Tokaj

Question 1

What is the difference between Tokaj and Tokaji?

Answer 1

Tokaj is the place, Tokaji is the wine

Question 2

What is the most famous wine from Tokaj?

Answer 2

Tokaji Aszu, sweet wines made from shrivelled, botrytis-affected grapes

Question 3

Why was Tokaji’s sweetness so prized?

Answer 3

It offered sweetness before crystal sugar became available

Question 4

When did Tokaji’s quality tradition halt?

Answer 4

1945, when Hungary became a Communist state

Question 5

How were wines produced in Hungary under Communist rule?

Answer 5

Quantity over quality, often deliberately oxidized, sweetened, fortified, and pasteurized

Question 6

How did Hungarian vineyard ownership differ under Communism compared to other Eastern European countries?

Answer 6

More vineyards remained in private hands, allowing producers in Tokaj to rebuild more quickly than other areas

Question 7

Who are the major foreign investors helping revive Tokaji? When did this begin?

Answer 7

AXA, Vegas Sicilia, and Hugh Johnson, post-Communism in the early 1990s

Question 8

Where is Tokaj located, and what factors influence the climate there?

Answer 8

Northeastern Hungary, from the town of Tokaj (in the Zemplen Mountains) toward the Slovakian border. Moderate continental climate, warm summers and cold winters, but region is shielded from worst northerly winds by forested mountain peaks

Question 9

Describe viticulture in Tokaj

Answer 9

Vineyards planted on slopes to reduce cold and frost damage, facing south, southwest, and southeast for max sun interception. Relatively low rainfall but most comes during the growing season. Irrigation not permitted

Question 10

What factors allow for Botrytis in Tokaj?

Answer 10

Warm, dry autumns, combined with the Tisza and Bodrog meeting in the town of Tokaj. Bodrog floods regularly, creating shallow marshes and water meadows, resulting in morning fog burnt off by afternoon sun (allowing Botrytis without grey rot)

Question 11

Describe the soil of Tokaj?

Answer 11

Volcanic bedrock overlaid by nyirok and loess

Question 12

What is nyirok?

Answer 12

Volanic soil in Tokaj thought fto produce the most powerful wines

Question 13

What is loess?

Answer 13

Sandy silt with high clay content. Thought fo produce lighter, more delicate Tokaji

Question 14

What is significant about Tokaj’s volcanic bedrock?

Answer 14

It is soft enough that vines can root very deeply, relieving water stress and nutrient deficiencies. Also ideal for digging cellars for aging wine

Question 15

What is Zasmidium cellare and what is significant about it?

Answer 15

Grey-black, cushiony cellar fungus though to help regulate humidity

Question 16

What is the traditional method of Tokaj viticulture?

Answer 16

Vines grown on single posts at densities up to 10,000 per ha

Question 17

Describe modern Tokaj viticulture

Answer 17

Trellis, using replacement-cane pruning or cordon training with VSP to allow mechanization. Lower densities (avg 4,000-5,000 vines per ha) and low yields for dry wines (30-40 hl/ha)

Question 18

How does Aszu viticulture differ from the rest of Tokaj?

Answer 18

Steep slopes worked by hand, hand harvesting necessary for Aszu berries. Tiny yields due to shriveling on the vine (2-3 hl/ha).

Question 19

What are the permitted varieties for Tokaji PDO?

Answer 19

6 allowed, but the most important are Furmint, Harslevelu, and Sarga Mukotaly

Question 20

What percentage of Tokaj plantings are Furmint?

Answer 20

69%

Question 21

What makes Furmint well-suited to sweet wine production?

Answer 21

Late-ripening, retains acidity, and susceptible to botrytis despite being thick-skinned

Question 22

Describe dry Furmint wines

Answer 22

Range of styles, from young consumption to ageworthy. Ageworthy often see oak. High sugar levels can cause full body and high alc, but improved viticulture is now allowing ripe fruit at medium alc levels

Question 23

What percentage of Tokaj plantings are Harslevelu, and how is it distinct from Furmint?

Answer 23

18% of plantings. Fruitier than Furmint, added to Tokaji for its distinctive white peach and orange blossom perfume

Question 24

What percentage of Tokaj plantings are Sarga Muskotaly, and what is its use in Tokaji?

Answer 24

9%, used to add floral notes in both sweet and dry wines. Same grape as Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains

Question 25

How is Aszu extracted?

Answer 25

Shrivelled, grapes are so concentrated that pressing does not extract the juice, so the grapes are macerated in must, fermenting must, or base wine to draw out their sugar s and flavors

Question 26

How does Aszu both Botrytize and shrivel?

Answer 26

Foggy mornings allow Botrytis to develop, breezy, sunny afternoons then shrivel the grapes (higher yields in humid autumns)

Question 27

Describe Aszu maceration and its options

Answer 27

Prior to maceration, most producers mash Aszu grapes into a paste by crushing through a pump (some will leave whole berries to avoid bitterness). Maceration for 12-60 hours in must, young finished wine, or fermenting must. Maceration in must gives the lightest style, followed by young finished wine. Maceration in fermenting must gives the strongest extraction but can also extract bitter phenolics

Question 28

When base wine is used for Aszu maceration, what are the regulations?

