Pairing Tokaj’s sweet wines with various courses
The Aszú wines of the Tokaj region are steeped in history and tradition, being the first noble rot-affected wines in history of which we are aware. The habit has generally been for these wonderful wines to be reserved to go with desserts and, as such, they usually find their way to our table only at the end of the dinner.
But to consign Tokaji Aszú only to the pudding course is missing out on so much potential drinking pleasure. These wines possess a fine balance of aromatics, acidity, flavour intensity, sweetness and dry extract, providing a fulfilling mouthfeel. I would urge readers to explore different ways to taste and match Aszú, along with other sweet styles from Tokaj. And we hope this guide will encourage you to do just that, experimenting with food pairing in what could be considered ‘unconventional’ ways.
Great wines, great pairings
A year ago, Wines of Hungary UK set out to demonstrate just how versatile sweet Tokaji can be, at a special wine and food- matching lunch at Michelin one-star Trivet restaurant in London. The aim was to challenge the accepted criteria – the ‘norm’ in food and wine matching – and to showcase the compatibility of these wines with savoury dishes. As it turned out, the younger Aszús were excellent with lighter dishes, while the wines with more bottle age complemented richer dishes such as game; they also worked wonders with cured meats and cheese. Ultimately, great wines tend
