Although use of the term tablettás bor (wine made from soluble tablets, rather than actual grapes) continues to be widespread in Hungary, the latest evidence suggests that this trick is a thing of the past, at least in Eger, reports Népszabadság. Local wine judge (hegybíró) József Tarsoly tells the paper that the manufacture of ersatz wine using citric acid, sugar, various aromas and chemical additives has fallen by the wayside for simple reasons of economics: It is no longer profitable. While the National Institute for Wine Qualification (OBI, the body in charge of keeping non-wine wines off the market) confirms that it is seeing very few cases of tablettás bor, it is struggling against several other kinds of bogus bor.
Apparently one problem that is keeping the OBI busy involves mislabeling of years. By this we suspect they mean nasty old wine being put into shiny new bottles, rather than nasty new wine being put into vintage-looking old bottles.
But according to the report, the biggest “fake” wine problem these days is the use of Hungary’s good name by unscrupulous winemakers from other countries. Tokaj wines are still being faked by Ukrainian producers, gripes János Jarecsni, identified as a “top representative” of Tokaj winegrowers. Jarecsni said he even believes that the quantity of counterfeit aszú (individually-picked late-harvest berries) and other Tokaj specialties exceeds the total production of the world-famous region itself. Most of this produce is exported to Russia, historically one of Tokaj’s largest markets. Because neither Ukraine nor Russia are members of the EU, it is probably impossible to stop the practice. Guess they’ll just have to take a pill.
