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…

Vitiforestry as innovative heritage. Adaptive conservation of historical wine-growing landscapes as response to XXI century’s challenges.

Traditional agricultural and agro-pastoral systems (prior to industrial revolution) often have the characteristic of being multiple systems, in which multiple crops are hosted simultaneously on the same plot. currently research suggests to study more in depth the potential of multiple agricultural systems in order to detect those characteristics of multiple agrarian systems that could allow modern viticulture to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change: rising temperatures with impacts on the phenological cycle of the vine, resurgence of plant deseases, extreme soil washout phenomena and hail storms, among others.

SIP and save the planet: a sensory and consumer exploration of australian wines made from potentially drought-tolerant white wine grapes

In order to attenuate the effects of climate change on the ability to cultivate quality wine grape vines in Australia, it is essential to adapt to the projected less favourable Australian climate scenarios. One response may be to convert a portion of the current grapevine plantings to those varieties that demand less water and can tolerate increased heat. This investigation aimed to (i) generate sensory profiles and (ii) obtain knowledge about Australian wine consumers’ preferences and opinions of Australian wines made from potentially drought tolerant, white wine grape varieties not traditionally cultivated in Australia. A Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) sensory panel (n = 49) generated sensory profiles of 44 commercial white wines made from 7 different white grape varieties (Arinto, Fiano, Garganega, Greco, Verdejo, Verdelho and Vermentino), plus two benchmark examples each of an Australian Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay wine.

Definition and planning of viticultural landscapes case study in the “Côtes du Rhône Gardoises”

Les préoccupations actuelles autour des paysages viticoles vont au-delà des clichés promotionnels développés par les stratégies marketing. En effet, les paysages sont aujourd’hui au cœur d’une demande sociale croissante qui se traduit par différentes lois (la loi paysage de 1993, le paysage reconnu comme patrimoine commun de la nation par la loi n°95-101, la création du Conseil national du paysage par arrêté du 8/12/2000).

REDWINE project: use of Chlorella vulgaris to prevent biotic and abiotic stress in Palmela’s region, Portugal, vineyards

The new EU Green Deal aims to achieve GHG emissions reduction by at least 55% by 2030 and a climate neutral EU economy by 2050.
REDWine concept will be realized through the establishment of an integrated Living Lab demonstrating the viability of the system at TRL 7. The Living Lab will be able to utilize 2 ton of fermentation off-gas/year (90% of total CO2 produced in the fermenter) and 80 m3 of liquid effluent (100% of the liquid effluent generated during fermenter washing) to produce 1 ton (dry weight) of Chlorella biomass/year. This biomass will be processed under a downstream extraction process to obtain added-value extracts and applied in food, cosmetic and agricultural end-products and to generate a new EcoWine. REDWine will focus on the recovery of off-gas from a 20.000L fermenter of red wine production existing in Adega Cooperativa de Palmela (ACP, located in Palmela, Portugal).

Metabolomics of grape polyphenols as a consequence of post-harvest drying: on-plant dehydration vs warehouse withering

A method of suspect screening analysis to study grape metabolomics, was developed [1]. By performing ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) – high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis of the grape extract, averaging 320-450 putative grape compounds are identified which include mainly polyphenols. Identification of metabolites is performed by a new HRMS-database of putative grape and wine compounds expressly constructed (GrapeMetabolomics) which currently includes around 1,100 entries.