Slovak vs Hungarian Tokaj: Differences

Tokaj is one historic wine landscape that a border has crossed since 1920. The larger part, Tokaj-Hegyalja, lies in north-east Hungary; a small part, seven villages, lies in Slovakia. The hills, the volcanic soils, the grapes and the cellars are the same on both sides. What differs is the law, the language on the label and the scale. This page sets out those differences as neutrally as we can.

The short version

Both sides make wine from Furmint and its traditional partners on volcanic slopes, with botrytised berries at the heart of the sweet wines.
Each country defines its wines under its own law and its own EU-protected designations of origin. EU courts and the European Commission have accepted that both may use the name Tokaj.
Slovak wines use Slovak terms (výber, samorodné, putňa). Hungarian wines use Hungarian terms (aszú, szamorodni, puttony). Slovak wines are never called "Tokaji" or "aszú".
The Hungarian side is much larger and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Slovak side is on Slovakia's Tentative List only.

Side by side

	Slovak Tokaj	Hungarian Tokaj
Villages	7: Bara, Čerhov, Černochov, Malá Tŕňa, Slovenské Nové Mesto, Veľká Tŕňa, Viničky	27 in the UNESCO World Heritage area; Wikipedia counts 28 named villages in the wine region
Area	907 ha delimited (commonly cited figure); 657 ha of Tokaj varieties registered (31 Jul 2025)	11,149 ha of classified vineyards, about 5,500 ha planted (Wikipedia estimate)
Protected names (EU)	"Vinohradnícka oblasť Tokaj" (since 2006); "Tokajské víno zo slovenskej oblasti" (since 2025)	"Tokaj / Tokaji"
Main grapes	Furmint, Lipovina, Muškát žltý	Furmint, Hárslevelű, Sárgamuskotály (Yellow Muscat)
Botrytised berries	cibéby	aszú berries
Harvest tub	putňa (plural putne)	puttony
Wine of botrytised berries soaked in must or wine	Tokajský výber 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-putňový: at least 60, 90, 120 or 150 g/l sugar; aged at least 3 years, 2 in wood	Tokaji aszú: at least 120 g/l sugar since the 2013 harvest; "5 puttonyos" or "6 puttonyos" may still be stated (6 = at least 150 g/l); at least 18 months in wood, released from 1 January of the third year after harvest
Wine from the grapes as harvested, no berries added	samorodné suché (any cibéby picked out beforehand for výber; up to 10 g/l sugar) and sladké (cibéby processed with the grapes; over 10 g/l); aged at least 2 years, 1 in wood	szamorodni: dry (under 9 g/l) and sweet (over 45 g/l), separate wine types since 2026
Rich selection between výber/aszú and essence	výberová esencia (at least 180 g/l)	aszúeszencia, no longer a Hungarian category
Essence	esencia (over 450 g/l; 1.2–8 % vol.)	eszencia
Pomace and lees wines	forditáš, mášláš	fordítás, máslás (dry versions removed in 2026)
UNESCO	Tentative List (since 2002)	World Heritage Site (since 2002)

Hungarian figures for szamorodni and aszú ageing are as described by the Hungarian wine portal bor.hu in 2024; the 2026 amendment tightened some analytical and storage rules, so check current Hungarian rules for detail.

How the rules differ

Putňa and puttony

Both words name the same thing: the tub a picker carried on their back to collect botrytised berries. Traditionally, the number of tubs added to a cask of must showed how rich the wine would be. Both countries have since replaced the counting of tubs with minimum sugar levels.

Slovakia kept the full ladder from 3 to 6 putne, with minimums of 60, 90, 120 and 150 g/l of residual sugar. Hungary changed its rules from the 2013 harvest: every Tokaji aszú must now have at least 120 g/l, the old 5-puttonyos level, and the 3- and 4-puttonyos levels no longer exist. Hungarian producers may still put "5 puttonyos" or "6 puttonyos" on the label if the wine meets that level, but they do not have to. So within Tokaj, the lighter 3- and 4-putňový wines are now made only on the Slovak side. You may still find older Hungarian 3- and 4-puttonyos bottles from vintages before 2013.

Ageing

Slovak výber must age for at least three years, at least two in wood. Hungarian aszú, according to bor.hu, needs at least 18 months in wooden casks and cannot be released before 1 January of the third year after the harvest.

The 2026 Hungarian amendment

In July 2026 the European Commission approved an amendment to the Hungarian "Tokaj / Tokaji" specification (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1556), after no objections were received. According to The Drinks Business, it removed little-used categories, among them aszúeszencia and the dry versions of fordítás and máslás, and made dry and sweet szamorodni separate wine types. The Slovak rules on výberová esencia, forditáš and mášláš are unaffected.

Different views on the name

The two countries have disagreed about the name for decades. The EU courts dismissed Hungary's challenges to the Slovak entry in the E-Bacchus database in 2012 (case T-194/10) and 2014 (case C-31/13 P). When Slovakia applied to register "Tokajské víno zo slovenskej oblasti", Hungary lodged a reasoned opposition in 2024, arguing among other things that the names partly coincide, that under the Hungarian legislation of 1908–1924 only Malá Tŕňa and Viničky belonged to the region, and that Slovak rules are less strict. The Commission registered the name in July 2025, finding no risk of confusion with the Hungarian Tokaj/Tokaji. The history is told in more detail on a history of Slovak Tokaj.

For visitors, the practical point is simpler: each side's wines are labelled in their own language and under their own rules, and both are worth tasting.

What feels different on the ground

The Slovak side is small: seven villages, 42 registered producers, many of them family cellars that open by arrangement. Distances between the villages are short, and you often meet the winemaker in their own cellar. The Hungarian side is many times larger, with correspondingly more villages and wineries. Some competitions bring the two together: the Tokaj 2025 wine competition, for example, had categories for both Slovak and Hungarian Tokaj.

Visiting both sides

The two sides meet at Slovenské Nové Mesto and Sátoraljaújhely in Hungary. Until 1920 they were one town; today they face each other across the small Ronyva stream, with a road crossing between them. Both countries are in the Schengen Area, so there are normally no border checks, but carry a passport or ID card, as checks can be reintroduced temporarily.

A few ideas for linking the two sides:

Climb the barrel-shaped observation tower in the vineyards between Malá Tŕňa and Černochov, which looks over Slovak and Hungarian Tokaj, including Sátoraljaújhely.
From Viničky, on the Bodrog, boat trips run to Sárospatak in Hungary.
Taste a Slovak výber and a Hungarian aszú on consecutive days and compare.

Our itinerary one Tokaj, two countries puts these into a day-by-day plan.

Note: Slovakia and Hungary both have zero tolerance for alcohol when driving (0.0 ‰). If you are tasting on both sides, use public transport, agree on a designated driver or stay overnight.

Slovak and Hungarian Tokaj: one landscape, two countries