Top-shelf wines, champagne and delicacies at S/ALON BUDAPEST

In previous years, we have increasingly focused on creating not only a pleasant environment for the mind, eyes and hands, but also a lasting experience in terms of flavors and aromas. You will find our Champagne and Tapas Bar and Specialty Café in the exhibition area, and this year we are working with our partners to offer an even more exciting range of products than ever before. Delicious snacks will be provided by Barrio and Zoltán Konrády, specialty coffee by Kaffeine, and Borguru will crown your visit with champagne and white wine that represent the absolute best in the world. To celebrate this, László Hantos of Borguru told us about the specialities on offer at the event: the fantastic DELAMOTTE, Henri Giraud and Sartarelli. Find out more about the phenomenal and pure drinks in our article!

At the very top of the Champagne category sits a house called SALON. The crown jewel, SALON is the top of the range of champagnes made from chardonnay, which is only produced when the vintage is "that", i.e. the environmental conditions meet a very specific set of requirements. If not, then some of the world’s best grapes land in DELAMOTTE, hence the nickname in some wine circles: "little SALON".

Chardonnay is known as feminine.

They come from the same family, they both live in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, they are actually neighbors, they have the same owner, winemaker and technology. To use a social parallel, one of the girls - SALON - is a member of the cream of the aristocracy, while the other - DELAMOTTE - moves in the highest educated bourgeois circles.

Although it is not customary to literally rate champagnes, as these houses have brought much more to be subjected to plain rating, they can be appreciated and evaluated. And in this evaluation, DELAMOTTE deserves an A+.

Another heavenly wine comes from the house of Henri Giroud, where the pinot noir grape variety predominates. Here, all the work is done in wood, in barrels made from their own groves of Argonne oak. The special texture of these famous trees makes them the perfect barrel material. The oaks selected for the barrels are 200 years old, but the senior oak is a 36 meters high, 5-600-year-old oak tree. In this traditional way of farming, only as much as is absolutely necessary for the vintage is felled.

But the house is not only at the forefront of tradition, but also of innovation. Henri Giroud Esprit, also available at S/ALON BUDAPEST, invites you into the field of molecular biology. When the drink is ready, the bottles are tested to see if there are any foreign substances other than the "grape molecule". Esprit Nature is molecularly R000, containing 0 herbicide, 0 pesticide and 0 fungicide residues-

For many years, we have been looking with increasing interest for biologically pure beverages. Several biodynamic wineries are currently operating, but in the Champagne category, this level of purity is only found at Esprit. The initiative itself was launched by Champagne Henri Giraud in 2017. Following this influence, Claude Girau proposed to winemakers around the world to use a universally recognisable mark of trust: a logo with a QR code that gives access to a full molecular analysis of the wine. A new quality was born, opening a new era in the world of wine. You can buy Henri Giroud Champagne by the bottle at the event.

The third speciality comes from Sartarelli, another family winery with a chemical-free vineyard seal, from Jesi in the Marche region of Italy. This province, which links the mainland with the Adriatic Sea, is relatively known by few, despite its world-famous grape variety. So much so that the Sartarelli Balciana Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi was voted the best wine not only in Italy but in the world in 2021.

Certain wines have very beneficial physiological effects, and it is no coincidence that Tokaj aszú was once available on prescription in pharmacies. The biggest problems of the modern age are hormone production and the increasing number of people suffering from stress. Verdicchio, apart from being incredibly tasty, helps with these problems, too.

Verdicchio is the only grape variety known to contain ethyl caffeate, the molecule responsible for regulating aldosterone. It is an important part of our hormonal system and plays an essential guiding role in stress management: without it, aldosterone can be released in our body, which prevents us from entering a parasympathetic state, keeping us in a sympathetic state, i.e. we can’t chill.

Visitors to S/ALON BUDAPEST can taste the Classico wine at the event. You will also have the opportunity to order a glass of Grimau Cava. Do you prefer reds? Then we recommend the Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico. Barrio will be serving an Iberian tapas platter to accompany your wine, with a heavenly combination of iberico ham, manchego cheese, a selection of olives and freshly baked bread. And if you’re looking for a little refreshment, the Specialty Café also offers an espresso tonic courtesy of Kaffeine, in a signature S/ALON version and flavor.

Treat yourself this weekend at S/ALON BUDAPEST! Tickets are available at discounted prices here until Thursday midnight. Join us on Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be waiting for you with endless inspiration!