Tokaji
Encyclopedia
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja is a historical wine region located in southeastern Slovakia and northeastern Hungary. Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region....
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. The name Tokaji (which is of Protected Designation of Origin
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
) is used for labeling wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s from this wine district. This region is noted for its sweet wines
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
made from grapes affected by noble rot
Noble rot
Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...
, a style of wine which has a long history in this region. Tokaj is mentioned in the national anthem of Hungary.
Since 2007, only authorised wine producers from the Hungarian wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja is a historical wine region located in southeastern Slovakia and northeastern Hungary. Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region....
are permitted to use the Tokaj brand name.
The Slovak wine
Slovak wine
Slovak wine is produced in the southern part of Slovakia, which is divided into 6 wine-producing areas.Although Slovak wines except Tokaj are not well known internationally, they are popular domestically and in neighbouring countries.-Regions:...
region of Tokaj
Tokaj (region in Slovakia)
Tokajské víno wine is produced in Tokaj, a wine region in Slovakia which comprises seven communities and 565 hectares of vineyards. This region was originally the northern part of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region in the Kingdom of Hungary....
may use the Tokajský/-á/-é label ("of Tokaj" in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) if they apply the Hungarian quality control regulation. This area used to be part of the greater Tokaj-Hegyalja region within the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, but was separated from the Hungarian state after the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
.
Cultivation
- FurmintFurmintFurmint is a variety of wine grape from the Pontian Balcanica branch of Vitis vinifera, used for white wines. The name Furmint is taken from the word "froment" for the wheat-gold color of the wine it produces. While it is possible that it the grape is native to Hungary, the grape was likely...
- HárslevelűHársleveluHárslevelű , also called Lipovina , Frunza de tei , Lindenblättriger and Feuille de Tilleul is a grape variety from the Pontian Balcanica branch of Vitis vinifera.The name refers to the "lime leaf" in each of these languages...
- Yellow MuscatMuscat Blanc à Petits GrainsMuscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters...
(Hungarian: Sárgamuskotály)
- ZétaZétaZéta is a Hungarian wine grape, a crossing of Furmint and Bouvier. It was introduced to the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region of Hungary in 1951 and authorized for production in 1990. Previously known as Oremus, its name was changed to Zéta in 1999...
(previously called Oremus - a cross of Furmint and BouvierBouvier (grape)Bouvier is a white wine grape and table grape planted primarily in Central Europe-most notably Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia where it is also known as Ranina....
grapes)
- KövérszőlőKövérszoloKövérszőlő is a variety of grape indigenous to the Transylvania wine region, but is also grown in Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region of Hungary. The variety almost entirely disappeared from Tokaj after the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century. Kövérszõlõ is characterized by its relatively large big...
- KabarKabar (grape)Kabar, also known as Tarcal 10, is a crossing of Hárslevelű and Bouvier and was authorised for production in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region of Hungary in 2006. With a relatively low yield, it ripens early, produces high sugar and is prone to botrytis. Due to its thick skin, it is fairly resistant to...
(a cross of Hárslevelű and BouvierBouvier (grape)Bouvier is a white wine grape and table grape planted primarily in Central Europe-most notably Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia where it is also known as Ranina....
grapes)
Furmint accounts for 60% of the area and is by far the most important grape in the production of Aszú wines. Hárslevelű stands for further 30%. Nevertheless, an impressive range of different types and styles of wines are produced in the region, ranging from dry whites to the Eszencia, the world's sweetest wine.
The area where Tokaji wine is traditionally grown is a small plateau, 457 m (1500 ft) above sea level, near the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
. The soil is of volcanic origin, with high concentrations of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
. The location of the region has a unique climate, beneficial to this particular viniculture, due to the protection of the nearby mountains. Winters are bitterly cold and windy; spring tends to be cool and dry, and summers are noticeably hot. Usually, autumn brings rain early on, followed by an extended Indian summer
Indian summer
An Indian summer is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost...
, allowing a very long ripening period.
