Discover Hungary's beauty and hospitality through the eyes of B&amp;R CEO Mike Scarola, who spent much of his athletic career training, racing and rejuvenating around the Danube and Lake Balaton.

Growing up on the east coast of Canada near Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, sprint-racing canoeing has always been part of my life. My passion for the sport would allow me to travel the world and eventually led me to represent Canada at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.While racing demanded speed, I found slowing down and taking in the surroundings to be magical. Much like biking a route with friends, canoeing with a group of friends is a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty of a region from a new perspective.&nbsp;While every European country has its unique charm, Hungary holds a special place in my heart as it played a significant role in my canoeing career. My long-time coach is Hungarian, and his passion for the sport and his homeland were unmistakable. Hungary has a rich history in canoeing and has produced more Olympic medals in the sport than any other country.

As an athlete, I spent many summers training and racing in Hungary. I trained with many of the best paddlers in Hungary, and some of the best paddlers in the world.&nbsp;While canoeing up and down the Danube river we would meet many locals who were happy to share a drink and a smile. Despite the language barrier, their warmth and welcoming nature shone through.&nbsp;Lake Balaton, in particular, left a lasting impression on me. Following a competition in Szeged, Hungary, I spent time in the region with my teammates and newfound local friends. I was immediately drawn to the culture and warm hospitality. The locals were incredibly generous in opening up their culture and friendship to us, something I'm excited to share with our travellers on <a href="https://butterfield.com/trip/scheduled/vienna-to-budapest-wine-country-biking" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">B&amp;R's Vienna to Budapest Wine Country Biking</a> trip.

I'm excited to return to a country where I've spent a significant amount of time as an athlete and to now experience it in an entirely new way. I’ll be co-guiding our first Vienna to Budapest Wine Country Biking departure of the season, going deep into the history and culture along bike routes chosen for their authentic beauty, and connecting with some really interesting local people that entertain and inspire. Hungary is a country that has been through a lot in the past 80 years, and its people are very proud of their culture and eager to share it with open arms and warm spirits.&nbsp;Join me in Vienna and Budapest on our September 16 - 22 departure, an incredible journey that pulls out the best of Central Europe through the region’s top hotels, hyper-local wine experiences and unbelievable meals and biking routes.

My Time on the Danube: Paddling My Way Through Hungary 

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Tragedy strikes twice: the effects of vine disease and post-war restructuring 
 
Modern Hungarian winemaking has experienced two huge tragedies. The first was the phylloxera disease at the end of the 19th century. It affected almost all of the European vineyards, but in Hungary, it was especially devastating. Other wine regions in France, Italy, and Spain, although they suffered heavy losses, were not forced to go through a systematic change. In Hungary, however, all the red varieties, except for the Kadarka variety, completely disappeared and the winemakers brought in mostly French and German varieties. This led to a fundamental change in Hungarian red wine production, which changed its character forever.
<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-34754 alignright" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/redwine-350c.png" alt="" width="350" height="233" />The second tragedy was the nationalization of all the wine regions during the post-Second World War Communist era. Private ownership was suspended and all vineyards were forced into huge wine conglomerates owned by the state. Unlike the wine cooperatives in Spain, for example, where it is possible for small landowners to sell their grapes, the Hungarian conglomerate singlehandedly destroyed quality by focusing solely on quantity. They destroyed certain wine regions and started fruit orchards instead, while other regions got prioritized and were forced to produce insane quantities.
<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-34767 alignleft" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/bullsblood1-250c.png" alt="" width="250" height="333" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/bullsblood1-250c.png 250w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/bullsblood1-250c-225x300.png 225w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />A good example of this is the red wine known as “Bull’s Blood” (Bikavér) from Eger, which was declared to be the number one export product of Hungary. Even though quality production has been restored and there are serious regulations in place now, winemakers from Eger still find it difficult to gain back the prestige it used to have as the market was flooded by very low-quality Bikavér.
Quality persists, but popularity hasn’t been re-established
Since the process that led to the worldwide appreciation of wine started sometime during the 60s and 70s, Hungary completely missed out on it due to the Socialist era. Hence, despite its long traditions, Hungary is a latecomer on the international wine market. It’s very difficult to bring back the traditions of old, no matter how sophisticated they were; you can’t do it overnight.
After the Communist period ended, quite a few winemakers who got back their land have dedicated their lives to bring back old traditions and quality. Today, we certainly have some excellent results and the direction is definitely good. However, Hungarian wines still have a way to go to recapture the position on the international market that they deserve.
<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-34826 aligncenter" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tokayfield-732-c.png" alt="" width="732" height="549" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tokayfield-732-c.png 732w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tokayfield-732-c-400x300.png 400w" sizes="(max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px" />

