A book by David Copp. At a press reception at the Marriott Hotel Budapest, David Copp said:
I am not the first foreigner to fall in love with Tokaj. Nor will I be the last. It is an enchanting wine region made famous, as Hugh Johnson so aptly puts it in his Foreword, by the products of its fields.
What wonderful fields! The first in the wine world to be properly classified, they produce a range od dry, semidry,semisweet, late harvest and Aszu wines that speak for themselves.
But why does this small wine region in northeastern Hungary (so much more accessible by motorway these days) hold such fascination for wine enthusiasts around the world.
Firstly, because the Good Lord bestowed His favours on it in the shape of volcanic hills that were later washed over by the Mare Magnum, leaving rich clay and shell deposits when it receded to form the Mediterranean. Later fine-grained windbourne material settled on top of the hard old rock and the rich marine deposits.
It is the minerality of the soil that gives such strength and longevity to Tokaji wines. The Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat grape varieities have been long-established in the Carpathian Basin and they add fine bouquets and fruity flavours.
However much landscape, climate and variety may fashion a wine, it takes human imagination to finesse it. From the 17th century Tokaji landowners determined to attract the best viticultural workers and oeneologists. They and their descendants, inspired by their environment, have revealed their love for their landscape in their wines.
Tokaj is not a new fad. Its wines have been prized throughout Europe for centuries. At the end of the 18th century, Thomas Jefferson, then US Foreign Ambassador at large, shipped home lage quantities of Tokaji to serve at White House dinners.
However, over the last hundred years or so, history has dealt Hungary a harsh hand. The disasters of Phylloxera were compounded by two World Wars and followed by 40 years of communist rule that stifled the freedom and imagination required to make great wine.
Since 1990, when Hungary's first democratic governmment moved decisively to decentralise and privatise the industry, more than million has been invested in replanting the greatest Tokaji vineyards, building state-of-the-art wineries, and commissioning the Zemplen oak barrels and deep cellars essential to the maturation of its great Aszu wines.
The investment from French, German, Spanish, American, British, Danish and Japanese wine companies has been sympathetic and sensitive to the long term interests of Tokaj, and reveals the investors confidence in the region's wines. Axa Millesimes, Vega Sicilia, Antony Hwang, Thomas Lindner, the Daulan family, Jean Louis Laborde, GMF and Suntory know very well that there are no short cuts to fine wine making. Fine wines demand patience, dedication committment and time.
Those of you that have been lucky enough to visit the wineries of Arvay, Beres, Disznoko, Degenfeld, Dobogo, Kiralyudvar, Hetszolo, Oremus and Patricius, or ventured into the great vineyards rescued by the back-aching labour of Istvan Szepsy, Marta Willi Baumkauff and others, or seen the work done by Crown Estates, Royal Tokaji and Degenfeld to restore the two Great Growths of Tokaji - Szarvas and Mezes Maly will have witnessed the new Tokaji.
I commend those that have not yet been, or haven't been for sometime, to go and see for themselves the enormous progress that has been made. And not just in the fields, the architecturally designed wineries and the modern equipment, but in the wines themselves. The dull, tired, fabricated wines of the communist period have been replaced by vibrant, fresh, exciting wines in a spectrum of flavours. Moreover, you can taste them in extremely pleasant reception facilities built to the high standards of modern wine tourism.
This Companion directs you to the cellar doors of those that have committed themselves to the ideals of Tokaj Renaissance the Association that binds its members to work to the highest possible standards. You will also find some fascinating wines from smaller family owned wineries where imaginative and independent minded men and women express themselves in their wines.
I hope readers will decide to go and meet them and see for themselves what this outstanding terroir has to offer. I have tried to make this book practical and easy to use for the first time visitor and, I hope, to become a real companion for the wine-loving traveller.
I have been greatly helped in this task by my good friend and fellow journalist Robert Smyth, with whom I have tasted hundreds of wines; by editor Nick Robertson who has used his skill and experience to make the book so much more readable; by photo editor Bianca Otero and Fekete K who has contributed many fine photographs; and by publisher Andras Wiszkidensky and his team that have brought this little volume to life.
Contacts
Publication date: 12th November 2007
Publisher: PxB
Book size: 250mm x 145mm
Soft Cover
Pages: 158+4
Illustrations: Full Colour photographs, Maps, Diagrams
Distributor: JAFFA KIADÓ
Address: Budapest Király utca 16.
Contact: Richard Rados
Telephone: (+36 1) 887 4840; (+36 1) 887 4815
more information
2007. november 19.