The Furmint grapes begin maturation with a thick skins, but as they ripen the skins become thinner, and transparent. This allows the sun to penetrate the grape and evaporate much of the liquid inside, producing a higher concentration of sugar. Other types of grapes mature to the point of bursting, however, unlike most other grapes, Furmint will grow a second skin which seals it from rot. This also has the effect of concentrating the grape's natural sugars. The grapes are left on the vine long enough to develop the "noble rot
Noble rot
Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...
" (Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...
) mold. Grapes then are harvested, sometimes as late as December (and in the case of true Eszencia, occasionally into January).
Typical yearly production in the region runs to a relatively small 10,028,000 liters (2,650,000 gallons).
Types of Tokaji wine
- Dry Wines: These wines, once referred to as common, ordinárium, are now named after their respective grape varieties: Tokaji Furmint, Tokaji Hárslevelű, Tokaji Sárgamuskotály and Tokaji Kövérszőlő.
- Szamorodni: This type of wine was initially known as főbor (prime wine), but from the 1820s Polish merchants popularised the name samorodny, (The word stems from Slovak, Prekmurian Slovene, and Kajkavian Croatian languages, which used to be spoken before the hungarization of the Pannonian Basin. The word is an adjective and means "self-grown", "the way it was grown", or "made by itself"). What sets Szamorodni apart from ordinary wines is that it is made from bunches of grapes which contain a high proportion of botrytisedBotrytis cinereaBotrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...
grapes. Szamorodni is typically higher in alcohol than ordinary wine. Szamorodni often contains up to 100-120 g of residual sugar and thus is termed édes (sweet). However, when the bunches contain less botrytised grapes, the residual sugar content is much lower, resulting in a száraz (dry) wine. Its alcohol content is typically 14%.
- Aszú: This is the world-famous wine that is proudly cited in the Hungarian national anthemHimnusz"Himnusz" is a song beginning with the words Isten, áldd meg a magyart that's a musical poetic prayer that serves as the official national anthem of Hungary. True to its title, Himnusz presents a more solemn and dignified tone than many other lively national anthems...
. It is the sweet, topaz-colored wine that was formerly known throughout the English-speaking world as Tokay.
The original meaning of the Hungarian word aszú was "dried", but the term aszú came to be associated with the type of wine made with botrytisedBotrytis cinereaBotrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...
(i.e. "nobly" rottenNoble rotNoble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...
) grapes. The process of making Aszú wine is as follows.- Aszú berries are individually picked, then collected in huge vats and trampled into the consistency of paste (known as aszú dough).
- MustMustMust is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
or wine is poured on the aszú dough and left for 24–48 hours, stirred occasionally. - The wine is racked off into wooden casks or vats where fermentation is completed and the aszú wine is to mature. The casks are stored in a cool environment, and are not tightly closed, so a slow fermentation process continues in the cask, usually for several years.
- The concentration of aszú was traditionally defined by the number of puttony of dough added to a Gönc cask (136 liter barrel) of must. Nowadays the puttony number is based on the content of sugar and sugar-free extract in the mature wine. Aszú ranges from 3 puttonyosPuttonyosPuttonyos is the name given to denote the level of sugar and hence the sweetness of Hungarian dessert wine, called Tokaji . It is traditionally measured by the number of hods of sweet botrytised or nobly rotted grapes added to a barrel of wine, but is now measured in grams of residual sugar...
to 6 puttonyos, with a further category called Aszú-Eszencia representing wines above 6 puttonyos. Unlike most other wines, alcohol content of aszú typically runs higher than 14%. Annual production of aszú is less than one percent of the region's total output.- Eszencia: Also called nectar, this is often described as one of the most exclusive wines in the world, although technically it cannot even be called a wine because its enormous concentration of sugar means that its alcohol level never rises above 5-6 degrees. Eszencia is the juice of aszú berries which runs off naturally from the vats in which they are collected during harvesting. The sugar concentration of eszencia is typically between 500 g and 700 g per litre, although the year 2000 vintage produced eszencia exceeding 900 g per litre. Eszencia is traditionally added to aszú wines, but may be allowed to ferment (a process that takes at least 4 years to complete) and then bottled pure. The resulting wine has a concentration and intensity of flavour that is unequalled, but is so sweet that it can only be drunk in small quantities. Storage of Eszencia is facilitated by the fact that, unlike virtually all other wines, it maintains its quality and drinkability for 200 years or more.
