Aszú Glass is coming

The 2023 Aszú Day (10 December) will differ slightly from the previous ones. Aszú Glass: a Hungarian-developed, handmade wine glass will be created to present a completely new, elegant, and sophisticated face of one of the world’s best sweet wines, Tokaj’s most unique treasure, the aszú wine.

Aszú Glass: exceptional tasting experience for an extraordinary wine

This cup will be different from the others. With Aszú Glass, the main goal is to enhance the consumption of Tokaj aszú. “Somewhere, both productions are an exciting culmination of human performance in wine,” adds Gergely Ripka.

A worthy glass for Tokaji Aszú

“I have experimented with many glasses for Aszú over the years. In the course of the development, we have made several rounds of sorting out the shapes that are definitely not suitable for aszú. We then did two rounds of selecting the perfect one from the existing molds and then the completely new ones, testing them with several wines: both old and young 5 and 6 puttonyos. During the final test in August, not only the narrow team of 7 but also a whole day in Tokaj with many producers from the wine region, a total of 40 professionals (including MWs, MS, producers, and wine writers) tested the 5 candidates for the glass with 30 aszú. Their scores are also included in this selected glass.”

Hungarian glass for Hungarian top wine!

“Only the highest quality glass can be ideal for one of the world’s most beautiful wines,” says Gergely Ripka. The author of the international award-winning TokajGuide spent almost a year preparing the project, accompanied by thorough professional and interprofessional consultation. Here in Hungary, the leading professional partner for this was Halimba Crystal, which exclusively produces premium quality handmade chalices. It mainly supplies foreign markets, but of course, it was happy to support the initiative, as it allows us to present the uniqueness of Tokaj in a way we have never tasted before!

Drink more Tokaji!

“The consumption of sweet wines is declining worldwide. Even an exclusive tasting experience with a worthy glass can reverse this trend. It’s not just in fine dining restaurants, but also at home, where you can experience the perfect experience of a bottle of great aszú wine,” explains Gergely Ripka. In addition to the renowned producers of the Tokaj wine region, the project’s idea manager also included a master sommelier and wine educator in the narrow development team to ensure that the right glass shape was created at the end of the process. As he says, it is essential that this also helps to position Tokaj’s sweet wine both at home and abroad. The glass is also a message: dare to touch it on any special occasion, not just Christmas!

Halimba Crystal

Just as the sweet wine aszú has no equal, the new glass comes from an extraordinary place. Halimba’s capacity is booked up years in advance by foreign customers. They also blow wine glasses for hire for many well-known foreign companies. Anyone who picks up an Aszú Glass cup will immediately feel that a new perspective in wine-tasting experiences has opened up. Even compared to what we have been getting from aszú so far. A few drops of luxury. Testings have shown that the shape of the glass, in addition to its graceful appearance, brings out the best of all sweet Tokaj wines, not just aszú, in terms of both aroma and taste.

Aszú Glass: forward on the road

The first Aszú Glass series will be a limited edition. Lucky consumers will soon experience this unique experience in selected restaurants, wineries, and wine shops. In addition, the chalice will soon be available for pre-order by anyone (restaurant, retailer, individual) and at a discounted price until Christmas from exclusive distributor Halimba Crystal. In the meantime, you can follow the development on the makers’ YouTube channel, where the Aszú Glass will be unveiled in three spectacular episodes.

Cover photo by Gergely Ripka

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