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Austria

A random aside on boats: In 2015, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciaadamczyk/2015/04/08/how-much-does-a-superyacht-really-cost/#52a7433d26eb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forbes magazine estimated that a 100-metre superyacht “should cost around $275 million.” </a>Should?! I’d happily buy one for less, thank you very much. Market forces aside, one such superyacht translates into 19,642 Feeling 346 sailboats. Furthermore, Forbes warns superyacht owners that they should prepare to spend 10% of the yacht’s initial purchase price on yearly upkeep. That’s another almost 2,000 additional Feeling 346 sailboats piling up in the lake each year.
At that rate, the fragile ecosystem of the lake would soon be replaced by an enormous tower of sailboats reaching to the sky, poop decks and rigging swaying in the breeze.
<h2>4. The Town of Rust</h2>
<h5>(Trust me, it&#8217;s better than it sounds.)</h5>
<figure id="attachment_28863" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28863" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-28863" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/800px-Rust_Burgenland_-_Rathaus_Gemeindeamt_01-450x300.jpg" alt="Rust's Town Hall (admit it: you didn't expect it to be in such good condition, did you?)" width="450" height="300" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/800px-Rust_Burgenland_-_Rathaus_Gemeindeamt_01-450x300.jpg 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/800px-Rust_Burgenland_-_Rathaus_Gemeindeamt_01-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/800px-Rust_Burgenland_-_Rathaus_Gemeindeamt_01.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28863" class="wp-caption-text">Rust&#8217;s Town Hall (admit it: you didn&#8217;t expect it to be in such good condition, did you?)</figcaption></figure>
Austria’s smallest statutory city, it received the right to hold a market in 1470, which is very early. (Before that, the citizens of Rust had to drive to the box stores of nearby Eisenstadt.)
Benefiting from its proximity to Lake Neusiedl, Rust prospered due to industries derived from the reeds that grow around the lake, ship building (small, flat-bottomed wooden ships), and wine growing.
Rust became a Free City in 1681, which meant it reported, and paid taxes, only to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Unfortunately, he lived next door in Vienna most of the time, making tax embezzlement a dicier proposition.
Rust also has a medieval town square lined with terraces that&#8217;s worth checking out.
<h2>5. The Wine</h2>
Lake Neusiedl is one of <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/08/23/vines-101-austrian-wine/">Austria’s nine DAC regions</a> (though not its most famous). Although most Austrians prefer German to Latin, DAC stands for Districtus Austriae Controllatus, and is akin to France’s appellation D&#8216;origine Contrôlée or Italy’s Denominazione di Origine Controllata. A mix of international and native Austrian grape varieties are grown.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-28871" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Neuseidler-vienyard.jpg" alt="Neuseidler-vienyard" width="752" height="532" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Neuseidler-vienyard.jpg 800w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Neuseidler-vienyard-424x300.jpg 424w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Neuseidler-vienyard-768x543.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" />
It has been argued that the small but growing international distribution of wines made from the local varietals – Blauer Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, Sankt Laurent, <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/09/04/gruner-veltliner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gruner Veltliner</a>, Neuburger, Zierfandler and Welschriesling – owes to how difficult they become to pronounce and therefore order once you’ve had more than two glasses.
Thus I frequently find myself turning to my friend Peter, the sommelier who accompanies us on the culinary and wine odyssey that is the first night of our <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/trip/danube-biking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Danube Biking</a> trip at the Taubenkobel’s legendary restaurant, who often provides both helpful pointers and another glass.
<h2>6. The Legacy of the Esterhazy Family</h2>
<figure id="attachment_28874" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28874" style="width: 254px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-28874" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/507px-Coa_Hungary_Family_Esterházy.svg_-254x300.png" alt="The Esterhazy coat of arms " width="254" height="300" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/507px-Coa_Hungary_Family_Esterházy.svg_-254x300.png 254w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/507px-Coa_Hungary_Family_Esterházy.svg_.png 507w" sizes="(max-width: 254px) 100vw, 254px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28874" class="wp-caption-text">The Esterhazy coat of arms</figcaption></figure>
Originally minor nobility from what is today Southern Slovakia, the steady accumulation of land and unwavering loyalty to the Habsburgs led to the Esterhazy family amassing unfathomable wealth—and even four hundred years later, it shows.
<h5>A Bit of Esterhazy History</h5>
The twin processes of ennoblement and becoming rich and powerful began under Nikolaus Esterhazy, a 16thC Hungarian nobleman whose conversion to Catholicism and military successes against the Turks and local Protestants caught the eye of the Vienna-based Habsburgs.
When forced to hand over his lordship of Munkacs in 1622, in the wheelings and dealings surrounding the 30 Year War, the Habsburgs rewarded Nikolaus with not one, but two new lordships.