- Fordítás: (meaning "turning over" in Hungarian), wine made by pouring must on the aszú dough which has already been used to make aszú wine.
- Máslás: (derived from the word "copy" in Hungarian), wine made by pouring must on the lees of aszú.
- Other sweet wines: In the past few years reductive sweet wines have begun to appear in Tokaj. These are ready for release in a year to 18 months after harvest. They typically contain 50-180 g/l of residual sugar and a ratio of botrytised berries comparable to Aszú wines. They are usually labelled as késői szüretelésű (late harvestLate harvest wineLate harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...
) wines. Innovative producers have also marketed tokaji wine that does not fit the appellation laws of the above categories but is often of high quality and price, and in many ways comparable to aszú. These wines are often labelled as tokaji cuvée.
In 1999, Chateau Pajzos became the first winery to produce a Tokaji ice wine
Ice wine
Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape must to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more...
.
History
It is not known for how long vinesVitis
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
have been grown on the volcanic soil of the fork of the rivers Bodrog
Bodrog
The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplin in eastern Slovakia...
and Hernád. This predates the settlement of the Magyar tribes to the region. According to legend, the first aszú was made by Laczkó Máté Szepsi in 1630. However, mention of wine made from aszú grapes had already appeared in the Nomenklatura of Fabricius Balázs Sziksai which was completed in 1576. A recently discovered inventory of aszú predates this reference by five years.
Tokaji wine became the subject of the world's first appellation control
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
, established several decades before Port wine
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
, and over 120 years before the classification of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. Vineyard classification began in 1730 with vineyards being classified into 3 categories depending on the soil, sun exposure and potential to develop noble rot, botrytis cinerea, first class, second class and third class wines. A royal decree in 1757 established a closed production district in Tokaj. The classification system was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772.
In 1920, following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a small part of the Tokaj wine region (approx. 1.75 km²) became part of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
due to the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
, while the rest remained part of Hungary. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when Hungary became a Soviet-influenced state, Tokaji production continued with as many as 6,000 small producers, but the bottling and distribution were monopolized by the state-owned organization.
Since the collapse of the communist regimes in 1990, a number of independent wineries have been established in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region. A state-owned producer continues to exist and handles approximately 20% of the overall production.
Famous consumers of Tokaji
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
some Tokaji wine from his Tokaj estate as a gift. The Tokaji wine was served at the French Royal court at Versailles, where it became known as Tokay. Delighted with the precious beverage, Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
offered a glass of Tokaji to Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
, referring to it as "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" ("Wine of Kings, King of Wines"). This famous line is used to this day in the marketing of Tokaji wines.
Emperor Franz Josef
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
(who was also King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
) had a tradition of sending Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
Tokaji Aszú wine, as a gift, every year on her birthday, one bottle for every month she had lived, twelve for each year. On her eighty-first and final birthday (1900), this totaled an impressive 972 bottles.
Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Friedrich von Schiller, Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
, Johann Strauß, and Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
.
The composer Joseph Haydn's favorite wine was Tokaji. Besides Louis XIV, several other European monarchs are known to have been keen consumers of the wine. Louis XV and Frederick the Great tried to outdo one another when they treated guests such as Voltaire with Tokaji. Napoleon III
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
, the last Emperor of the French, ordered 30–40 barrels of Tokaji at the French Royal Court every year. Pope Pius IV. (1499–1565) at the Council of Trient in 1562, exclaimed: Summum pontificem talia vina decent! (This is the type of wine that should be on the papal table). Gustav III
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
, King of Sweden, loved Tokaji - it has been said he never had any other wine to drink. In Russia, customers included Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
and Empress Elizabeth of Russia. A newspaper account of the 1933 wedding of Polish president Ignacy Mościcki
Ignacy Moscicki
Ignacy Mościcki was a Polish chemist, politician, and President of Poland . He was the longest-serving President of Poland .-Life:...
notes that toasts were made with 250-year-old wines, and goes on to say "The wine, if good, could only have been Essence of Tokay, and the centuries-old friendship between Poland and Hungary would seem to support this conclusion."
