Bruce Anderson

Hungarian rhapsody | 26 April 2018

The wines of Tokaji run like a golden thread through Hungarian history. There are references to their nectar-like quality in the Hungarian national anthem. Imperial Tokaji, the world’s sweetest wine, has always been prized. As its name implies, much of it found its way to the Habsburgs’ cellars. Emperors often used it as birthday or Christmas presents for fellow monarchs. So I was delighted to taste some non-imperial bottles over dinner at the Hungarian embassy, courtesy of that impressive fellow Kristóf Szalay–Bobrovniczky, the ambassador, a good friend of President Orbán’s. Mr Orbán is much demonised. Along with President Trump and Brexit, he is seen to be a threat to the Fifth International: the pseudo-liberal bureaucratic one. That apart, he cannot be accused of resembling Mr Trump.

At times, Hungarian democracy may have a rough edge: can anyone name a single infant democracy in which that was not the case? From the Turkish victory at Mohács to the glorious uprising in 1956 — and beyond — Hungary was often embattled and frequently oppressed. Those are not the easiest circumstances for cultivating the gentler arts of government. Moreover, President Orbán is a patriot and a Christian: how deeply unfashionable. He believes Hungary should control its own borders: how un-European. Having escaped Soviet rule, he is not interested in being told what to do by the Germans. How absurd: does he not realise that it is more than 70 years since the Germans tried to exterminate anyone? Does he not trust the Bundesreich?

It was certainly easy to trust the Hungarian wines. The sweet wines — aszú — are the product of dried grapes which have developed noble rot and are harvested as late as January. They are grown on a plateau full of extinct volcanoes.

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