In Bordeaux, the weather along the Garonne River is dank enough to produce the same noble rot essential to the wines of Sauternes. In Germany, the Mosel River provides the same conditions that affect Riesling grapes that are now part of the classification of German Riesling. Often referred to as the ‘Wine of Kings, King of Wines’, Royal Tokaji is becoming increasingly popular across the UK restaurant scene. As a supporter of the Gold Service Scholarship, the Hungarian winemaker recently hosted to a study trip for 2018 finalists and Trustees. We spoke with Charlie Mount, managing director of Royal Tokaji, to hear his thoughts on how the service sector is developing. a b c "A névért perelnék az uniót a tokaji gazdák". Népszabadság (in Hungarian). 2008-08-02 . Retrieved 2008-09-21. A bottle of "genuine imperial Tokay" plays a prominent part in the Lord Peter Wimsey short story " The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste" (1928), which centers on identifying wines by taste. It is described as 'both sweet and coarse' and as 'horribly over-rated'. But the memory of sweet wines was the defining argument for its rebirth after the fall of communism. And the return to a normal political climate attracted a plethora of foreign investors and a huge emulation from local producers to recover their past and awaken the imagination and senses of professional and amateur tasters from all over the world.

In Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights (1995, also known as The Golden Compass), there is an attempted poisoning by the Master of Jordan College (the novel and television series) or an official of the Magisterium (the film) of one of the major characters, Lord Asriel, via a decanter of Tokaji (spelt 'Tokay') in the first chapter, titled "The Decanter of Tokay". Tokaji is said to be Lord Asriel's favorite wine.

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Tokaj aszú has always had a fan club that has included royalty, artists, and popes. The wine made its way to the capitals and palaces of Europe long before there were advertising campaigns and marketing slogans to spread the word. Tokaj’s most glorious period was between the 17thand 19thcenturies, when the region’s wines were drunk by royalty and celebrities around the world. The wine was treated as a symbol of Hungary and was often used as a diplomatic tool. The production of Tokaji Aszú and Eszencia is dependent on the development of a necrotrophic fruit fungus called gray mold, or botrytis. The mold develops on the berries in moist conditions (such as in foggy river valleys) and then dries when the sun comes out. This process of rotting and drying causes the grapes to shrivel and become sweet. The Rutherglen wine region in Australia produces a dessert wine made from Muscadelle grapes that has usually been referred to as Tokay, but which has little resemblance to the grapes or the processes of Hungarian Tokaji. Following a change in regulations in 2007, this variety of dessert wine has been sold under the name "Topaque" [16] by some wineries, but as of 2012 some others continue to label theirs Tokay. The concentration of aszú was traditionally defined by the number of puttony of dough added to a Gönc cask (136 liter barrel) of must. [6] 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. 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.

Tokaji wine received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, Johann Strauss, Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich von Schiller, Voltaire and Bram Stoker. The composer Joseph Haydn’s favourite wine was Tokaji. A reputation – supported by various Popes – for health giving properties, as well as lore – explored in some depth by the alchemist Paracelsus – that the wines contained gold also helped the legend grow. By law, only white grape varieties are allowed to be planted in Tokaj. There are three primary grapes grown here and used by Royal Tokaji: Other sweet wines: In the past few years reductive sweet wines have begun to appear in Tokaj. These are ready for release 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 labeled as késői szüretelésű ( late harvest) 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 labeled as tokaji cuvée. Named by King Louis XIV ‘the wine of kings, the king of wines’ and even mentioned in the official anthem of Hungary, the wine of this region has an older tradition than champagne, the first sources being mentioned around 1630. 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 percent. 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 liter. [7] 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 flavor that is unequaled, but is so sweet that it can only be drunk in small quantities. Unlike virtually all other wines, Eszencia maintains its quality and drinkability when stored for 200 years or more.That is why it is recommended to be served at a temperature of 5-8°C. Also, their aromatic spectrum can be ennobled in the company of foie gras, blue cheeses such as Blue Stilton or Roquefort, candied fruit, Asian cuisine, and even Hungarian dishes, including spicy paprika dishes such as Szegedi szalámi or Gyulai kolbász. Tokaji wine became the subject of the world's first appellation control, established several decades before Port wine, and over 120 years before the classification of Bordeaux. Vineyard classification began in 1730 with vineyards being classified into three 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.

