Hungarian wine

During the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, an ancient variety of grapes was used to make the robust red-wine blend later known as Bikavér (Bull's Blood), after a supposed secret ingredient in the wine that fortified the defenders of Eger in 1552.

[citation needed] It was also during the Turkish occupation that the Tokaj region became known for dessert wines, harvested late to encourage noble rot.

After the Ottoman Empire ceded Hungary to the Austrians in 1699, the Germanic influence was felt with the introduction of grape varieties such as Blauer Portugieser.

That influence also showed [citation needed] in the start in 1730 of the world's first vineyard classification in Tokaj, based on soil, aspect and propensity to noble rot.

Hungary's most famous wine region lies in the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains of the far north of the country; in fact the traditional area crosses into the southeast corner of modern Slovakia.

Varying amounts of this aszú paste are then added to non-aszú must or wine made from a mix of Furmint, Hárslevelű, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Kövérszőlő or Zéta grapes, and left to ferment.

The resulting wine is then aged in relatively small barrels in a labyrinth of cellars in the soft volcanic tuff, on whose walls thick blankets of fungus regulate the humidity.

The dry Furmint drew the attention of the world's wine connoisseurs and experts when the Úrágya 2000 single vineyard selection was introduced by István Szepsy.