In 2014 the Sonoma Sister Cities Tokaj Committee sent two students from Santa Rosa Junior Collete to Tokaj for a five-week study tour of the wine regions of Hungary.  Our Sister City members in Tokaj, especially Hajni Pracser (a winemaker herself in Tokaj) put together the program calling on her vintner friends throughout Hungary to help.  One of the students, Ramsay Payton, offered the following comments about his experience, which were read out loud at our Five-Year Anniversary event at Buena Vista Winery in September, 2017:

“While Sitting in professor Paul’s class at Santa Rosa Junior college, I heard him talk about the opportunity to go to Hungary and work with several different wineries and learn about the culture of Hungary and their history in winemaking. I knew very little about Hungary or the wines made there. I had heard of bulls blood of Eger and of the dessert wine made in Tokaj, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I thought about how awesome it would be to go but didn’t think I could do it. After hearing him talk about it again in the following classes I decided to throw my name in for consideration.

I could not be more happy that I made the leap and was accepted.

It truly was a life-changing experience for me. On one of the first nights in Budapest we went to the Buda castle for the Budapest wine festival- I was totally blown away. The setting alone is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Overlooking Budapest I tasted some of the greatest wines I have ever had. And I did have tears in my eyes for a couple of bottles that were brought out for us especially. The winemakers that were part of the program could not have been more friendly and welcoming to myself and Seth.

Our travels took us to Somlo, an amazing and tiny wine region that sits on an ancient volcano. To Badacsony a beautiful region overlooking the shores of lake Balaton. To Villany, in the south that is part of Hungary’s wine road and finally to the crown jewel of Hungarian wine, Tokaj.

Tokaj is an absolutely beautiful town. Well deserved of its spot as a world heritage site. Seth and I worked at some of the best wineries and vineyards in the entire world. Picking grapes one by one for the famed tokaji aszu side by side with local townspeople, some grandmothers, as old as 80. The winemakers there were unlike any I had met before. So passionate about Tokaj and the surrounding regions. The wines were stunning. Sweet and dry, all of them could compete or beat any wine made in France, Germany, Austria or the US. Furmint quickly became my favorite dry white wine from anywhere in the world. We tasted a vast array of wines from vintages as far back as 1947! Every person we met in the industry was truly inspirational.

Once I returned to the states the inspiration was still burning inside me and I knew it was time that I made my own wine. In 2015 I made 2 tons of Syrah. Everyone here tried to give me advice and tell me what to do but I wanted to do it my way. Unrelenting like the winemakers in Hungary. They never took the easy way out to get the job done quicker. They want to make the best wine possible and I thank them for that. It is still in barrel, however economically unfeasible it is, still working its magic.

Without the opportunity given to me by the Sonoma/Tokaj Sister city association I do not think I would be where I am today in the world of wine. The inspiration and experience I gained from everyone involved truly left a lasting impression with me and I could not be more thankful. Please continue to support the association and this program. It is an amazing and life changing experience.

Thank you for your time-

Sincerely,

Ramsay Payton”

June 2014 – Preparing the Dinner for the SRJC Interns (L-R: Sylvia Toth, Ramsay Payton, Ganesan Srinivasan, Joan Toth)