It was consumed by Adolf Hitler, his bride Eva Braun and others celebrating their marriage in the bunker shortly before their deaths.
Other uses of the Tokaji appellation
Tokaji wines have been famous for a long time, which has resulted in their name being “adopted” by other wines:- Historically Tokaji was a white wine from the region of TokajTokaj-HegyaljaTokaj-Hegyalja is a historical wine region located in southeastern Slovakia and northeastern Hungary. Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region....
in the Kingdom of HungaryKingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
. Tokaji wine was mentioned as early as 1635 with reference to the sweet dessert aszú (botrytised) wine. Prior to the phylloxeraPhylloxeraGrape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
epidemic in the 1880s, wine was grown in Tokaj from various types of mainly white grape varieties. In English and French the spelling TokayTokayTokay may refer to:* Tokaji wine , wines produced in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region of Hungary* Tokaj , wine region in South-Eastern Slovakia and wines produced in that region.* Grape varieties:...
was commonly used. - Under Hungary's and Slovakia's accession treaty to the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and an earlier 1993 agreement, the Tokaj name (including other forms of spelling) has been given Protected Designation of OriginProtected designation of originProtected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
status. From March 2007, wine producers in France and Italy have no longer been allowed to use the Tokay or Tocai name for their wines, which were made from two unrelated varieties.- The name Tokay came to be used in the AlsaceAlsace wineAlsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white. These wines, which for historical reasons have a strong Germanic influence, are produced under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées : Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand...
region of France for wines made with the Pinot GrisPinot GrisPinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...
grape, typically as Tokay d'Alsace. Following the 1993 agreement, the name Tokay Pinot Gris was adopted as an intermediate step, and by 2007 the use of the Tokay part was no longer allowed nor used. Many Alsace producers switched to the name Pinot Gris several years before the deadline.
- The name Tokay came to be used in the Alsace
- In ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
the name Tocai came to refer to the grape Sauvignon VertSauvignon vertSauvignon vert is a white wine grape of the species Vitis vinifera. It is widely planted in Chile where it was historically mistaken for Sauvignon blanc...
from the Friuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
region, under the designation Tocai Friulano. This designation was to have been phased out by 2007, with the same timeline as for Tokay d'Alsace. However, Italy failed to implement a new name in time, so currently its use will end by EU mandate in 2010. - In SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, the EU prohibition of the historical name tokaj for the traditional wine of Goriška Brda and VipavaVipava ValleyThe Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...
regions and its replacement with SauvignonasseSauvignon vertSauvignon vert is a white wine grape of the species Vitis vinifera. It is widely planted in Chile where it was historically mistaken for Sauvignon blanc...
led to great confusion among consumers. - There has also been a long-running dispute between Hungary and SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
over the right to use the name Tokaj. Negotiations between the two governments resulted in an agreement being signed in June 2004. Under this agreement, wine produced on 5.65 km² of land in Slovakia is allowed to use the Tokajský/-á/-é label. However, a number of practical issues remain. Slovakia has pledged to introduce the same standards enshrined in Hungarian wine laws since 1990, but it has not yet been decided who will monitor or enforce those laws. - Non-EU nations, notably UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, produce liqueurs or dessert wines which they label "Tokay". The wines from Australia are produced in RutherglenRutherglen, VictoriaRutherglen is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, near the Murray River border with New South Wales. The town was named after the Scottish town of Rutherglen which lies just outside Glasgow...
, and have little resemblance with the grapes or the processes of Hungarian Tokaji. The wines from Ukraine are generally produced in TranscarpathiaZakarpattia OblastThe Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
, a neighboring region which was part of the Tokaji region under Austro-Hungarian rule. This wine is made from similar cultivars is bottled in similar 500 ml bottles, but does not necessarily adhere to the same standards; this issue is being negotiated.
