Tokaj - Hegyaljai wine-growing area

VINUM REGUM, REX VINORUM

The wine of kings and the king of wines

Why is it the part of World Heritage?

  The UNESCO World Heritage Committee put the historic wine region of Tokaj on the World Heritage List in 2002.

  The cultural landscape of Tokaj graphically demonstrates the long tradition of wine production in this region of low hills and river valleys. The intricate pattern of vineyards, farms, villages and small towns, with their historic networks of deep wine cellars, illustrates every facet of the production of the famous Tokaj wines, the quality and management of which have been strictly regulated for nearly three centuries.

  The Tokaji wine region represents a distinct viticultural tradition that has existed for at least a thousand years and which has survived intact up to the present.

  The entire landscape of the Tokaji wine region, including both vineyards and long established settlements, vividly illustrates the specialized form of traditional land-use that it represents.

Basic information:

  According to the legend, in 1650, being afraid of the Turkish attack, the priest delayed the grape harvest. When they started the harvest, on the 10th November, the grape on Oremus field was very shrivelled. The new wine, made from the selected aszú grape, was truly successful.

   This is a world-famous, widely known wine-growing area of Hungary that has existed for more than four hundred years. This region had the first wine to be registered as a trademark in the 18th century.

  It is situated in a triangle shape of the low hills in Sátoraljaújhely, Sátor-hegy and Kopasz-hegy. Twenty-eight villages are involved in wine-growing here. The best producers: Tarcal, Tolcsva, Mád, Tállya.

  The size is 6600 ha. The climate is special: sunny, wet in the morning, and protected form the cold north winds. The soil is clay or loess, on a volcanic base. These factors has made the wine production effective for centuries.

  The historic networks of deep wine cellars have very stable temperature: it is about 12^oC all year long, and the humidity is approximately 95%. The management have been strictly regulated for nearly three centuries.

What is what?

Aszú grapes
At the end of the ripening, the skin burst open because of the humidity. The Botrytis cinerea - the noble mould - infects these grapes. In consequence of the special late-autumn weather (dry and warm) the rotting of the fruit stops, the grapes lose water and shrivel. These are the aszú grapes.

Ászkolás
Wine matured in oak barrels.

Gönci barrel
A barrel which is used in Tokaj, it can contain approximately 136, 5 litres of wine.

Ordinary wine
The grape which is the base of the wine does not contain aszu grapes.

Puttony
A basket which can be carried on the back, and can contain 20-25 kilogram of fruit.

Wines of the area:

Szamorodni
Aszu grapes are not selected from the others. Its name means "as it was born" and was given by Polish wine merchants.
Tokaji szamorodni: it contains at least 21-MM original sugar and is matured for at least two years (one year in oak barrels)

Aszú
Aszú grapes are picked off and selected one by one and prepared to obtain aszú paste. The aszú is measured by so-called 'puttonys' and this amount is mixed with one barrel of ordinary wine. After 12-24 hours of soaking the liquid is pressed and the must is separated. Then it is matured for the number of "puttonys" plus two years in barrels. The number of "puttonys" can vary from 3 to 6.

Eszencia
The noble mould-covered aszú grapes are harvested one by one and put into a tab, which is similar to an oak barrel. There is a hole on the bottom. Pressed by its own weight, the essence exudes in drops and starts dripping out of the hole. The essence is matured for two years and contains at least 450 grams of original sugar per litre.

Tokaji "máslás"
This wine is prepared by macerating the remaining szamorodni or aszú lees in white wine. It is matured for at least two years - one year in an oak barrel.

Tokaji "fordítás"
This is prepared by macerating the extracted aszú paste in white wine. It is matured for at least two years - one year in an oak barrel. It has a special fragrance and aroma during maturation.