How Tokaji, 'wine of kings,' has remained a mystery in the west

The wine of kings?

King Louis XIV once referred to Tokaji (Toke Eye) as “the wine of kings and the king of wines.” The Hungarian dessert wine was used by nobility to sweeten negotiations in diplomacy.

It begs the question: If Tokaji was once one of the most revered wines in the world, how come it's still a mystery to so many today?

Communist rule is the simple answer. Hungary's most impressive wine was behind the iron curtain from 1949 to 1989 and the quality of the wine suffered under communism. Tokaji has been making a comeback since the1990s, and today it's worth exploring because it offers an interesting yin yang of flavors – sweet and yet a touch tart.

I was in Budapest recently where democracy appears to be thriving just as well as the country's Tokaji. I went to the wine shop CultiVini where I purchased a bottle for $25 euros. The Tokaji Oremus Pinceszt Puttonvos Aszu had ample yin yang flavors with notes of mint, candied lemons, apricot, honey and mineral. Interestingly the sweet wine was buoyed with bright acidity.

The shop owner, from Finland, told me Tokaji Aszu is authentic only if its grapes are grown in a particular region, much like champagne. This particular region is Tokaji Hegyalia (Toke Eye Hedge AL ya), which also stretches into Slovakia to the north, a territory that once belonged to Hungary.

I'm impressed that there's a premium on quality today with Tokaji. Some years, in fact, producers don't make it unless conditions are favorable. The wine is produced with grapes that have the Botrytis fungus and just the right amount of humidity is needed for this fungus to take hold.

The humidity for Tokaji comes, in part, from Hungary's Tisza River. It spurs the Botrytis mold to puncture the grape skins in search of water to germinate its spores. This causes water to evaporate, leaving the sugar and acid in the shriveled grapes more concentrated.

These shriveled grapes - groomed in just the right humidity - create Nectar of the Gods. I find it amusing, but not at all surprising, that Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was well aware of this nectar and was willing to receive some payments in the form of Tokaji.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.