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News
Date set for third Great Tokaj Auction
The Confrérie de Tokaj will host its third Great Tokaj Auction in Hungary’s Sárospatak Castle on 25 April next year – a date that should be in the diary for all lovers of the sweet wine.
From its venerable sweet Aszú to its dry Furmint wines, interest in Tokaj is growing on both sides of the Atlantic. In California Eric Danch of specialist importers: Blue Danube Wines, likened the potential to Grüner Veltliner in the late 1980s. “Once people became comfortable with Austrian wine, the range of styles, and how to navigate the umlaut, it became a standard on every serious wine list.” He pointed to Tokaj being the muse of writers from Balzac to Tolstoy, and sees: “no reason that kind of demand and appreciation won’t happen again. In our experience, it’s already happening in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. We’ve seen growth across the board from neighborhood wine shops to Michelin-starred restaurants.”
This year’s Great Tokaj auction
This is backed up by Christopher Donaldson MW of the Royal Tokaji Wine Co. in London.
“The big buzz is dry Furmint in the US,” he told the drinks business. “This year we’ve been shipping containers for the first time ever.” Among the classic sweet wines, he said: “There’s been a real surge in demand for our single vineyard releases like our 6 puttonyos Aszú – the problem is supply.” In restaurants he admitted: “being part of the sweet wine category is difficult. “Once we get listings, we try and help sell it through.” Given the imbalance of supply and demand, he was quite sure a secondary market is starting to develop for the top wines.
For more information: http://tokajiborlovagrend.hu/en/sajtoanyagok-2015