Hungary Flashcards
Why is Hungary able to host a large amount of varities?
Cool climate and northern latitude (same as Burgundy) makes Hungary suitable for cool climate varieties. Since Hungary is shield from the north and west by mountain ranges, and is moderated in the center by Lake Balaton, it is also able to ripen bold red varieties
sweetness of Tokaji Aszu has been historically measured in..
puttonyos (“baskets”)
puttonyos levels for Tokaji Aszu
5 puttonyos
6 puttonyos
tokaji eszencia
70% of production is…
white
What is the Tokaj region like?
zone includes 27 villages situated over the remnants of ancient volcanoes
the world’s first documented botrytised sweet swines were made here
Tokaji
main grape for Tokaji
furmint
What does “aszu” mean?
hungarian word for botrytis affected grapes
How is Tokaji Aszu produced?
Botrytis affected grapes are picked berry by berry (not cluster by cluster)
the aszu grapes are crushed into a gooey paste
meanwhile, the non-botrytis-affected crop is harvested and made into a regular white
the aszu paste is then added to base wine
the base wine and the aszu paste marinate together for several hours up to a few days before being pressed off and a 2nd fermentation begins
2nd fermentation can take up to years due to high sugar content
How is the portion of aszu paste added to the base wine measured?
puttonyos. a puttony is a basket in which aszu grapes were traditionally gathered. in modern times the # of puttonyos listed on label is a reflection of residual sugar in the wine
what size is bottle Tokaji Aszu is sold in
500ml
What is Tokaji Eszencia?
aszu grapes are put in a small cask and the juice that runs free (no pressure) from these grapes out the bottom of the cask is Eszencia. can take years to ferment
