European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Hungary struggles to revive its wines reputation and sales _ is Michel Abrams the greater the number on the Label of Tokay wines a the Pride of Hungary s vintners a the sweater the wine and As it Ages the higher the alcoholic  Roger Cohen the new York times mired in the bureaucracy of converting communism to capitalism tugged Between Western and nationalist interests the greatest wine of Eastern Europe is struggling to survive in a changed world. Tokay made since the 17th Century in the undulating Countryside around the hungarian Village of the same name was Long the favorite of czars Austro hungarian emperors and the Kremlin. The Imperial russian court of Peter the great had a troop of cossacks guard its annual shipment to St. Petersburg. Voltaire contended that the wine distinguished by an in tense honeyed Richness Quot invigorates every fiber of the  but less glorious times have befallen the wine whose famed Haszu variety is made like sauternes from overripe grapes affected by the Bot Rytis Cindrea the Quot Noble rot Quot that produces some of the world s Best Sweet wines. When Hungary became a communist state in 1948, the Best vineyards were seized and entrusted to a revolutionary unit by the name of the Quot state wine  the soviet Union became its chief but not always most discerning client taking Well Over half the production of a wine sometimes called Quot the Golden  Quot the Kremlin loved the Best bottles but generally Moscow was More interested in the number of litres than their Quality Quot said the Tokay Combine s general director Andras Bacso an ecologist manifestly weary of political upheaval on his turf. Now however with the collapse of the soviet Union that Market has disappeared. Other important East bloc markets have shrunk because the countries Are penniless. The state company s staff has been slashed from 2,400 to 1,108 Over the last two years but it is still losing Money. Quot we have to sell Tokay in the West now but we lost our image there and the generation which loved to consume this wine is dead Quot rued Zoltan Hegedus the commercial director. Enter the presumed redeemer of All Eastern european lost causes privatization. But As countries from Czechoslovakia to Russia Are finding privatization is complicated. It requires capital but the citizens of these former communist countries generally do not have any. Foreigners of course do but they Are not always Welcome. Moreover the property to be privatized belonged to someone before communism and that person s family May want to make a claim. All these ticklish issues Are afflicting the proposed privatization of Tokay whose Sale to foreigners is particularly sensitive because the wine is a revered Symbol extolled in the hungarian National Anthem. Quot Tokay is our blood Quot said Janos Pogacsas a local grower working for the state Combine. Blood is not easily parted with. Almost two years after embarking on an ambitious plan to sell the Best of the approximately 15,500 acres of Tokay vineyards to the private sector a preferably West 1 european or american wineries or wine merchants with marketing know How a Hegedus conceded that Quot frankly the process has become a  the initial plan was Clear enough. It called for the old famed estates of hungarian Nobles such As the Esterhazy family to be reconstituted and sold As individual chateaus so imbuing the wine once More with individualism after 40 years in the communist compressor. Ernst amp Young the accounting concern was called in a year ago to evaluate the 17 chosen estates with viticultural areas ranging from 100 to 500 acres. Prices a generally in the $3 million to $5 million Range a were set and potential buyers both hungarian and International invited to take a look. Quot we know that we need to relaunch the image of these wines in the european and . Markets and that we need Western know How and capital to achieve this Quot said Bacso noting that French German american and dutch companies and individuals were among those who had expressed interest. But then in february Hungary passed a so called Quot compensation Law Quot allowing the pre-1948 owners of property to make claims on land or other possessions lost to the communists. The Haims Aie limited to a maximum value of about $62,000 compensation takes the form of vouchers that can be used to buy property. Because claims have been made on Many of the Tokay chateaus sales have been delayed. Quot there Are More grandfathers and great grandmothers around than we thought Quot Hegedus said. The claims and counterclaims Are not expected to be resolved before Early 1993. In addition Many believe that after an initial burst of enthusiasm for privatization the state property Agency which oversees sales has become bogged Down in bureaucracy and political hesitation. Quot populists Are coming to the fore in the governing democratic forum party saying the country s prize assets Are being lost and trying to Block privatization Quot said Gyorgy Suranyi who recently quit As governor of the Central Bank. Attila Tarkany Szucs the Deputy managing director of the state property Agency denied that there was political pressure to slow sales. But deluged in dossiers concerning the hundreds of state companies up for Sale he seemed confused about Tokay. Quot i think the privatization of Tokay is already completed Quot he ventured. In fact the Sale of one chateau on which no claims existed was completed earlier this year. The he Szollo estate adjoining the Village of Tokay was sold to a Bordeaux based French japanese company grands Mill Simes de France which paid about $ 4 million for 75.2 percent of the Vineyard. The balance is owned by the state and the municipality of Tokay. Quot it took an agonizing 14 months to Complete the transaction but we persevered because for us Tokay is one of the world s five great wine regions Quot said Aymar de Baillen the company s general director. Quot the others Are Burgundy Bordeaux Champagne and  but he added that Lack of investment isolation from world markets for several decades and an emphasis on Quantity rather than Quality had inflicted considerable damage on Tokay. Quot we believe we can make a great wine again but it will take time Quot he said. Quot other foreign companies must come in and the West must be re educated to the taste of Tokay. We do not expect to make any profit for 10 to 15  Pogacsas the grower vehemently rejected the notion that the wine had declined in Quality. Leading a visitor through the Miles of fungus coated cellars where Tokay Haszu is stored in casks for at least six years before being bottled he described foreign companies As predators seeking to take advantage of Hungary s current economic weakness. In a Candle lit vault with a wooden table set in the Middle of it he uncorked a bottle of Tokay dating from 1956 a the year the soviet Union crushed Hungary s uprising against communism. It tasted of nectar Rich and autumnal with a hint of Sherry like dryness lingering in the Mouth. Quot i was Young when i made this wine and now i am old Quot he said. Quot but i know that our future greatness is rooted in our past traditions. If this is Ever sold to foreigners i will Rise from my grave to  vineyards and Hills surround a vacation Home in Northern Hungary. May 7, 1992 stripes Magazine 13