Tokaj

Question 1

what is Tokajs climate, best vineyard sites and what makes noble rot possible

Answer 1

moderate
hillside slopes with southerly aspects
bodrog and tisza rivers giving early morning humidity

Question 2

what are the 3 grapes used in the making of Tokaji and what do they contribute?

Answer 2

Furmint - acidity and susceptibility to botrytis
Harslevelu - perfume
Sarga Muskotaly (muscat blanc à petits grains) - aromatics

Question 3

what is the style of Furmint?

Answer 3

high acid, apples developing into huts and honey with age

principle grape for sweet aszu wines

Question 4

how are wines bottles in tokaj?

Answer 4

dry - 75cl

sweet - 50 cl

Question 5

how do pickers separate the grapes at harvest?

Answer 5

aszu - rotten grapes

szamorondi - partially effected grapes

Question 6

describe the traditional laws of tokaji

Answer 6

minimum sugar was 60g/l
labels on a scale of 3-6 puttonyos depending on sugar above the amount
24 months in oak and released january the 4th year after harvest
sweetest wine was Aszu Eszencia- 180g/l

Question 7

describe the 2013 laws?

Answer 7

minimum sugar 120g/l - this was traditionally 5 puttonyos
lower sugar will be labeled late harvest, tokaji szamorondi
tokaji eszencia - free run juice of aszu berries
18 mo of oak and 3rd january after harvest

Question 8

How are dry wines made in tokaji?

Answer 8

furmint - simple and unoaked or concentrated and oaked

Question 9

describe tokaji szamorondi

Answer 9

harvested from szamorondi / can be dry or sweet
dry wines will show noble rot characters
aged in cask for 1 year and be 2 years old before release

Question 10

how does a tokaji szamorondi age?

Answer 10

the casks are not completely filled to allow flor like yeast to form naturally on the wine, developing into a fino sherry like wine (only dry styles)

Question 11

what are the terms for dry and sweet?

Answer 11

dry - szaraz

sweet - edes

Question 12

describe the production of tokaji Aszu

Answer 12

a base wine of healthy grapes
before or after fermentation the berries are macerated in the base wine for 12-60 hours
uncrushed to avoid bitterness
press mixture and mature in oak

Question 13

describe the style of tokaji aszu?

Answer 13

deep amber 
high acidity
intense aromas 
orange peel
apricots
honey

Question 14

describe tokaji eszencia?

Answer 14

free run aszu juice
it is so sweet it takes years to ferment 
less than 5%
450g/l minimum
high acidity 
restrain for a century or more

Question 15

describe modern sweet styles?

Answer 15

late harvest
some botrytis - ferment the botrytised grapes
matured for less time than aszu