Tokaj

Question 1

What is the climate in Tokaj?

Answer 1

Moderate, continental

Question 2

What are the two rivers which, combined with their estuaries generate the morning humidity necessary for noble rot?

Answer 2

Bodrog

Tisza

Question 3

What is the most widely planted variety in Tokaj?

Answer 3

Furmint

Question 4

Describe a dry Furmint wine.
(acid, flavour in youth, flavours with age)
These wines can be premium

Answer 4

High acid
Flavours of apples
Honey and nuts with age

Question 5

What makes Furmint a choice grape for botrytised wines?

Answer 5

Late ripening

Susceptible to rot

Question 6

Aside from Furmint, what two grapes are relevant to Tokaj? What do they contribute to a blend?

Answer 6

Sarga Muskotaly (Muscat Blanc a Petite Grains)
Harslevelu
Both contribute perfumed aromatics

Question 7

Grape pickers may seperate grapes into what three catagories?

Answer 7

1. Aszu - individual botrytis grapes
2. Bunches that are unaffected
3. Szamorodni - ‘as it comes’ (partially affected bunches)

Question 8

What are the 5 styles of wine produced in Tokaj?

Answer 8

Dry
Tokaji Szamorodni
Tokaji Aszu
Tokaji Eszencia
Modern sweet styles

Question 9

Dry Tokaj is gaining in importance and is made in a full range of styles, unoaked, oaked, simple, age-worthy. What is the main grape used?

Answer 9

Furmint

Question 10

Tokaji Szamorodni wines can be dry or sweet depending on?

Answer 10

How much noble rot is present

Question 11

What are the ageing requirements for Tokaji Szamorodni?

Answer 11

Minimum in cask for 6 months

Can only be released from the winery from Jan 1st of the second year after harvest

Question 12

What is significant about cask ageing for Tokaji Szamorodni dry wine and sweet?

Answer 12

Casks are not filled for either resulting in flor-like yeast developing on dry wines and oxidative characters in sweet wines

Question 13

What is a modern trend for cask ageing sweet Tokaji Szamorodni?

Answer 13

Filling the casks to minimise oxidisation

Question 14

What are the four steps of Tokaji Aszu winemaking?

Answer 14

1. Starts with a base wine/juice made from healthy grapes
2. Either before, during and/or after fermentation the ‘aszu’ berries are macerated in the base wine for usually between 12-60 hours
3. The mixture is pressed before
4. Maturation in oak

Question 15

What is the unit used to measure the sweetness of aszu wines?

Answer 15

puttony

Question 16

What was originally used in the maceration stage of aszu wine sweetening, rather than whole berries?
Why has this fallen out of favour?

Answer 16

A paste of ground aszu berries

Using uncrushed berries avoids the extraction of bitter flavours

Question 17

List the colour, acidity and three flavours of classic Tokaji Aszu?

Answer 17

Deep Amber
High acid
Apricots, Honey, Orange peel

Question 18

What will happen to Tokaji Aszu wines as they slide up the sweetness scale?

Answer 18

Become more concentrated and intense

Question 19

What is the name of the extremely rare style of Tokaji seldom found outside its area of production?

Answer 19

Eszencia

Question 20

What is Tokaji Eszencia made from? How long might it take to ferment the juice? Why?

Answer 20

Free run juice from aszu berries

Can take years to ferment due to the fact that the must is so sweet

Question 21

What is the legal minimum level of residual sugar in Tokaji Eszencia?

Answer 21

450g/L

Question 22

What is the general ABV a Tokaji Eszencia might be able to reach given the sugar content?

Answer 22

Less than 5%

Question 23

How long can a Tokaji Eszencia mature for while retaining their freshness?

Answer 23

A century or more

Question 24

What are modern style sweet wines made from in Tokaj?

What are they labelled generally?

Answer 24

Late harvest grapes

Late Harvest

Question 25

Are botrytis grapes ever used in modern style sweet Tokaj? What is done with the grapes?

Answer 25

Yes

Fermented with the late harvest grapes