The real milestone in the shift of Sziget towards a more civilised event (and this is a double-edge sword) to me was the opening of Ászár-Neszmély’s prominent Hilltop winery’s booth a few years ago. Strategically located just 1 minute from the main stage so you can run to it during an act for refuelling, the booth’s relatively calm and shadowy atmoshpere made it an ideal spot for longer stays as well, especially for drinking and hipster-spotting – one of my favorite pass-times on Sziget. Hilltop’s price policy on the festival makes them very attractive to me, they’re by far the fairest gang on the island. 

Near the World Music main stage area I ran into a surprisingly empty stand of various wines also fairly priced and I went for Royal Tokaji Furmint 2007. Drinking from a plastic cup, I found it smoky and barrel-dominated on the nose but fairly fruity (however very Furmint-like) and rounded, interesting enough for a wine which cost you HUF 2 500 or so a bottle on a festival so I decided I’ll buy a bottle and write a proper review of it later.

This year’s big hit however is Pálinka – and Rézangyal dominated the scene. Their success lies mostly in their artificially flavored, wide offering, many of them mixed with honey which I simply don’t understand. Today, Pálinka is chic again among urban youngsters and middle-aged middle class people but I’m afraid that moving away from the current trend of flavored pálinkas will take just as much time as it took to get here.