Probably Hungary's best-known and most famous wine is named after the town of Tokaj in the north-east near the border with Slovakia and Ukraine. The word "Tokaj" is of Hunnic-Turkish origin and means "forest by the river". It was first mentioned in a chronicle at the end of the 11th century, where the crossing of a Cuman army over the River Tisza at "Thocoyd" is described. King Béla IV (1235-1270) established Hungarian viticulture on a larger scale, with the first upswing in the Tokaj region occurring in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is unclear when the first Tokaj Aszú was produced, but it is certainly one of the first wines to be made from botrytised noble sweet berries. The Tokaj region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.
The picture shows the vineyards of Tokaj in the second half of the 16th century. The fortress known as Rákóczi Castle was demolished in 1705 by order of Francis II Rákóczi (1676-1735).
History of Tokaj
There are numerous legends about the "invention" of Tokay. It is said that a Tokaji Aszú was presented to Pope Pius IV (1499-1565) at the Council of Trent in 1562, whereupon he remarked: "Summum pontificem talia vina decent!" ("Such wine belongs on the papal table"). The first documentary reference to it was in a document from the inventory of the Garay family dated 15 May 1571. The term "Vinum passum-aszu szeőleő bor" (wine made from aszú berries) appeared as early as 1590 in the posthumously published work "Nomenclatura" by Balázs Szikszay Babius (+1576). And in 1635, a list of the Rákóczi cellar mentions "7 barrels (the Gönc barrel was the standard size) and 2 Àntalag (= small barrel) Aszúszőlő-Bor" (= Aszú grape wine). The estates of Prince György Rákóczi I (1600-1660) also included the Tokaj-Hegyalja region.
Birth in 1651
When one of the numerous Turkish raids threatened once again around 1631, the court preacher in charge, Máté Szepsi-Laczkó (1576-1633), decided to wait with the grape harvest until the danger had passed. During the long and sunny autumn, the berries began to shrivel and noble rot set in. The winegrowers were instructed to press the grapes from the Oremus vineyard separately during the harvest.
At Easter 1651, the first "Tokajer Ausbruch"(dry berry selection) was served to Princess Zsuzsanna Lorántffy. The Hungarians therefore still honour Szepsi-Laczkó today as the "inventor of Aszú". A national evaluation for the Hungarian wine regions dates back to 1707. The regions were divided into five categories or quality classes. Only the Tokaj-Hegyalja region was classified as first class. It was at this time that the great importance of the area as a valuable commercial product began to be recognised.
Famous connoisseurs
From the 17th century onwards, Tokaj played an important role in many royal courts. Lovers included Franz Joseph I., Many famous writers and composers mentioned Tokay in their works, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann W. von Goethe (Faust), Heinrich Heine (Buch der Lieder), Friedrich von Schiller (Wallenstein), Franz Schubert, Bram Stoker (Dracula), Johann Strauss Sohn (Fledermaus), Theodor Körner (Weinlied), Nikolaus Lenau (Mischka an der Theiß) and Voltaire (Gottesbeweis).
In 1733, the Russian Tsar's court in Tokaj set up its own wine purchasing commission. Tsarina Elisabeth Petrovna Romanova (1709-1762) ordered a delivery of 375 barrels by letter on 8 November 1745 and remarked: "And if there is even a possibility, send at least three antal (barrels of approx. 75 litres) by messenger, which I cannot get anywhere here, when I cannot be without wine, as you also know" .
Vinum Regum - Rex Vinorum
Under Catherine the Great (1729-1796), supplies were escorted to her residence in St Petersburg by a detachment of Cossacks. The French Sun King Louis XIV (1638-1715) awarded it the title "Vinum Regum - Rex Vinorum", meaning "Wine of Kings - King of Wines". Tokay was also used as a diplomatic weapon. When the Turks were driven out of Budapest in 1686, Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676-1735) wanted to establish the now liberated Hungary as an independent kingdom. In order to ally himself with Louis XIV, he sent him a noble Tokay. Emperor Franz-Joseph I (1830-1916) also used the wine for diplomatic purposes, greeting Queen Victoria (1819-1901) with a consignment of Aszú every year on her birthday.
The heyday
The heyday of the Tokaj wine trade was during the heyday of the ruling Rákóczi and Bercsényi families in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period, most of the countless wine cellars (185 in Tokaj alone) were dug into the loess soil, which was ideally suited for this purpose. Towards the end of the 18th century, there was a decline due to war, which left the vineyards uncultivated or destroyed, as well as due to economic measures, especially during the reign of Maria Theresa (1717-1780). Only as much Tokaj wine was allowed to be exported as Austrian wine was imported. In 1745, the ruler of the Russian Tsarina Elisabeth (1709-1762) sent 600 bottles. Pope Benedict XIV (1675-1758) also received a consignment and thanked him with an extraordinary quotation.
Forgeries
In the 19th century, there was a great deal of wine adulteration, which contributed to Tokay's bad reputation. There were even detailed recipes, for example in a work from 1875: Take 100 litres of normal wine; 15 litres of sultana essence; 0.5 litres of bitter almond essence; 0.1 litres of elderflower essence; 4 kg of sugar; 0.5 kg of caramel; 4 kg of glitterin and 6 litres of 80 per cent alcohol. Such wine could be ordered by the wagonful from a wine merchant in Vienna-Döbling at a ridiculously low price. During the communist period of government after the Second World War, the Tokaj culture suffered a total...