In popular culture
- in Terry Gilliam's film The Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 British adventure comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams.-Plot:...
, the Baron and the Sultan make a wager over whether the Baron can obtain, from "the imperial cellars at Vienna," a bottle of Tokaji superior to that proffered by the Sultan.
- In Philip PullmanPhilip PullmanPhilip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
's The Golden CompassNorthern Lights (novel)Northern Lights, known as The Golden Compass in North America, is the first novel in English novelist Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy...
, there is an attempted poisoning by the Master of Jordan College (the novel) or an official of the Magisterium (the film) of one of the major characters, Lord AsrielLord AsrielLord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series and one of the main protagonists of Northern Lights.Asriel is a member of the English aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church...
, via a decanterDecanterA decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid which may contain sediment. Decanters are normally used as serving vessels for wine. Decanters vary in shape and design. They are usually made of an inert material and will hold at least one standard bottle of wine...
of Tokaji in the first chapter. Tokaji is said to be Lord Asriel's favorite wine.
- Sniffing the aromatic essence of Tokaji, as well as its sympathetic effect upon being imbibed, serves as an important and amusing plot device in the 2008 film Dean SpanleyDean SpanleyDean Spanley is a 2008 New Zealand and British comedy-drama film, with fantastic elements, from Miramax Films, Atlantic Film Group and General Film Corporation , directed by Fijian New Zealander Toa Fraser...
.
- In Traveller (role-playing game)Traveller (role-playing game)Traveller is a series of related science fiction role-playing games, the first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop and subsequent editions by various companies remaining in print to this day. The game was inspired from such classic science fiction stories as the Dumarest saga series by...
, Tokaji Essencia has been reserved for private use of the Imperial family, with black-market prices reaching 1 million credits per bottle.
- Tokaji is referred to in Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
's The Letter of Marque shared between Stephen Maturin and Sir Joseph BlaineRecurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin seriesThis is a list of recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. References to page numbers, where they appear, are based upon the W. W. Norton & Company printing of the novels.-Main characters and their families:...
.
- A 'Tokay Blanket' was a term HoboHoboA hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...
s used (up to the 1940s) in reference to drinking alcohol to stay warm.
- In Gaston LerouxGaston LerouxGaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera , which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starring Lon...
's The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the OperaLe Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
, Tokay is the wine of choice that Erik serves to Christine when they have lunch the day after the night he first abducts her. He proudly tells her that he got the wine himself from the Koenisgberg cellars. The Tokay mention is in the chapter "Apollo's Lyre."
See also
- http://tokajwine.net Wine Encyclopedia and Review of over 2000 wines from Tokaj, by László Alkonyi
- Tokaj (Slovakia)
- Sweetness of wineSweetness of wineThe subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...
- VINES.ORG Encyclopedia
- National symbols of HungaryNational symbols of HungaryThe national symbols of Hungary are flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Hungary or Hungarian culture...
Further reading
- Alkonyi, Laszló. Tokaj - The Wine of Freedom, Budapest, 2000
- Grossman, Harold J. & Lembeck, Harriet. Grossman's Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits (6th edition). Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1977, p. 172-4. ISBN 0-684-15033-6
- Terra Benedicta - Tokaj and Beyond (Gábor Rohály, Gabriella Mészáros, András Nagymarosy, Budapest 2003) Tim Atkin, MW. masters-of-wine.org
External links
- Tokajwine.net - Wine Encyclopedia and Review of over 2000 wines from Tokaj, by Alkonyi László
- Tokaj Renaissance - Union of the Classified Vineyards of Tokaj
- Tokaji.com - A gallery of Tokaj related pictures
- American Friends of the Tokaj Renaissance - English language resource for information about Tokaji wine, including vintage charts
- HungarianWineSociety.com - Tokaji wines produced at the Hétszölö Estate, including Forditás and Aszú, can be shipped direct to US addresses.