Service is always based on customer expectations. That’s why it will be very different in China, the US, and anywhere else. Most establishments find international levels of service but there will be local variants. Talented service staff will be able to adapt and this will always be the case throughout time. The sweetness of Tokaj aszú has traditionally been measured in puttonys. A puttony is a 25-liter wooden tub, which was used for harvesting the aszú grapes. The most prized types of Tokaji aszú were made as either a five puttonyos version or a six puttonyos version, which means that the equivalent of five or six tubs of botrytized grapes had been added to each cask of must or base wine. (In Tokaj, aszú is made in 136-liter Gönc casks). So the higher the puttony number, the sweeter, more golden colored, and more expensive the wine will be. (For a more concrete idea of the sweetness level, a three puttonyos aszú had from 60 to 90 grams of residual sugar per liter, a four puttonyos had from 90 to 120, a five puttonyos from 120 to 150, and a six puttonyos from 150 to 180.) Since the collapse of the communist regimes in 1990, a number of independent wineries have been established in the Tokaj wine region. A state-owned producer continues to exist and handles approximately 20% of the overall production. This label confirms that the year 1991 for the Tokaji region was exceptional, a true ‘divine gift’ from nature, which brought winemakers excellent conditions for botrytis but also for large accumulations of sugar, acid, and flavors. In Goethe's Faust, in the scene in the Auerbach's Cellar, Mephistopheles offers the other characters a choice of any one wine each, which he then produces by boring holes in the table with a corkscrew. Frosch wishes for Rhine wine, Brander for Champagne, and Siebel wishes for a sweet wine, after which Mephistopheles chooses Tokay for him.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Tokaji Aszú wines were the most expensive in the world, served in the finest restaurants internationally and enjoyed by the Royal Courts of Europe. Ten years later, the same producer delighted us with a delicious Tokaji Aszú of 6 puttonyos, which indicates that inside the consecrated 0.5 l bottle is a wine with a content of 232 g/l.

When the Aszú grapes are harvested and fermented, crushed or not, together with the must/fresh dry wine for between one to five days. And the proportion is one kilogram of raisins per liter of must/fresh dry wine. Grand Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn of Lubavitch was known to drink Kosher Tokaji wines on celebratory occasions, such as on completion of his famous series of discourses titled "Vekocho" in the year 1878. [13] Other uses of the Tokaji appellation [ edit ] The Royal Tokaji Wine Company was established in 1989 in the village of Mád in the Tokaji region and is a joint venture 63 local growers led by Istvan Szepsy, who was a descendant of the legendary Mate Szepsy, and foreign investors, among those, the celebrated wine author Hugh Johnson. Hugh has put all his effort into preserving the unique values of the Tokaji region to create high quality Aszú wines and pioneered the production of Single Vineyard wines.Today, The Royal Tokaji Company has become one of the most famous wineries in Tokaji. The Slovak wine region of Tokaj may use the Tokajský/-á/-é label ("of Tokaj" in Slovak) [2] if they apply the Hungarian quality control regulation. [2] This area used to be part of the greater Tokaj-Hegyalja region within the Kingdom of Hungary, but was divided between Hungary and Czechoslovakia after the Treaty of Trianon.Project Gutenberg e-book: https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/13041/pg13041.html#id00174. Accessed on 10 September 2021. In the Tokaji region, there are other styles of winemaking using botrytis, but not as elaborate as Aszú, such as Szamorodni that can be made dry or sweet. Also, the production of sparkling wines is starting to become very popular, and the first ice wine began production in 1999. Best Tokaji Wines The Aszú berries are macerated with the must for approximately 48 hours. The ratio of must to Aszú berries dictates the level of sweetness. The blend, now “Tokaji Aszú” is run off into stainless steel tanks or oak casks and fermented until it reaches the final balance. Imperial Tokay--Mid-Eighteenth Century". Christie's. 11 December 2008 . Retrieved 31 December 2017.