The Romans brought vines to Pannonia, and by the 5th century AD, there are records of extensive vineyards in what is now Hungary. The Hungarians brought their wine-making knowledge from the East. According to Ibn Rustah, the Hungarian tribes were familiar with wine-making a long time before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin.[3]
Over the following centuries, new grape varieties were brought in from Italy and France. Most of the production was of white wine in that period.
During the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, an ancient variety of grapes was used to make the robust red-wine blend later known as Bikavér (Bull's Blood), after a supposed secret ingredient in the wine that fortified the defenders of Eger in 1552.[citation needed]
It was also during the Turkish occupation that the Tokaj region became known for dessert wines, harvested late to encourage noble rot. Tokaji aszú is mentioned in a document of 1571, and it was famously christened by Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" – Wine of Kings, King of Wines.
After the Ottoman Empire ceded Hungary to the Austrians in 1699, the Germanic influence was felt with the introduction of grape varieties such as Blauer Portugieser. That influence also showed [citation needed] in the start in 1730 of the world's first vineyard classification in Tokaj, based on soil, aspect and propensity to noble rot.
From 1882, the phylloxera epidemic hit Hungary hard, with the traditional field blends of Eger and the many grapes of Tokaj being replaced with monocultures, often of Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos) and the Bordeaux varieties in red wine districts, and of Furmint, Muscat and Hárslevelű in Tokaj. The 20th century saw the introduction of modern grapes such as Zweigelt, which were easier to grow and to vinify than Kadarka. Under Communism quality was neglected in favour of overcropping, pasteurisation, and industrial production. Since 1989, there has been renewed interest in the traditional varieties and much new investment, particularly in Tokaj-Hegyalja.
The official list of wine regions is defined by a ministerial decree. The current list includes 22 wine regions, which are usually grouped into five to seven larger regions.[4]
A Tokaji vineyard.The first village level dry Furmint in the Tokaji wine region
Hungary's most famous wine region lies in the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains of the far north of the country; in fact the traditional area crosses into the southeast corner of modern Slovakia. The area is notable for its long warm autumns and mists that come in from the River Bodrog, creating perfect conditions for noble rot. This can contribute towards creating the botrytised (aszú) grapes for which the region is famous. These are individually picked as late as mid-November into buckets (puttonyos) and crushed to a paste. Varying amounts of this aszú paste are then added to non-aszúmust or wine made from a mix of Furmint, Hárslevelű, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Kövérszőlő or Zéta grapes, and left to ferment. The resulting wine is then aged in relatively small barrels in a labyrinth of cellars in the soft volcanic tuff, on whose walls thick blankets of fungus regulate the humidity.[5]
Given that aszú conditions only happen in perhaps three vintages per decade, much dry Furmint is also produced. Other grapes grown in the area include Hárslevelű, Muscat Blanc, Kövérszőlő and Zéta.
For centuries the main product of the area was the sweet wine, mainly the botrytised selections. The dry Furmint drew the attention of the world's wine connoisseurs and experts when the Úrágya 2000 single vineyard selection was introduced by István Szepsy. The wine expressed great minerality, complexity and structure, which has been experienced only in the finest white wines of historic regions like Burgundy or the Mosel before. The aging potential was also promising. In 2003 more producers of Mád village produced single vineyard selected dry Furmint wines with great success. Mád village, with its almost 1200 ha, had the opportunity to produce high quality dry Furmint wine in significant quantity as a commune level wine, which can express the unique volcanic terroir of the region, this wine is named after its appellation Mád and produced by István Szepsy Jr. in the Szent Tamás Winery.
Hungarian grape varieties
Hárslevelű grapes
Several varieties of grape are known to have originated in Hungary. These are:
^Gábor Zaicz, Etimológiai szótár. Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (Etymological dictionary. Origins of Hungarian words and suffixes), Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, p. 88, ISBN963709401 6.
^Ian Spencer Hornsey, The Chemistry and Biology of Winemaking, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2007, p. 49, ISBN9780854042661.