<figure id="attachment_28876" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28876" style="width: 152px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-28876" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Esterházy_pál-152x300.jpg" alt="Paul, the first Esterhazy to earn the title &quot;Prince&quot; " width="152" height="300" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Esterházy_pál-152x300.jpg 152w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Esterházy_pál.jpg 240w" sizes="(max-width: 152px) 100vw, 152px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28876" class="wp-caption-text">Paul, the first Esterhazy to earn the title &#8220;Prince&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
Next in line as the head of the Esterhazy clan was Paul, third son of Nikolaus, whose two older brothers had died fighting the Ottomans. A poet, harpsichordist and composer of both cantatas and religious treaties, the multi-faceted Paul also commanded the troops that raised the Turks’ siege of Vienna in 1683.
The Habsburgs were again quick to show their gratitude for his victory, and soon the title of “Prince” became a hereditary perk of being born an Esterhazy. And so forth and so on.
<h5>740,000 Football Fields</h5>
By the late 18th century, the Esterhazys owned approximately 1,500 square miles of land. That is the equivalent of four billion square metres, or 740,000 football fields. Currently, a square metre of agricultural land around Lake Neusiedl costs 10 Euros, or US$11.40.
As it is always interesting to convert past fortunes into contemporary terms, we can say that at the time of the American Revolution, the Esterhazys owned land that was worth approximately 40 billion Euros. Not bad.
<h5>A Legacy of Luxury</h5>
<figure id="attachment_28878" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28878" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-28878 aligncenter size-full" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1280px-Esterházy-kastély_4051._számú_műemlék_2.jpg" alt="1280px-Esterházy-kastély_(4051._számú_műemlék)_2" width="1280" height="507" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1280px-Esterházy-kastély_4051._számú_műemlék_2.jpg 1280w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1280px-Esterházy-kastély_4051._számú_műemlék_2-480x190.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1280px-Esterházy-kastély_4051._számú_műemlék_2-768x304.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1280px-Esterházy-kastély_4051._számú_műemlék_2-960x380.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28878" class="wp-caption-text">The Esterhazy summer residence in Fertod, referred to as &#8220;the Versailles of Hungary&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
The most visible remains of the Esterhazys are their castles in Eisenstadt, a Baroque jewel that for years was home to their personal composer Joseph Haydn, and the summer residence in Fertod, commonly referred to as the “Versaille of Hungary.”
These enormous and lavishly decorated palaces, complete with ballrooms, opera houses, grand music halls, chapels, stables, manicured gardens and countless wings and rooms, are just 25 miles apart. &#8220;Shall we return to Eisenstadt, dear Galanta? Fertod is so terribly quiet at this time of the week.&#8221;
When whichever reigning head of the Esterhazy family had not temporarily bankrupted themselves with the lavish lifestyle for which their name became synonymous at the Habsburg court in Vienna, they would subject their palaces to never-ending renovations designed to keep them à la mode, often French.
<h2>7. Its Role in Ending the Cold War</h2>
Four months before the Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989, the foreign ministers of Austria and Hungary opened the Iron Curtain in the Austrian village of Klingenbach.
<figure id="attachment_28881" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28881" style="width: 752px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-28881" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Klingenbach.jpg" alt="Klingenbach" width="752" height="350" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Klingenbach.jpg 752w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Klingenbach-480x223.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28881" class="wp-caption-text">Klingenbach</figcaption></figure>
The act would have far-reaching consequences. Soon after, the border crossing at Nickelsdorf was opened by the Hungarian border patrol who had clearly decided to stop doing their job.
Thousands of Eastern Germans who were more or less free to travel within the Eastern Block, poured into Austria to enjoy democracy and wiener schnitzel. These events fueled the civil unrest that led to the official opening of the Berlin Wall.
Biking across this historic crossing today, it&#8217;s impossible not to pause and take a moment to ponder such monumental events.
<h2>8. Bike Paths</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28883" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Danube-Biking-384x300.jpg" alt="Danube-Biking" width="384" height="300" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Danube-Biking-384x300.jpg 384w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Danube-Biking.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />And speaking of biking, in the area surrounding Lake Neusiedl, there are 40 <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2015/10/21/the-8-best-cycling-routes-in-france/">bicycle routes</a> measuring a total of 1,000 kilometres.
For bike-touring wanderers like ourselves, it&#8217;s basically heaven. We’ve chosen what we consider to be the nicest 104 kilometres (62 miles) of them – or 128 kilometres (76 miles) if you opt for the long option – for the second day of our aforementioned Danube Biking trip.
And to answer your question, yes: narrowing it down from 1,000 kilometres to the very best 100 is excellent work if you can find it.

