
To help with this project and for this blog, I will be collaborating with www.worldwinerymap.com bringing you wine news and wine stories from every corner of the world in one place. New wineries and vineyards are popping up every day.
See inside for how to read the map and search. It’s a really cool site and resource for all the technical stuff and for releasing your inner wine geek 🤪
Here is the press release – From Napa Valley to the Barossa Valley: New World Winery Map Measures the Terroir of Every Vineyard on the Planet. You can find them on Instagram also @worldwinerymap.
Here is an example from my local wine region in the beautiful Finger Lakes AVA, New York, US – Finger Lakes: AVA | World Winery Map
Winery spotlight from a little-known wine producing region in the country of Slovakia in The Balkans. See map.
Slovakia is land locked with Austria where Riesling, Gruner, and Pinot Blanc hails supreme. It also borders Hungary, Czech Republic, and Ukraine. Most wine producing comes from the southwest corner of the country in close proximity to Austria.
With my family emigrating from Hungary to the US, I take a lot of pride in highlighting excellent wine from under-the-radar Eastern Europe wine country. The Decanter World Wine Awards recently has brought much-needed publicity to the region for the quality producers, unique terroir, and highly rated wines, some in mid-90’s.
Many followers on my recent Instagram poll chose The Balkans as a preferred wine destination so I am bringing some of it to you.
MARTIN POMFY
About the Estate
My name is Martin Pomfy, and it carries into the future what I love and what I do through our vineyards and our wine.
Winemaking is a tradition in the Pomfy family but there was a hiatus during the years of communism when vineyards were confiscated by the state. After the fall of communism, Martin started making wine on a small scale basis.
In 2001, I founded the winery in my native village of Vinosady. Around Vinosady we grow mostly typical, local grape varieties. The vineyards spread over eleven separate sites, each different in its soil composition, exposure, slope and the bedrock the vines have grown into.
Realizing that quality starts in the vineyard, he endeavored to acquire more vineyards on the slopes of the Little Carpathians above the towns of Vinosady and Pezinok which are just to the north-east of Bratislava
What we enjoy most is making Grüner Veltliner, Rhine Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Ten hectares of vineyards have old roots and five hectares we have replanted.
We farm the vineyards organically, certified BIO, and make the wines without intervention, with an emphasis on quality and on being good for the body. Our wines are healthy, low in histamine, with no stabilization and no oenological additives.
Regularly recognized at international competitions including Vinalies Internationales Paris, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, AWC Vienna, Bacchus Madrid, and the Prague Wine Trophy.
This area is generally best for white varietals, but he has been doing some good work with reds, like Cab Sauv and blends. Martin is a restless, innovative grower, constantly looking to do new things with different varietals. His range is large, but you will taste more new and different wines during a morning at the winery than in a year of tasting elsewhere.
It features unique expressions such as a white/orange-style Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc and oak aged Orange Wine from Riesling. The Vivino site has a list of these exclusive wines, which aren’t readily available in the US unfortunately.
More stories to come….. Give a thumbs up and tell me what you think. Would you like to read more of this kind of content? Are you interested in learning more about these obscure wine regions producing some really good wines with awesome stories?
Cheers,
Michael Nagy
michael@michaelpour.com