03 August 2021 / Csaba Katona
1. Gáspár Károli
Let’s start our introductions with Gáspár Károli, a Reformed paster, who is primarily known as the creator of the first full Hungarian translation of the Bible, the famous Vizsoly Bible. He studied in Carei and Brasov, then in Wittenberg and later in Gönc, and became a preacher and then a dean. At the same time, he was also familiar with grape and wine production, as he owned vines and a cellar in one of Tokaj’s famous vineyards, Hétszőlő, recognised since 1502. He also traded in Aszú wines and had numerous customers; for example, he made regular deliveries to Poland, a traditional market for Tokaj wines.
Gáspár Károli and the Hétszőlő vineyard (source: Wikipedia and Hungarian Tourism Agency)
2. Máté Szepsi Laczkó
We know little about the life of Máté Szepsi Laczkó. As his name suggests, he was born in Szepsi in the 1570s. He was an educated man, by no means surprising for a Reformed paster. He studied in Sárospatak and taught in Olaszliszka and Košice, but also travelled to German lands, to Wittenberg and Hanaut, as well as being a pastor in Erdőbénye. Afterwards, he was in the service of Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, the wife of György Rákóczi I, while he was also a chronicler of his times, as his notes entitled ‘Brief remarks on things to remember’ (Emlékezetre való dolgoknak rövid megjegyzései) cover the period 1520-1619. Legend has it that he made the first Aszú wine and that the word Aszú even originated with him, but this is not true. He barely mentions wine in his chronicle, nor does Aszú occur in it: “1617. God has given wonderful abundance of everything this year. In Liszka and Bodrogkeresztúr an akó of wine was selling for 9–15 forints.” “1618. Wine is limited this year across the land, grapes were only produced on the hills of Liszka, Bénye and Tolcsva. God can give wherever he wants, if necessary.” What is fact, though, is that Máté Szepsi Laczkó is recorded as having presented a bottle of Aszú at Zsuzsanna Lorántffy’s festive table, which at most proves that Máté Szepsi Laczkó made Aszú.
The statue of Máté Szepsi Laczkó in Erdőbénye and Sárospatak Castle, the mistress of which, Zsuzsa Lorántffy, received the first Aszú (source: www.tokaj-turizmus.hu and Hungarian Tourism Agency)
3. Ferenc Mayerffy Xavér
Ferenc Mayerffy Xavér was born in Pest in 1776, to a family of Bavarian descent. The versatile entrepreneur not only made his mark in the field of winemaking, but he also had a brewery in Tabán, while his memory is still preserved in Ferihegy, where he also established a viticulture school on the estate. So, there was nothing more natural for him than to be involved in the wine trade; moreover, a depiction of the “devil rider” Count Sándor Móric, jumping over the grape vats at his harvest ball has survived to this day.
Ferenc Mayerffy Xavér and the Ferihegy airport connected to his name, when it was handed over in 1950 (source: Wikipedia and Fortepan / UVATERV)
4. Franz Schams
Who other than a German-speaking gentlemen born in the Czech Republic should have been one of the prominent figures of 19th-century Hungarian winemaking? Franz Schams was born in the town of Litoměřice in 1803, studied pharmacy in Prague and Vienna, but as typical in the period, sought his fortune elsewhere, notably in St Petersburg, where he practised his profession and opened a pharmacy. However, he became interested in viticulture and winemaking, thus settled in Hungary’s rapidly developing, multicultural city Pest, the country’s economic centre. He founded the country’s first viticulture school (with the support of Mayerffy) at the foot of Sashegy in Buda, and even the first Hungarian wine magazine, Journal of Hungarian Winegrowing and Making (Magyarország Bortermesztését ‘s Készítését Tárgyazó Folyóírás) is connected to his name.
5. Entz Ferenc
Ferenc Entz, born in Sümeg in 1805, was just a couple of years younger than him. Born into a noble family, he studied to be a doctor and, when he had to, he fought, taking part in the revolution and the war of independence. However, after some time, he gave up the medical profession and became increasingly interested in viticulture, founding a vocational school and commercial horticulture business in 1853 to develop fruit tree and vine growing. In 1860, the National Hungarian Economic Association established the Vinedresser and Horticultural Training Institute, of which he became the head. Even the location of his death is tied to wine, as he retreated to Promontor, today’s Budafok, where he closed his eyes forever.