Answer 28

Base wine is minimum 12.08% alc (though typically 14.5-15.5%). Freedom to choose varieties used and amount of botrytis; this leaves a range of styles

Question 29

When Aszu maceration takes place in must or fermenting must, how does production proceed?

Answer 29

Juice is drained and Aszu paste or berries are pressed. Must is then fermented (or continues to ferment) to desired balance of sugar and alcohol. Usually cultured yeast for reliability but some producers use ambient. Stainless and Barrels are both used

Question 30

Around what level of sugar do fermentations stop naturally?

Answer 30

180 g/L and above)

Question 31

What are the regulations and customs for Aszu aging?

Answer 31

Minimum 18 months in oak, though some producers go longer. Hungarian oak is widely used, traditionally in small 136 L barrels called gonci (but 300-500 L barrels are now more common)

Question 32

How must Aszu be bottled?

Answer 32

In traditional, clear-glass, 500ml Tokaji bottle

Question 33

Before 2013, how were Aszu wines classified?

Answer 33

By sweetness using the puttonyos scale, a measure of the number of pickers' buckets of Aszu berries added per Gonci barrel of must

Question 34

Prior to 2013, what were the sweetness ranges for Aszu?

Answer 34

3-6 puttonyos

Question 35

How did Aszu regulations change in 2013?

Answer 35

Minimum level of RS was increased to 120g/L (equivalent to previous 5 puttonyos level); wines with lower levels of sugar are now Late Harvest or Tokaji Edes Szzamorodni. Aszu can be labelled 5 or 6 puttonyos (6 above 150 g/L RS) but not mandatory (3 and 4 also permitted as long as there is at least 120g/L RS)

Question 36

What is Aszu Eszencia?

Answer 36

Aszu made from the tiny volume of free-run juice from Aszu berries. Can take years to ferment and only reaches very low alc (usually less than 5%). Legal min RS is 450 g/L, syrupy, highly-concentrated, and high in acid

Question 37

What is Late Harvest Tokaj?

Answer 37

Reaction to the time and investment needed to produce Aszu. New style of Tokaj produced similarly to other world sweet wines (IE without the maceration process). Typically less Botrytis than for Aszu, lighter bodied and less concentrated, legal min RS is 45 g/L (most are between 90 and 11 g/L). Oak is not required and producers aim to emphasize fruit character, released 12-16 months after harvest

Question 38

What is Szamorodni?

Answer 38

Polish word meaning "as it comes", indicating whole bunch production with varying amounts of healthy and botrytized grapes. Produced sweet or dry depending on ripeness and botrytis

Question 39

What is the style of sweet Szamorodni?

Answer 39

Min RS 45 g/L, most bottled at 90-110 g/L. Oak aging for 6 months (shorter than Aszu). Many producers are emphasizing this category, seeing it as more authentic than the Late Harvest style. Bottled in Tokaji bottles and the best are of similar quality

Question 40

What is the style of dry Szamorodni?

Answer 40

Aged under a thin film of flor (much thinner than in Sherry) for up to 10 years without topping up, with nutty and green apple aromas

Question 41

What is the trend in production of dry wine in Tokaj?

Answer 41

It has tripled in the past 5 years (2021)

Question 42

How is viticulture changing in Tokaj as dry wines become more important?

Answer 42

Vineyards are being planted on higher, windier sites above the fog zone, with more open canopes to prevent Botrytis and other rot

Question 43

How has the style of dry Tokaj changed as it has become more popular?

Answer 43

Originally made from very ripe grapes, with full malo and lengthy aging in new oak, but many producers are reining in their approach, using less ripe berries, fermenting in stainless, and intervening less to produce lighter-bodied wines with more varietal character

Question 44

What are Dulo?

Answer 44

Single vineyard dry Tokaji

Question 45

What are the main grapes for dry Tokaji?

Answer 45

Furmint, Harslevelu, and Muscat, same as in sweet Tokaji

Question 46

What is Zempleni?

Answer 46

Protected Geographic Indication in Hungary for wines made from other grapes, particularly international varieties

Question 47

How many ha under vine in Tokaji PDO?

Answer 47

About 5,750, although it is increasing as higher vineyards are planted (but barely half of the potential vineyard area is planted)

Question 48

What is Grand Tokaj?

Answer 48

State-owned Tokaji producer sourcing from over 2,000 growers and producing around 35% of the region's wines

Question 49

What percentage of Tokaji production does Aszu account for? What percentage does dry account for?

Answer 49

10% Aszu, 21% dry

Question 50

What is the style of a significant, low-quality portion of Tokaji's production?

Answer 50

Inexpensive, non-botrytised, semi-sweet wines made by arrested fermentation for the home market and other Eastern European countries

Question 51

What percentage of Tokaji is exported?

Answer 51

40%