Italians say ciao to Tocai

Northern Italians are saying a sad farewell to one of their most famous white wines – Tocai. This year’s vintage is the last one allowed to be called Tocai because from next year Hungary has exclusive rights to the name. This was part of Hungary’s agreement on joining the EU in 2004. However, wine producers from Friuli, the region where Tocai Friulano has been made for centuries, aren’t happy with having to call their wine simply Friulano. Basically, this is just an adjective that describes anything from Friuli. The fact that the Italian’s Tocai is completely different to the Hungarian wine also irks. In Italy, Tocai is an aromatic dry wine made from just Tocai. This grape is also known as Sauvignon Vert in France. Hungarian Tokaji, on the other hand, is a sweet wine using Furmint and Harslevelu grapes. To mark the last Tocai harvest, the grapes were trampled in wooden vats by beauty pageant contestants at a midnight beach ceremony at Lignano. But there is some consolation for the Italian wine producers. They have been promised €15 million by the government to help them relaunch Friulano. Meanwhile, the 2006 Tocai vintage looks likely to become a collectors’ item.