Terroir 2014 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The history of the first demarkated wine region of the world – the Tokaj wine region

The history of the first demarkated wine region of the world – the Tokaj wine region

Abstract

The optimal climatic conditions of the region were proved in 1867, when a leaf-print of Vitis tokaiensis was found in a stone from miocen age (13 million years ago). 

Concerning the viticulture, already the Hungarian tribes coming to the Carpathian basin knew it and started to practice at the end of the 9th century. 

In 1241, after the Tatar invasion IV. king Béla revitalized the region bringing also foreigner „vinitors”. 
In the 15th century, under the rules of king Mathias the Tokaji winemaking strenghtened and nothern Hungarian cities created vineyards and wineries in the region. 

In the 16th century the Turkish army attackted and later occupied the southern part of Hungary, thus the importance of Tokaj increased. 
The first written memory about Tokaji Aszú wine dates back to 1571, it was found amongst the documents of the famous Garay family. 

In the first part of the 17th century, under the ownership of Rákóczi family the viticulture flourished. In 1613 and later in 1641 the towns organized a conference, where the strict regulation of viticulture and winemaking was accepted in 48 points. 

In 1723 Mátyás Bél published a study of Hungary. Connecting to this his collegue, János Matolai created the first classification of the World rating the vineyards into three classes. 

On the 1st of October in 1737, VI. king Károly announced the first demarcation of Tokaj creating a closed wine region and giving the possibility to those 22 towns to use „Tokaji” name. The viticultural and winemaking rules were specified and the planting was allowed only with licence. 

In 1798 the vineyard classification was redeveloped by Antal Szirmay, based on the work of János Dercsényi. 

During the 19th and the 20th century the knowledge of terroirs was collected further in the families. After the political changes in 1989 detailed work started at the wineries to be able to discover the possibilities of the extremely rich and diverse terroirs created by the active and colorful vulcanism and the outstanding macro- and microcimatical circumstances. 

In 2002 Tokaj obtained the Wold Heritage title in „cultural landscape” category as “Tokaj Historical Wine Region”.

DOI:

Publication date: July 28, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2014

Type: Article

Authors

Péter Molnár PhD

Patricius Winery, Tokaj 

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2014

Citation

Related articles…

Long term influence of a cover crop in the agronomic and oenological performance of CV. Chardonnay

Cover crops are acknowledged to be an interesting tool to produce higher quality grapes in red varieties, as they generally reduce vine vigour and yield. However, their incidence in white wine quality is not clear, since higher nitrogen availability can play an important positive role, and cover crops may compete for this nutrient. The possible reduction in available nitrogen can also modify the fermentation processes, as well as the synthesis of aromas in the wine. The aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term effect of a grass cover crop on grape and wine quality.

Training system and its influence on iso-anisohydric behavior of cv. Syrah

Water use efficiency is one of the most valued objectives in vine growing in mediterranean climates (de la fuente et al., 2015). Due to this, the grape growers provide different adaptation strategies according to their efficient consumption against the presumable water deficit generated under these environmental conditions. The use of non-positioned shoot systems (like sprawl, bush, etc.) Can help to achieve this objective.

Biotic and abiotic factors affecting physiological aspects underlying vegetative vigour in two commercial grapevine varieties

Grapevine vigour, defined as the propensity to assimilate, store and/or use non-structural sugars for allowing fast growth of shoots and producing large canopies[1], is crucial to optimize vineyard management. Recently, a model has been proposed for predicting the vigor of young grapevines through the measurement of the vegetative growth and physiological parameters, such as water status and gas exchange[2]. Our objectives were (1) to explore the influence of the association of two grapevine varieties (Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, grafted onto R110 rootstocks) with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the vegetative vigour of young plants; and (2) to assess the effect of environmental factors linked to climate change on the vegetative vigour of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Comportement du cépage Mourvèdre dans l’aire d’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée de Bandol

The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée of Bandol covers an area of ​​1365 ha, 83% of which are planted with vines, the annual production being around 40,000 hl. Among the wines produced, there are mainly reds which assert themselves over time, but also rosés characterized by their pale colour, generally orange; the whites represent a small part of the production. The main grape variety of this AOC is Mouvèdre, of Spanish origin, which is also found in Provence and Languedoc.

The colour pattern of flower arrangements influence wine tasters’ sensory description

The arrangements of flowers and wine counterparts are inextricably linked. Whether a fundamental aspect of tablescaping or acolytes to broader entertainment rituals, they have an entangled history since ancient times. The aim of this contribution is to verify the influence of visually delicate and robust flower arrangements on individual description of wines. Changes in the sensory description of wines were investigated during subjects’ (thirty-two participants) exposure to three different conditions: the presence of delicate, robust, or totally absent flower arrangements. In each condition, the same two wines were blind tasted: a wine previously defined as delicate – a Pinot Noir from Australia, and a wine known for its robust character – a Tannat from Uruguay.