Tokaji

Tokaji or Tokajský/-á/-é wines are named after the historical wine region of Tokaj situated largely in present-day Hungary and a small portion in present-day Slovakia.

They are also called Tokay in English, but strictly speaking, this is not the official trademark for wines from this region.

Types of Tokaji Wine

• Dry Wines: It is often overlooked that the Tokaj wine region produces excellent dry wines. These wines, once referred to as ordinárium, are now named after their respective grape varieties: Tokaji Furmint, Tokaji Hárslevelu;, Tokaji Sárgamuskotály (Yellow Muscat).
• Szamorodni: This type of wine was initially known as fõbor ("prime wine"), but since the 19th century the Polish word szamorodni ("the way it was grown") has been used. What sets Szamorodni apart from ordinary wine is that it is made from bunches which contain a considerable proportion of botrytised grapes. Because of this, szamorodni is typically higher in alcohol and extract than ordinary wine. szamorodni often contains up to 100-120g of residual sugar and thus is termed édes("sweet"). However when the bunches contain fewer botrytised grapes the residual sugar content is much lower resulting in a száraz ("dry") wine.
• Aszú: This is the wine which is made Tokaj world famous and is proudly cited in the Hungarian national anthem. The original meaning of the Hungarian word aszú was "dried", but it came to be associated with a type of wine made with botrytised (ie dried) grapes. 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 Balász Sziksai which was completed in 1576. A recently discovered inventory of aszú predates this reference by five years. The process of making Aszú wine is as follows:
  • Aszú berries are individually picked out of the bunches, collected in huge vats and trampled into the consistency of paste (known as aszú dough).
  • Must is poured on the aszú dough and left for 24-48 hours.
  • After the aszú dough has soaked, the wine is racked off into wooden casks or vates where fermentation in completed and the aszú wine will be kept to mature

The concentration of aszú was traditionally defined by the number of puttony ("hods") of dough added to a Gönc cask (136l 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 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos, with a further category called Aszú-Eszencia representing wines above 6 puttonyos.

• Eszencia: Also called nectar, this is often described as the most precious wine 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 500g and 700g per litre, although the year 2000 vintage produced eszencia exceeding 900g per litre. Eszencia is traditionally added to aszú wines but is sometimes bottled pure.