Tokaji - Other Uses of The Tokaji Appellation

Other Uses of The Tokaji Appellation

Tokaji wines have been famous for a long time, which has resulted in their name being “adopted” by other wines:

• Historically Tokaji was a white wine from the region of Tokaj in the Kingdom of Hungary. Tokaji wine was mentioned as early as 1635 with reference to the sweet dessert aszú (botrytised) wine. Prior to the phylloxera epidemic in the 1880s, wine was grown in Tokaj from various types of mainly white grape varieties. In English and French the spelling Tokay was commonly used.
• Under Hungary's and Slovakia's accession treaty to the European Union, and an earlier 1993 agreement, the Tokaj name (including other forms of spelling) has been given Protected Designation of Origin status. From March 2007, wine producers in France and Italy have no longer been allowed to use the Tokay or Tocai name for their wines, which were made from two unrelated varieties.
  • The name Tokay came to be used in the Alsace region of France for wines made with the Pinot Gris grape, typically as Tokay d'Alsace. Following the 1993 agreement, the name Tokay Pinot Gris was adopted as an intermediate step, and by 2007 the use of the Tokay part was no longer allowed nor used. Many Alsace producers switched to the name Pinot Gris several years before the deadline.
• In Italy the name Tocai came to refer to the grape Sauvignon Vert from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, under the designation Tocai Friulano. This designation was to have been phased out by 2007, with the same timeline as for Tokay d'Alsace. However, Italy failed to implement a new name in time, so currently its use will end by EU mandate in 2010.
• In Slovenia, the EU prohibition of the historical name tokaj for the traditional wine of Goriška Brda and Vipava regions and its replacement with Sauvignonasse led to great confusion among consumers.
• There has also been a long-running dispute between Hungary and Slovakia over the right to use the name Tokaj. Negotiations between the two governments resulted in an agreement being signed in June 2004. Under this agreement, wine produced on 5.65 km² of land in Slovakia is allowed to use the Tokajský/-á/-é label. However, a number of practical issues remain. Slovakia has pledged to introduce the same standards enshrined in Hungarian wine laws since 1990, but it has not yet been decided who will monitor or enforce those laws.
• The Rutherglen wine region in Australia produces a dessert wine made from Muscadelle grapes that has usually been referred to as Tokay, but which has little resemblance to the grapes or the processes of Hungarian Tokaji. Following a change in regulations in 2007, this variety of dessert wine has been sold under the name "Topaque" by some wineries, but as of 2012 some others continue to label theirs Tokay.
• Ukraine also produces wines labelled "Tokay," which are generally produced in Transcarpathia, a neighboring region which was part of the Tokaji region under Austro-Hungarian rule. This wine is made from similar cultivars is bottled in similar 500 ml bottles, but does not necessarily adhere to the same standards; this issue is being negotiated.