Tokaj
Area: 5860 hectares. (87 km long, 3-4 km wide)
Climate: Hot summer, cold winter, long, hazy autumn
Soil: Loess and humid soil based on rhyolite- and andesit-tuff
Grape varieties, wines:
- Furmint – developing noble rot best, acidic, fine fragrance
- Hárslevelű (Linden Leaf) – more robust, full-bodied
- Sárga Muskotály (Yellow Muscat) – developing noble rot under favourable conditions, hard acid, extraordinarily fine and elegant fragrance
The name Tokaji (which is of Protected Designation of Origin) is used for labeling wines from this wine district. It can only be spoken in the superlative about this wine, as it is a medicine, a real nectar. Hungary’s most famous wine, the legendary sweet elixir. The location of the region has a unique climate, beneficial to this particular viniculture, due to the protection of the nearby mountains, long warm autumns and mists that come in from the River Bodrog, creating perfect conditions for noble rot. Creating the botrytised (‘aszú’) grapes for which the region is famous. The role of ageing and storage cannot be neglected either. The fungus, Botrytis cinerea covers the grapes and makes the skin of the berries thinner, helping create the perfect harmony of acid and sugar. The world famous Aszú wines are made by adding these berries with noble rot, and the more aszú-grapes the wine contains the more precious it is. Tokaj wine region is part of the UNESCO World Heritage
