Kortyoló – thirsty for experiencev1.49.5
HUEN
Buying tickets
Back to the knowledge base
Aszú and sweet wines

Late harvest and ice wine: when the grapes wait on the vine

1 min read

Late harvest

The grapes are left on the vine after the normal harvest so that they shrivel or develop noble rot. The wine can range from off-dry to sweet; in Tokaj, late-harvest wines typically contain 50–180 g/l of residual sugar.

Ice wine

The grapes are picked frozen in winter, at −7 °C or colder, and pressed. The water stays in the press as ice and only the thick, sweet juice runs out. The wine is pure, acidic and concentrated. It usually lacks the honeyed, fungal character of noble rot, so it is fresher than aszú.

Further reading

Read more

Az aszú nemesen rothadt, töppedt szemekből készül
Aszú and sweet wines

How does wine become sweet? Aszú, late harvest, ice wine, straw wine

The shared secret of sweet wines is that the sugar content of the grape berry becomes concentrated before or after harvest. This can happen through noble rot, shrivelling, freezing or drying.

1 min read
Aszú and sweet wines

Straw wine: sweet wine made from dried grapes

Straw wine is made from beautiful, healthy bunches that are dried on straw or racks for weeks or months. The wine ends up with honey, nut and dried-fruit flavours.

1 min read
Az aszú nemesen rothadt, töppedt szemekből készül
Aszú and sweet wines

Tokaji aszú: the “wine of kings”

Tokaji aszú is made from noble-rotted grapes; its main varieties are Furmint, Hárslevelű and Sárga Muskotály. Today every aszú must contain at least 120 g/l of residual sugar.

2 min read