Food pairing
It is a very elegant companion to desserts. Make sure that the sweetness of the wine is higher than the sweetness of the dessert! Also, Tokaj wines blend very well with blue mold cheeses such as Roquefort and Gorgonzola.
Production
Tokaji Essencia is the most valuable and rarest type among the Tokaj wines. Hand-selected and noble rotten berries, which are later needed for the Asz̼ preparation, are gathered into a keg and kept in it for a couple of days before the Asz̼ paste is prepared. Then, due to the berries�۪ own weight, some highly concentrated juice of noble quality will have accumulated on the bottom of the keg. This is the juice the Essencia is made from. Its fermentation process is incredibly slow, yielding an alcohol content of 5% to 8% only after a couple of years. Normally the Essencia�۪s residual sugar content is between 400 and 500 grams, yet record-breaking 900 grams and more have also been measured. One keg containing 25 kilograms of dry berries produces only between 1 and 1.5 liters of Essencia. It is also added to Asz̼ wines for ennobling them.
Winery
Tokaj wines are brought to market only after maturation in barrels and a certain storage time in the bottle. Once a bottle is bought, it is ready to be consumed. The bottle can still be stored for some years; higher qualities can even be stored for some decades. Some excellent qualities from very good years are still drinkable after more than 100 years. Tokaji Asz̼ is best consumed at a temperature of 11 to 14 �C. Warmer temperatures enhance its flavour but make it appear less fresh.
