Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/74

HUNGARY (WINES OF) , Wines of. In respect to climate and soil Hungary may be considered a country un- usually well adapted to the culture of the grape ; but although wine is produced in almost every portion ot'it, only a comparatively small amount is available for the purposes of commerce. The total production may be estimated at nearly 400,000,000 gallons, not more than 50,000,000 of which are capable of being rendered fit for export. The amount annually leaving the country is in fact very much less than this, owing to the imperfect system of viticulture practised by the producers, and to defective and primitive treament of wine in the cellar. The wines are of three kinds : samorodny or " natural wine ;" muslas, which is made of dry and plump grape berries, used in certain proportions ; and ordinary wine, made from plump grapes only. It is a peculiarity of the Hungarian vines that the grapes ripening ear- liest often burst and discharge a portion of their juice, after which they dry tip and are converted into lumps of sugar, called aszu (Ger. Trocl-enbeereri) or dry berries. These very rarely comprise an entire bunch, but are inter- spersed with fully ripe and plump grapes. It is customary at the vintage to separate the dry berries from the others ; but when the clusters are put into the press without undergoing this process, the product is known as natural wine. The choice varieties are made from the ordina- ry wine, with the addition of dry berries. This is masliis. It is of four qualities, according to the quantity of dry berries added to each cask of wine. When reenforced beyond these proportions, it is called aszubor or Ausbruch, the choicest kind of which is that running spon- taneously from the musk-infused dry berries, known as " essence." These fortified wines are as a rule very alcoholic and sweet, and are the chief wines of commerce. The most famous product of the Hungarian vines is the Tokay wine, which is made in the vineyards covering the slopes of the Hegyalja range of hills, near the town of Tokay, in northern Hungary. Five qualities are classified : Essence, aus- brueh, masliis, samorodny, and ordinary. Of these the first is probably the most costly wine in the world, selling, when 60 years old and upward, at from $5 to $15 the small Tokay bottle. Dr. Druitt in his " Report on Cheap Wines," commending the use of Tokay by in- valids, describes the essence as "a wine of delicate pale tint, in which the sweetness and fragrance of the grape, though perceptible, are partly hidden by, or converted by age into, mi exceedingly rich, aromatic, mouth-filling wine flavor, so that, rich as it may be, it is not cloying nor sickly ; and in its admirable aroma there is a decided remembrance of green tea." This has long been considered peculiarly the wine of crowned heads and princes, and is rarely if ever for sale. The ausbruch and other qualities of Tokay also command high prices, and are usually found in limited quanti- ties wherever costly wines are in the market. | Among other Hungarian wines of the first class, but ranking below the Tokays, may be enumerated theMenes Magyarat, red and white ausbruch, and natural wines, yielding about 3,000,000 gallons, and the wines of Rust, pro- duced in the country lying west of the river Raab, and yielding annually between 800,000 and 900,000 gallons of white, strong, sweet ausbruch and natural wine. Wines of the second class comprise those of Somly6, Bada- csony, Neszm61y, Ermell6k, Szerednye, N6grad, and Krasso, which are white ; and Erlau, Vi- sonta (called also Schiller), Szegszard, Villany, Buda (Ofner), and Krasso, red wines. Those of the third and fourth class are scarcely known beyond the confines of the region in which they are produced. Hungarian wines, though comparatively new at the present time to Great Britain and the United States, were introduced into the former country as early as the reign of Jnmes I., and, on the authority of a German author of the last century, Helve-. tius, " were the favorite wines of the court and all over the kingdom." They were sub- sequently supplanted by port, sherry, and ma- deira. Fi'iedrich Hoffmann, professor of medi- cine at Halle, and a man of great mark in his profession, declared in 1(585, in an essay "On the Excellent Nature. Virtue, and Use of Hun- garian Wines," by which he means the sweeter wines of the Tokay order, that they excel all other wines, in that they are strong-, preserve their sweetness, have spirit, odor, and aroma ; are strengthening, and yet open the pores of the skin and other organs, so that they cause no headache nor languor; and that the better wines keep for an unlimited time. In connec- tion with the wines of Hungary may be con- sidered those of Austria, in many parts of which country the vine is largely cultivated. The average yield may be estimated at be- tween 200,000,000 and 300,000,000 gallons, in- cluding many wines of fair quality and good keeping properties. Most of this is consumed within the country. The finest varieties are those of Voslau, Goldeck, and Steinberg, of each of which there is a red and a white kind. The vines employed are those of Portugal, and their products are said to bear some resem- blance both to port and burgundy. They re- semble Madeira wines also in returning greatly improved from a sea voyage of several years. The sparkling Voslauer, an effervescent wine, has considerable flavor and a delicate aroma. The vineyards producing these wines lie S. of Vienna, between the Hungarian hills and the Styrian Alps, and enjoy a climate well adapted to the maturing of delicately flavored wines. Dr. Druitt sums up his opinion of them as follows: "The richness of the overripe white grapes destined to produce the cabinet wine ; the amplitude of the cellars excavated in the bowels of a hill ; the vicinity of sulphur springs and volcanic debris ; and the immense care, activity, and conscientiousness employed, be- speak a great future for these vines."