Hungary and Slovakia battle over Tokaji Wine
Tokaji wine became the subject of the world's first appellation control which was established several decades before Port wine, and over 120 years before the classification of Bordeaux.
For over fifty years, there has been a long-running dispute between Hungary and Slovakia over the wine term “Tokaj”.
The issue has heated up after the European Commission had recently given Slovakia the go-ahead for registering one of its wine regions, hitherto known as Tokajská Vonohradnícka Oblast under the name of Vinohradnícka Oblast Tokaj.
Tokaji in Hungarian, hailed as “the king of wines and the wine of kings” by King Louis XIV of France, has been produced for centuries in the north-east of Hungary, at the southern part of the Zemplén mountains. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002 on account for its viticulture traditions and landscape. The region is also the first in the world to produce wine from botrytized grapes.
The Tokaj region was redefined in 1908 and was split up in 1918, with the majority of vineyards going to Hungary and a small section of vineyards going to Czechoslovakia which is now Slovakia today. In 1959, as part of the Treaty of Trianon from World War I, four more villages were added to Czechoslovak, three of which had been mentioned in the original 1798 Tokaj delineation. The exact number of hectares within Slovakia is under dispute as well.
Slovakia had previously asked to officially register the term “Tokaj” in Slovak, but the request had been rejected by the European Commission. However, the current agreement would give Slovakia similar rights as Hungary for regulation and quality control over the wine. Many Hungarian producers are concerned the reputation of their vintage wines could be jeopardized. Although, Slovakians producers say their region is at a disadvantage due to the strict regulations imposed upon them.
In the past, EU regulations on geographical indication ordered French and Italian producers to relinquish using the Tokaji brand name, including its spelling varieties. It was also later proven that those wines had no correlation to Hungarian Tokaji wine. The European Union also settled the issue with Australia and the United States and both countries agreed to phase out the use of the Tokaji brand name.
The situation with Slovakia where about 10 per cent of the Tokaji region resides reminds yet to be resolved for both countries with further proceedings set to take place later this month.
Related posts:
- Tokaji Wine Festival 2009
- Wine Spotlight: 2009 Hétszölö Tokaji Furmint
- Tokaji: Hungary’s Golden Wine
- Celebrating 20 years of The Royal Tokaji Wine Company
- Tokaji Aszú
Category: Wine
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Suzanne Urpecz, creator and editor of The Hungarian Girl. Click on my About page for more info.
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“The Tokaj region was redefined in 1908 and was split up in 1918, with the majority of vineyards going to Hungary and a small section of vineyards going to Czechoslovakia which is now Slovakia today. In 1959, as part of the Treaty of Trianon from World War I, four more villages were added to Czechoslovak, three of which had been mentioned in the original 1798 Tokaj delineation. The exact number of hectares within Slovakia is under dispute as well.”
The above text is a little confused. Here is the Wikipedia reference: “In 1920, following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a small part of the Tokaj wine region (approx. 1.75 km²) became part of Czechoslovakia due to the Treaty of Trianon, while the rest remained part of Hungary.” I am not sure that the date of 1920 is correct (de facto it was 1918), but I have printed references to two villages, Kistoronya and Sz?l?ske, and 175 hectares of land within the wine region being ceded to Czechoslovakia. There is another reference in Wikipedia to this being only 120 hectares. The adding in 1959 of four villages to the Czechoslovak wine region was nothing to do with the Treaty of Trianon.
“The situation with Slovakia where about 10 per cent of the Tokaji region resides”. This is incorrect. The historical Tokaj wine region consisted of 9,829 hectares of vineyards rated Class I in the cadastre. So the 175 hectares ceded to Slovakia was less than 2% of the total. The current Slovakian wine region of Tokaj is larger because surrounding land was added to it, but these additional vineyards were never part of the historical Tokaj wine region. In any case, the figure of 10% is wrong because the size of the current Slovakian wine region of Tokaj is 998 hectares, while the Hungarian wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja has 7,000 hectares of classified vineyard. Just do the maths!
Thanks for your feedback. As I’ve mentioned the exact hectares of vineyards in Slovakia is still under dispute. It is estimated to be about 10%. Both countries have yet to reach an agreement on this issue.