🍇 ✨ Tokaj wine region ➙ From sweet Legends to Dry Wine Renaissance
- Tony Lcrx
- Aug 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 17
“Royal courts, volcanic soils, liquid gold like wine — Tokaj isn’t just a wine region, it’s a legend in a glass.”
Through this article, I want to share why Tokaj has completely captured my heart — both the region and the wines it produces. I could talk about it for hours (and I often do!), b
you need to truly understand its soul.
Of course, there’s always more to say — so if you’re curious or want to dive deeper, drop a comment below, and I’ll happily share more stories and hidden facts about this extraordinary wine region.
🍷 Tokaj – The Wine of Kings, The King of Wines
Far in the northeast of Hungary, brushing the Slovakian border, lies a region whose name has echoed through royal courts, diplomatic banquets, and whispered wine lore for centuries: Tokaj. This is not just any vineyard landscape — it’s a place where history, geology, and a touch of magic have worked together to create some of the most legendary wines in the world.
Back in the Middle Ages, long before Sauternes seduced French palates, Tokaj’s golden sweet wines were already pouring in Parisian salons and glittering at the table of Louis XIV — so beloved by the Sun King that he crowned them with the immortal title: “Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum” — the wine of kings, the king of wines. In both the Austro-Hungarian and French Empires, these bottles weren’t just wine; they were political currency, exchanged like precious gems to showcase the finest of national pride.
🌋 A Terroir Forged by Sea and Fire
Millions of years ago, Tokaj was the floor of a deep sea, rich in limestone from layers of marine life.
Then came underwater volcanic eruptions, pushing basalt, rhyolite, and other mineral-rich treasures to the surface. Today, its vineyards are a true mosaic of soils — no single description could ever do them justice.
The climate is intensely continental: hot, dry summers can parch the vines, while winters are bitterly cold. To adapt, growers plant their best sites on cooler, north-facing slopes to preserve freshness and avoid sunburn on the grapes.
The warm Tisza river and the cooler Bodrog river create morning mists, swept away by breezes from the Pannonian Plain — the perfect environment for Botrytis cinerea, the noble rot that transforms ordinary grapes into pure gold.
🍇 The Grapes Behind the Gold
Furmint – Tokaj’s signature grape. High in acidity, structured, and a pure reflection of terroir. Less aromatic than Chenin Blanc but more bodied than Riesling, and perfectly suited for sweet wines.
Hárslevelű – Brings texture, floral notes, and a rounded mouthfeel that balances Furmint’s acidity.
Sárgamuskotály (Muscat à Petits Grains Blanc) – Intensely aromatic, used for blends or charming aperitif wines.
Zéta & Kabar – Rarely planted crossings that occasionally appear in blends.
🍯 The Art of Harvesting Aszú Grapes
Creating Tokaj’s legendary Aszú is a meticulous labor of love. It begins with an early harvest of fresh, healthy grapes — the future “canvas” for the masterpiece to come. As the season progresses, the morning mists and autumn sun work their magic, encouraging noble rot (Botrytis cynerea) to concentrate the remaining grapes into intensely sweet, shriveled berries.
These botrytised grapes are then infused into the earlier-made base wine, naturally amplifying its sweetness, richness, and complexity. The more botrytised grapes you add, the higher the wine will climb in Tokaj’s quality scale — and, inevitably, in price.
That scale is measured in Puttonyos — a nod to the traditional wicker baskets (about 25 kg each) once used to collect the precious berries. The number of Puttonyos indicates how many baskets of these concentrated grapes are added to a single Gönc oak cask (136 liters).
Once combined, the wine undergoes a slow, secondary fermentation, often stretching over several years in the region’s legendary hand-carved cellars. The result? A wine that is as much a testament to patience and precision as it is to Tokaj’s unique terroir.
🍯 Aszú & Szamorodni – Sweetness with a Twist
Tokaj Aszú wines are unapologetically sweet — often over 120 g/l of residual sugar — but never heavy, thanks to a razor-sharp acidity that keeps them lively. Their flavor palette is a feast: dried apricot, honey, chestnut, coffee beans, bitter chocolate, candied citrus, curry, and sweet spices. Even if dessert wines aren’t your thing, Aszú is an experience worth having once in your life.
For an easier introduction, there’s Szamorodni (“as it comes”). Here, whole bunches — some fresh, some touched by noble rot — are harvested together, producing a lighter, more approachable wine that offers a first taste of Tokaj’s magic without the full sweetness or price tag of Aszú.
🚀 Tokaj Today – A Region on the Rise
Since the early 2000s, a new wave of producers has been turning heads with bone-dry, mineral-driven wines alongside the sweet treasures. These wines have everything today’s drinker craves: precision, history, storytelling, and terroir in every sip.
Tokaj’s expertise in vineyard expression is centuries old — they even classified their vineyards nearly 100 years before Bordeaux’s 1855 classification, purely on observation and local knowledge. Names like Szent Tamás, Szarvas, Mézes Mály, Betsek are legendary among connoisseurs.
Producers such as István Szepsy, Demeter Zoltán, Samuel Tinon, Disznókő, the Royal Tokaji Company, Oremus, and Hétszőlő are leading this renaissance, joined by a growing number of passionate, family-owned estates. After decades under Soviet influence, Tokaj is reclaiming its noble heritage with fresh energy and a deeper understanding of its unique terroirs.
💡 A hidden gem today… a global hype tomorrow? Don’t be surprised when Tokaj takes the spotlight again.
Tony Lecuroux, MS
💬 Your Turn to Share!
If you’re as passionate about wine as I am and want to dive deeper into the magic of the Tokaj region, drop a comment below — I’d love to share even more stories, facts, and behind-the-scenes details with you. 🍷
Tell me which wine region you’d like me to explore next, and together we’ll keep this journey going.
📣 Winemakers, take note!
If you’d like me to feature your wines — whether for a public spotlight or a more private tasting review — send me a message through my contact page. I’ll be happy to get back to you and share your story with wine lovers around the world.
And don’t forget: like, share, and spread the word on your social media so more people can discover this and other wine adventures. You’ll find plenty more regions, tasting notes, and wine secrets waiting for you on the rest of Parole de Vin.
Tony Lécuroux MS
Wine lover by heart and passion.
✨Master Sommelier
🥈2nd best sommelier of Switzerland 2025
🏆 ASI Diploma Gold - Best in class 2018
🍾 Ruinart Sommelier UK winner 20188
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