8 Reasons Why You MUST Visit Lake Neusiedl

Insider's Guide to Budapest

<h2>The Buda Castle</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-24656 size-large" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Budai1600-960x600.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Budai1600-960x600.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Budai1600-250x156.jpg 250w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Budai1600-480x300.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Budai1600.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Pictured above, Buda Castle is another symbol of the unified, independent Hungary being the ancient capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. However, it was not the only, not even the first capital. The only Hungarian royal family, the Árpáds didn’t even have a seat here. It was later in the 14th century that the kings of the Angevin house invited to the throne from France moved to Buda. Through the centuries the castle and the palace was ruined and rebuilt many times by different invaders, such as Turks, Habsburgs and Germans. The present-day structure of the palace was established under the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa, during the 18th century. The palace and the castle district became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
<h2>Széchenyi Spa</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-22888 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/800px-Budapest_Széchenyi_Baths_R01.jpg" alt="Budapest Széchenyi Baths" width="800" height="531" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/800px-Budapest_Széchenyi_Baths_R01.jpg 800w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/800px-Budapest_Széchenyi_Baths_R01-320x212.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />
The <a href="http://visitbudapest.travel/activities/budapest-baths/szechenyi-baths/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Széchenyi Medicinal Bath</a> is one of the biggest bath complexes in Europe and it is a great representation of the richness of Budapest, due to geothermal water. The building was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century and replaced the temporary bath facilities set up in the 1860s. The beautiful, modern neo-Baroque bath was the manifestation of the spa culture celebrated by the Hungarian bourgeois, which became wealthy and increasingly influential as the result of the industrial boom in the second half of the 19th century. Originally there were separate sections for men and women, now all the indoor and outdoor are coed.
<h2>Rudas Spa</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="alignright wp-image-22889 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/rudasbath-1.jpg" alt="rudasbath-1" width="170" height="133" />As opposed to the “Bourgeoisie” spa culture of the Széchenyi Bath from the end of the 19th century, the <a title="Rudas Baths" href="http://www.rudasbaths.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rudas Baths</a> or Rudas fürdő represents a different bath tradition in Hungary. It was built by the Turks in 1550 after the occupied Buda, thus establishing the Turkish bath culture in Hungary. This is the westernmost original Turkish bath of Europe. However, it incorporated some of the elements of the local traditions as well; it has more pools than the ones found in Turkey and the massage place was moved from the centre to separate rooms. The main bath area is octagon-shaped, with five pools of different temperatures between 28-42 degrees Celsius. The weekdays are split into men or women-only days, while the weekends are coed.
<h2>Vajdahunyad Castle</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-24659" src="http://stag.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Tukorben752.jpg" alt="Tukorben752" width="752" height="400" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Tukorben752.jpg 752w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Tukorben752-480x255.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" />
Vajdahunyad Castle is another example of the output of the Millennium celebration in 1896. It is mostly a copy of an existing Castle in Transylvania— and it was built in an eclectic style combining features of Romanic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Originally it was built only for the celebration— and it was made of cardboard. However, it was so popular, that they finally rebuilt it of stone.
<h2>Andrássy Street</h2>
By now it should not be a surprise that just like many of the other famous sites of Budapest and most parts of the impressive downtown boulevard, the Andrássy Street was also built for the Millennium. The first attempts for creating a major avenue here were made in the early 1970s, but the majority of the Art-Nouveau mansions were built in the 1890s. Furthermore, the first continental subway was built under Andrássy Street for the Millennium. It was designed after Champs-Élysées, running into Heroes Square, similar to the Concorde Square. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.

