Here is the latest chapter in our ongoing Wine Internship Program! Thanks to our generous Tokaj Sister City supporters, we were able to send Kevin Valencia, a Santa Rosa Junior College student, to Tokaj Hungary for the crush. Kevin displayed such enthusiasm for Hungarian wines and an opportunity to work in Hungary that we could not resist selecting him for the internship. Kevin did a stint at San Jose State University in the Electrical Engineering Department but coming back to Sonoma County he realized that was not for him. He then did a winery internship at the prestigious Vérité Winery, a small winery in Healdsburg, part of the Jackson Family of Wines. There he had an opportunity to work on every aspect of winemaking during the harvest.
Kevin arrived in Budapest on August 29 and was immediately driven to Tokaj – must have been a grueling trip – the many hours on the plane and then a two and a half hour drive to Tokaj, but then when you’re young and on to a new adventure, what does it matter!!
The crush was in full swing in Tokaj when Kevin arrived. Kevin worked at the Hétszölö Winery with Gergely Makai, Winemaker and CEO, and told us that he learned much from Gergely. He also attended the Budapest Wine Festival at the Buda Castle where he had an opportunity to taste wines from all regions of Hungary.
Kevin wrote “I’ve read about Tokaj as a fan of the wine region, but experiencing and living it gives me an even better understanding of why this place is so special. I’m loving Tokaj!!!”
Kevin with Hetszolo cellar workers among the top vineyard rows at the Winery.
