Tokaji and Food

How Best to Pair Tokaji Wines with Food

Because of Tokaji's seemingly unlimited variety of both dry and sweet wines, there are many ways to pair an entire menu with the wines of Tokaji. Because sweetness can suppress the appetite, it is important not to show Tokaji’s sweet wine too early in a meal. I can remember one experience where I had a super-rich 1972 Aszu-Eszencia (it had been aged in barrel for 20 years) with a foie gras appetizer. The wine was so thick, it poured like olive-oil, and the aroma so satisfying, I lost my appetite completely and could drink no other wines that evening; this wine was that rich! It is important too, to not go backwards in sweetness throughout a meal. If one starts a meal with 5 puttonyos aszú (for those to whom money is no option) one must continue to drink 5 puttonyos aszú or sweeter wines throughout the meal otherwise the palate, so covered by the thick, delicious, sweet wine, will be affronted by the fresh acid of dryer wines and will inevitable make excellent dry wines taste bitter vinegary, and unpleasant While the acid in Aszú wine is high compared to regular table wine, the acid (in the hands of a good wine maker) is balanced by the wine's sweetness. If one drinks sweet wines for a while then switches to dry wines, all one can taste it the acid no matter how balanced the wine actually is. Another good idea is serving furmint AND aszú side-by-side. This way one can enjoy creating a balance for one’s palate at one’s own pace; worth a try.

Apéritif

The aperitif is actually a rather modern invention and unusual for Hungarians to serve a separate wine before a meal. However I find this the most appropriate time for Dry Szamorodni. Its sherry-like quality sparks the palate for things to come, however with only a hint of sweetness, does not overpower or damper the appetite with sugar. Sweet Szamorodni is another option but in some vintages can be too sweet. Other options of aperitif would be dry Furmint or a dry Furmint/Harslevelu blend.

Appetizers & Soup

Cold meats and cheeses are as common in Hungary as anywhere in the world as appetizers. The natural pairings for the like would be dry Furmint or a dry or semi-dry varietal blend. With a rich cheese or a warm appetizer, a Sweet or Dry Szamorodni might be nice for some salty/sweet contrast or even a dry Harslevelu with something salty or strong tasting.

Foie Gras

The most classic pairing of all with Tokaji Aszu is Foie Gras: the enlarged liver of a force-fed duck or goose. While many associate this delicacy with France, Hungary is the world’s leading producer of Foie Gras and of course, makes Tokaji its natural pairing. The wine must be sweet however no too cloying. My preference is 4 puttonyos but the new "Late Harvests" can be good too, like wise a Sweet Szamorodni from a good vintage.

Entrées

While Tokaji makes no red wine for sale (I have tasted privately grown Pinot Noir and red wines were grown in the region historically), again the dry varietals or blends thereof are crisp and refreshing with any meal. I would not recommend Szamorodni as its taste is too distinct to compliment dinner. Other options include the so called "semi-sweet" varietals of Furmint and Harslevelu. With fish or lighter meals, even a medium-sweet Sargamuskotaly would work. Spicy food, like Thai or Chinese, goes great with the dry Tokaji wines. The cutting crispness of the acid in Furmint is an awesome paring with hot foods. Furmint also has a hint of a salty taste, lending itself even more to cleansing the mouth and taking encouraging you to take another bite.

Cheese

Blue cheese and Aszú are a great pair. The stronger, the richer the cheese the sweeter the Aszú can be. With Brie or Comte a 3 puttonyos, with Goat Chese or Triple Crème a 4 puttonyos, a Blue-veined cheese a 5 or 6 puttonyos

Dessert

Tokaji’s classical association is dessert. Fruit desserts pair best with Tokaji (tarts, crepes). Cream-based desserts and dough-like pastries are also good: Savarins, doughnuts, Napoleons, cheese cake et cetera. Chocolate does less well with Aszú, surprisingly . Keep in mind that the sweetness of the dessert needs to be carefully matched with Tokaji Aszú. The Aszú wine MUST be sweeter than the dessert or else the wine will taste bitter. An apple tart might match a 3 or 4 puttonyos Aszú while a super-sweet Savarin might require Aszu-Eszencia to taste "in balance." For uncooked fruit or chocolate, the newly created "late harvest" wines are fresh, super-sweet and lively on the palate however don’t have a lot of richness where the Aszú wines might create conflict on the palate. The Late Harvest wines are much simpler and easier to drink, and they are very sweet.