The sweet and sophisticated Hungarian wines of Tokaj are among the oldest and most sought-after of wines, preferred by Louis XIV and Catherine the Great. But starting in the mid-19th century, they suffered first from phylloxera, then two world wars, and then Hungary’s control by the Soviet regime, which emphasized quantity over quality. More recently, the region has reemerged as a producer of fine wines and was classified as a UNESCO cultural landscape.
Jenny Herman traced this fascinating history, focusing on the Furmint grape variety, based in part on her site visits and interviews with winemakers.
