🍷 Tokaji

Tokaji is wine from the Tokaj region of Hungary, a small part of which lies in Slovakia. It is Central Europe, a hilly area in north-eastern Hungary. The Tokaj wine landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It is most often made from Furmint and Hárslevelű. The best-known wines of the region are sweet. They use berries affected by noble rot, which shrivel and become very sweet. These give Tokaji Aszú, and the sweetest, thickest juice, which runs by itself, is called Eszencia. Simpler styles also exist: Szamorodni, Fordítás, Máslás and late harvest.

Old cellars matter too, with cellar mould growing on the walls. The name "Tokaj" is protected as a designation of origin (PDO). The region makes both dry and sweet wines, so the label is worth checking to see which style is inside the bottle.