The 5 Facts About Tokaj Wine which Separates it from the Others

Have you ever heard or drink Tokaj Wine? If not, you definitely should do so! It is not just unique wine because of its taste but it has fascinating history and other interesting facts.

1. Do You Know Where Tokaj Wine Comes from?

This wine is grown in strictly delimited area in Slovakia and Hungary, known as “Tokajská vinohradnícka oblast” which lies in the Lower Zemplín in the northeastern corner of Slovakia. It follows a wine region, most of which are located in Hungary.

The Slovak part of this area consists of about 900 ha of vineyards, while in Hungary it is six times more - 5,500 ha. However, Hungary is much better known for Tokaj Wine than we do. In Slovakia, Tokaj vineyards are located in Veľká Třňa, Malá Třňa or Černochov.

The map of Tokaj Wine Area in Slovakia. Source: Google maps

2. Tokaj- ské/ý Wine or The Tokaji Wine – isn’t it the same?

One can often hear these two terms which on the first sight look very similar but in reality, they mean different things.

The Slovak wine region of Tokaj may use the Tokajský/-á/-é label ("of Tokaj" in Slovak) for the wines coming from the “Tokajská vinohradnícka oblast”, whilst the Tokaji comes solely from small town Tokaji, located in Hungary.

3. Traditional vs. Modern Way of Producing Tokaji Wines

The next interesting fact from behind the scenes of producing this exclusive wine is the fact, that there are two ways of production process. The first one is the Oxidative winemaking. The core of this method is to let the wine to oxide, as the barrels are not filled with grapes to the very top. These wines have the flavour of freshly baked bread and taste great even after years on the shelf.

The second method is called „Reductive winemaking“. This process is the opposite of previous method, as the wine is prevented from contact with oxygen.

The most famous base material for the Tokay wines are rotted grapes attacked by noble Botrytis cinerea mold. This noble mold is unique for the Tokay Wines and you will not find it in any other wine.

4. What are „Puttony“?

The „puttony“ belong to the classic way of wine processing. What’s the story? We can describe it as a special basket, which was used for collecting the rotted grapes. One of these special baskets hold around 45 pounds of grapes. Thus, if three „puttony“ were used for a single wine, it will be marked as „Three Puttonyos Tokaji Wine“.

Apart from this you can come across a term „Goncyský sud“, which is a special type of a barrel for storing Tokaj grapes. Lets take our previously mentioned Three Puttonyos Tokaji Wine, what we essentialy have here, are three puttonyos (baskets) of tokaj grapes in 136 litres of wine which together make " 1 Goncyký sud“ (one special Tokaj Barrel). Afterwards the wine rests in the Tokaj Cellars for several years.

5. Cheers!...with Wine

Even back in the middle age era people believed that the Tokaj Wine is „universalis vera medicina“ in other words: universal medicine. The Tokaj Grapes, containing noble mold, are believed to have an antibiotic effect. Why won’t you try it yourself - it will surely pleasantly surprise you with its taste.