1915: Vay Vineyard (Olaszliszka, Tokaj region), Vayi Winery
Old Vine Chronicles/I.
I spent a couple of exciting weeks taking photographs and seeking out the oldest plantations in the legendary Hungarian wine region of Tokaj. Though there are several extremely old parcels and individual vines remaining, it appears that overall there is a declining area of complete, larger-sized old plantations in Hungary. The main reasons leading to a lack of old vines have been phylloxera (from the late 19th century), the two world wars, and considerable political upheaval. In the former communist era, which lasted until 1989, each family was permitted to own only a maximum of just a third of a hectare. This resulted in tiny, fragmented plots that progressively became older, while they got a new owner every 40-50 years (some of the plantations declined so much over the decades that they had to be replanted by their new owners), so it is more than challenging to tell when the remaining mature plants were actually planted.