Expert's Choice: Sweet Tokaji

I once attended a festival in Mád in the heart of Tokaj in northern Hungary. It was dark, the streets empty, the houses shuttered. But if you happened upon the right address, you were suddenly thrust into a disco-themed cheese tasting or a lively pop concert in one of the village’s wineries. It was, dare I say it, wonderfully mad.

Tokaj: we all know the region’s name, its history and the superlative quality of its wines, but how many of us have recently explored its lesser-known paths and hidden corners?

Yes, there’s a limited market for sweet wines, and Tokaji wines aren’t cheap (quite rightly, due to the heavy manual labour involved). And there has been a strong marketing focus on dry wines since they made their debut in the early 2000s.

But the selection that follows reminds us that Tokaj is still one of the greatest regions for sweet wines that can both elevate and surprise.