6. Ignác Prückler
Ignác Prückler was a contemporary of Schams and Entz. He was born in Pest in 1809 into a bourgeois family of Bavarian origin. He was a born businessman, a true entrepreneurial citizen, who advised the first Hungarian savings bank as well as the first Hungarian general insurance company. At a young age, in 1834, he founded the country’s first rum, liqueur and sparkling wine factory under the name Ignácz Prückler Hungary. The initiative was a real success story, and a few years before his death, it was one of the largest taxpayers in Pest. The factory continued to develop and could later proudly bear the title of “supplier to the imperial and royal court”.
Advertisement for Ignác Prückler’s sparkling wine factory (source: Wikipedia)
7. Lőricn Littke
Lőrinc Littke, born within one year of Prückler, also acquired his reputation thanks to sparkling wine. The Polish family of tailors arrived in Pécs in the 19th century. There is a legend about Lőrinc that his life was saved as an infant by being bathed in hot wine when he was suffering from meningitis. He learnt his father’s craft as he grew up but was also interested in the mystery of alchemy and was involved with wine and even mining. From 1859, however, sparkling wine production became the most important thing in his life, as he established the country’s second sparkling wine factory. Apparently, the fact that he and his brothers could not sell a large amount of wine played a role in this. Whether or not that was the case, Littke’s sparkling wine factory became a great success.
The Littke Palace Visitor Centre in Pécs nowadays (photo: www.littkepalace.hu)
8. Gyula Miklós
The name of Gyula Miklós, born in Finke in 1832, has been undeservedly forgotten. His father was a deputy of Borsod County, so he could have expected a county career, instead he picked up a gun in the War of Independence at a very young age. Later, he farmed his estate, gaining serious experience in winemaking. He became a deputy after the compromise. His expertise came in handy during phylloxera, and he became a national winemaking government commissioner in 1879. As part of this, he set up a network of state experts, also established the Advanced Viticulture and Oenology Course and initiated the creation of a series of demonstration sites. In 1883, the government received sandy hillsides immune from phylloxera from the Kecskemét City to establish a demonstration vineyard, which was named Miklóstelep in his honour.
9. Zsigmond Teleki
Zsigmond Teleki was not a member of the famous Transylvanian noble family; his original name was Taussig, and he was born in 1854 in Villány. His father was a spice trader, while he was an accountant at a Viennese bank, but the world of viticulture and winemaking attracted him more than anything. After several European trips, he started working with wine in Pest. His life was determined by the fight against phylloxera. He established an experimental rootstock plantation in Villány in 1881 for the breeding and propagation of resistant American rootstocks; the work undertaken here played a decisive role in the rebirth of Hungarian winemaking after phylloxera. The varieties he bred can since be found in practically every wine-producing country in Europe.
Zsigmond Teleki and his homeland, Villány (source: Wikipedia and Hungarian Tourist Agency)
10. József Törley
József Törley, born in Subotica in 1858, was a few years younger than him. His name was Hungarianised, his father was called Valentine Schmierl. After fighting in the War of Independence, his name was translated into Hungarian as Bálint Törley – a literal translation. His son learned the secrets of sparkling wine production in Graz and then in Reims, finally founding a sparkling wine factory in the latter, in France. However, while on a purchasing trip for base wine, he noticed the favourable conditions in Budafok and relocated his factory here in 1882. His friend from Reims, Louis Jean François, came with him as cellarmaster, eventually establishing his own factory, the François Sparkling Wine Factory, in Budafok, thus becoming his competitor. However, this did not break Törley’s momentum, and although the founder died when he was just 49, his name has now become legendary.
József Törley, a poster advertising his famous sparkling wine and the Törley Sparkling Wine Cellar nowadays (photo: Wikipedia and torley.hu)
