Tokay wine: history, production features, overview of types, how and what to drink + how to distinguish a fake

Tokaj white dessert wine is produced in the Republic of Hungary and is named after the region of production, which is located between two rivers: Bodrog and Tisza.

The wine stands out for its uniqueness and originality. There was a time when it was one of the most important products in the world and brought a lot of money to the country of origin. It was favored by the monarchy, including the Russian emperors and kings of France, among the famous personalities we can safely distinguish the German writers Goethe and Voltaire...

The history of Tokay wine

According to legend, the first Tokaji Aszu drink was made from moldy vines in the middle of the XVII century by a princely priest.

Someone thinks it was an accident. The region was attacked by the Turks, and the inhabitants did not have time to harvest the grapes in time, so they became overripe, covered with the fungus Botrytis cinerea and withered...

Some say that the berries were left to overripe on purpose. The fungus does not spoil the harvest, it takes away moisture, drying out the fruit, which leads to a 40-60% sugar concentration. This is how you get the special smell of saffron with hints of ginger.

Around the same period of time, wine cellars began to be built in tuff rocks, which were not found anywhere else. The vaults of the narrow tunnels that went deep into the ground were overgrown with a huge amount of mold, and without fungus there is no legendary wine.

Regardless of the true history of its origin, by the end of the seventeenth century, the whole world knew about Tokaj. When Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi in 1703. looking for allies, he treated the monarchs of Europe with the sweetest wine, thus appeasing them.

As for the Russian Empire, our rulers had a special detachment in the region, composed of Cossacks, which was to accompany the most valuable cargo on its way to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

What do champagne and Tokay wine have in common?

We all know that champagne can only be called a drink from the Champagne region, but not everyone knows that it was not the first to become popular in the world. The Hungarians were the first to delimit the wine region, and its name was Tokaj-Hedgyalja.

No one knew a wine better and sweeter than Hungarian wine, there were only attempts to repeat the original. This was the reason why in 1737 the vineyards were divided into four groups:

1. Exceptional class

   This included three plots. The status was as high as that of the Chateau d'Ikem sauternes.

2. First class

   Included seventy-six vineyards.

3. Second class

   Included fifty-nine vineyards.

4. Third class

   Included thirty vineyards.

20 years later, in 1757, the king issued a decree to assign the name Tokaji to a limited production area.

In the XX century, after the end of the First World War, the times were not good for Tokaj manufacturers. In 1920, the region was divided between Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

In the year of the end of World War II, communism began to rule in Hungary. Those who followed his ideas did not care much about the oldest winemaking traditions and their preservation.

In November 1989. A series of peaceful protests, called the Velvet Revolution, took place in Czechoslovakia, the communist regime was overthrown, and the business of Tokaj wine went uphill.

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Peculiarities of Tokaj wine production

Only six types of local grapes are officially allowed to be used in the wine production process:

1. The main and most popular is furmint, which occupies more than half of the territory. This variety has increased pungency, acidity and a tendency to mold.

2. The second place is rightfully occupied by the Herschellewel, a third of the land is given to it. It is sweeter and has a brighter flavor.

3. The remaining 10% includes four varieties that are never used as the main ingredient. They are used as an addition for a more multifaceted flavor. This includes zeta, köwersel, kabar and yellow nutmeg.

Procurement of raw materials

Berries with mold are called "asu". First of all, they are collected in baskets called puttoni, made of wood materials. There they lie, pressing on each other and oozing highly concentrated nectar for several days. This nectar is called essence.

To get from 0.2 to 0.6 liters of nectar, you need to collect a basket weighing a quarter of a centner. Sugar concentration varies from 450 to 900 g/l.

Production of Tokaj wine

After the required time has elapsed, the prepared berries are gently ground to a sugar paste without a single lump. It is put into barrels with must or wine from the summer harvest (basic wine), made from grapes untouched by fungus.

As a rule, Herschellewel and Furmint are used in production together. If necessary, it can be diluted with cabar or any other type of the four allowed.

The resulting liquid needs constant stirring, it is infused for 1-2 days on grated moldy berries. Then it is bottled in barrels made of oak from the same region. They are not filled to the brim so that the drink ferments with the microflora of the cellars, oxidizes and becomes a real Tokay wine.

