"In the north-northeast of Hungary, four prominent and highly ranked wine regions stretch out, practically touching one another. These provide two world-famous wines: the Tokaj Aszú and EgerBull's Blood ('bikavér'). Trekking across the wine trails gives the adventurer a wonderfully eventful excursion into the world of wine.Vini- and viticulture have a millennium of tradition in the wine regions of Mátraalja, Eger, Bükkalja and Tokaj-Hegyalja where all the vines grow on volcanic soil and the wines are nurtured in special cellars carved into tuff rock. They each have their own particular character, depending on the various microclimates suitable for the grape varieties and the particular bouquets they gather in their fruits.
The region of Tokaj-Hegyalja is nourished by the hills and waters alike; the hills offer good soil and excellent wood for barrels while the waters provide a special microclimate. The locals honour and treat this gift of nature with understanding and empathy. This unity has raised the region to the rank of a World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape. The French king Louis XIV called its Aszú, a rare golden-yellow desert wine, 'vinum regum, rex vinorum' that is 'the wine of kings, the king of wines'.
It is truly worth tasting wines in one of the many fascinating cellars in Tokaj-Hegyalja. Venues include a place large enough for a horse and cart to turn around, several storey cellars, a 5 kilometre long system and underground tasting places reminiscent of a knights' hall while some have several-hundred year old wines kept in a cocoon of grey-green 'noble rot'. The tasting event is often coupled with a visit to the vineyard slopes, and the story of the winemaking procedures."
Source:
hungarystartshere.com
21.09.2007