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Favourite hotel in the world? 
<a title="Six Sense Ninh Van Bay " href="http://www.sixsenses.com/resorts/ninh-van-bay/destination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Six Sense Ninh Van Bay</a> in Vietnam is a fun one. I love the isolation, using a bike to get around on the property, the personal pools for each bungalow, the personal butlers and the beautiful scenery.
<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-18692 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Christina_1.jpg" alt="Christina Cain" width="320" height="212" />
Favourite restaurant in the world? 
I’m a big fan of the simple, local food spots. One that comes to mind is in Nha Trang, Vietnam. They literally pull up plastic seats and a grill on the sidewalk and cook up the freshest catch right in front of you. It’s the simplest thing sitting on the sidewalk watching the world go by like the locals do, but it’s meals like this that stay in my memory.
Favourite bar/wine bar/watering hole in the world? 
I love little old enotecas (wine bars). One of my favourites is in Le Marche and is run by the local Sommelier association. It’s like stepping into a library of wine from the region. I also love the small old-style ones you find in the south of Italy where you can sit outside on the piazza and enjoy a glass of wine and people-watch.
Favourite bottle of wine? 
Depends on the season. When it’s cold outside, I love a good <a title="Vines 101: Piemonte Wine " href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/03/25/vines-101-piemonte-wine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbaresco from Piemonte </a>. In the summer, I love a crisp white from the Südtirol and Alto Adige region in northern Italy, or a Rosato from the Salento in Puglia.
Do you have a favourite travel quote, mantra or words to live by? 
&#8220;Go with the flow&#8221; is the first. Be open, invite conversation, notice things.
Someone has just landed in a country they’ve never been to, where they don’t speak the language. What’s your number one piece of advice for them? 
Enjoy, turn off your cell phone, live in the moment.
And finally, what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen or done while on a trip? 
Ah man, you can’t ask that! You know the golden rule: what happens on a trip stays on trip. (Ed. Note: <a title="Tom Abraham" href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/09/26/experts-insiders-tom-abraham/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I get that a lot</a>, but I keep asking. Tough crowd, these guides turned Trip Designers.)

Experts + Insiders: Christina Cain

Eat &amp; Drink

Vines &amp; Wines

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Vines 101

Wine Regions

<h5>Riesling</h5>
Elegant aroma, racy with fine nuances 
The noble riesling is grown in many of Austria’s top vineyards, mainly in the Wachau, but also in the Kamptal. Some of the world’s best riesling wines are from these areas. The riesling exudes a rather charming bouquet that hints of peaches, apricots and citrus fruit. Its acidity contributes to a racy wine with generous length. Because it develops well, the riesling is ideal for aging; the rare Spätlese and Auslese, and the “smaragd” wines of the Wachau, are prime examples.
<h5>(Blauer) Zweigelt</h5>
Cherry notes, smooth and velvety 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-14616" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Zweigelt_cropped_sized.jpg" alt="Zweigelt, an Austrian Wine" width="625" height="207" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Zweigelt_cropped_sized.jpg 625w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Zweigelt_cropped_sized-320x105.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" />This grape takes its name from Professor Zweigelt, who successfully crossed the blaufränkisch with the St. Laurent. His result, the Zweigelt, produces a wine with a bouquet that is distinctively fruity when young, and more delicate and harmonious when mature. Its spectrum is vast; from a light table wine enjoyed young, to a full-bodied wine lovingly aged. Because the sturdy Zweigelt vine produces excellent results throughout Austria’s red wine areas, the variety is seen as the hope of the country’s red wine production.

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