Wine ferments in cellars for 3 to 8 years.

The cellars are kept at an ideal level of humidity and temperature of about 10-12 °C. The length of the cellars reaches 40 km. The mold layer is very thick there. It is soft to the touch, has a gray color that turns into graphite. If you touch it, your hand will fall inside. The wine stored there evaporates from the barrels, which creates food for the fungus and a special microclimate.

Types of Tokaj wines

1. Aszú

   Classic Tokaj wine. In Hungarian, this word means "dry", but the bright yellow drink has an inherent sweetness.

   To make it, the grapes must be harvested in several stages. Base wine is made first. It is used for the August and September harvest. In the last month of autumn, the dried berries are picked for the second time in shoulder poultices.

   This is where the classic production process is applied, when grape paste is mixed with base wine and left to infuse in barrels for several years.

   The more puttons used, the sweeter the wine, usually the number of baskets in a barrel is from 3 to 6.

   If there are more than 6 puttons, the output is Asu Essence. Alcohol in Asu wines is usually at least 14%.

2. Eszencia

   The wine is an oily golden-colored liquid. The taste reveals a complex tangerine and fruit bouquet. You can recognize ginger, cinnamon, clove, and candied fruit hues.

   Since the drink contains more berries than the classic one, it is often called nectar. Formally, it is not really a wine, because due to the huge amount of sugar (500-700 g/l) it is impossible to bring the alcohol content beyond 5-6°, but among wines Essence is considered exclusive.

   It is periodically added to Aszu wines, and sometimes given a chance to become a separate drink, and left in barrels for about 4 years and put on the market. The method of low fermentation is used.

   This type of wine has such a high sugar concentration that it is drunk only in small sips, but it is perfectly preserved and stored for up to II centuries, retaining its original properties.

3. Szamorodni

   The first name was főbor ("first wine"). In 1820, the drink was renamed Samorodny.

   The wine is sweet, made from berries with a lot of mold on them. Most often, the alcohol concentration reaches 14°, which is slightly higher than that of similar.

   Berries for it are harvested in late autumn, when they are already properly jammed. Base wine is added to the mass of crushed grapes and the resulting mixture is sent to be blended in barrels.

4. Fordítás

   To make Forditash, crushed Asu grapes are poured with untreated berry juice, or must. The second one was previously used in production.

5. Máslás

   If you pour untreated grape juice over the yeast sediment of Asa and leave it to ferment for 1.5 months, you will get Mashlash.

6. Ice wine

   The main difference in the manufacturing method is clear from the name. The berries need to be frozen before this drink can be produced. Production began in 1999.

7. Dry wine

   Appeared among the last. The type objectively differs from classic Tokaji sweet wines in its taste: its bouquet reveals mineral notes.

   According to professionals, this taste is as complex as the taste of drinks from Burgundy. Previously, dry wines from Tokay were called ordinary wines, but now they are called differently depending on the grape variety: Tokay Harshevel, Furmint, etc. д.

How and what to drink Tokaj wine with

This drink is usually served in neat dessert wine glasses.

The temperature can be either room temperature or around 11-14 °C.

The classic appetizer for Tokay is foie gras and expensive varieties of cream cheese, such as Roquefort, Brie, Boursin, snofrisk, etc. д. If not, nuts, fruits, sweet desserts and even fish will do. The essence is usually drunk without additives.

The wine is easy to drink, because such an amount of sugar is neutralized by the natural Furmint acid.

How to distinguish original Tokay wine from a fake

1. Real wine is crystal clear and has a rich color.

2. The design should be perfect from the lid to the label. Blurred letters or crooked printing should alert you.

3. Pay attention to the barcode on the bottle, it should start with 599 (Hungarian code).

Interesting facts

1. In the Middle Ages, Tokay wine was called the king of wines and the wine of kings because it was popular at court.

2. The drink is of such value to the Hungarian nation that it is mentioned in the anthem of the Republic of Hungary.

3. The barrel in which the drink matures is called gons. Its volume is 136 liters and is the same as the putton, which can hold 25 kg.

4. Since 2007. The European Union has officially assigned the name Tokaji to the Tokaj-Hegyalja region.

5. The wine is not made annually, its production depends on the quality of a single harvest.

Update: 13.03.2020

Category: Wine and Vermouth