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Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. Main Office 630 3rd Ave Adminstration 50 Avon Meadow Lane
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Dobogó Tokaji Aszú
The 1989 change of political system was a turning point in Hungary's history. Thanks to subsequent privatisations and the large influx of investment funds, today the Tokaj-hegyalja region enjoys a true Renaissance. New vineyards and wineries spring up one after the other. The production of aszú wines, once earning a deserved reputation for the entire Tokaj region, has again come to the attention of the world's wine connoisseurs. Descendants of the once prominent and successful historic families have reacquired vineyards and cellars, and built modern wine processing plants. This is the case with Dobogó Winery as well. As a token of old friendship, the winery was established by two famous families, the Zwacks and de Gelseys. The youngest members of each family, Isabella Zwack and Annabel de Gelsey, are registered as the owners of the winery. The shared objective is to regain recognition for Tokaj and the Hungarian winemaking all around the world. The name "Dobogó" (clopping) relates to ancient times when the hooves of horses pulling carts echoed throughout the landscape. Vineyards providing the base stock for Dobogó Tokaji Aszú come from the historic slopes of Mád és Tállya. The prime tracts of Betsek and Szent-Tamás lie on the south-western slopes of Zemplén Mountain. The volcanic mountain range is covered by cohesive soil. Vineyards are found at elevations of 200-250 m. Under ideal conditions, in early September – with a combination of morning dew followed by hours of sunshine and the beneficial effects of the grey mould, Botrytis Cinerea – the noble rotting sets in. The process, during which the grey mould concentrates the sugar and acid content in grapes, continues until late October. Aszú grapes are picked over an extended period. Each time, only the properly rotted grapes are taken from the vine, the rest if left to mature. Once all aszú has been harvested, these are added to prepared base wine in proportions developed over the centuries in the Tokaj-hegyalja region. To make Dobogó Winery's 6-puttony aszú, 6 buckets (puttony) of aszú grapes (6 x 25 kg) are added to 136 l of base wine. After 24 hours of soaking, aszú grapes are lightly pressed and removed from the young wine. The wine is then aged over 31 months in new barrels made of Zemplén Mountain oak. This is the way this sumptuous aszú wine is created: a perfect blend of Tokaj-hegyalja traditions and modern winemaking technology.
The company was appointed purveyors to the Imperial Court of Austria-Hungary and won many prizes and awards at home and abroad. The company also exported to foreign markets including the United States. Jozsef's son, Lajos, took over the factory in 1915 and on his death it passed into the hands of his sons, Bela and Janos. The Second World War reduced the Unicum factory to a bombed out ruin. Peter Zwack was forced to flee in 1948 and his father escaped soon afterwards sitting on his shooting stick under an upturned barrel in a Russian truck, the Unicum , the Unicum recipe in his breast pocket. The factory was subsequently nationalized without any compensation by the Communist government. The family settled in the United States. It was in the United States that Peter Zwack learnt all the ins and outs of the liquor business. In the mid seventies, after the death of his Uncle Bela, he was able to re-enter the family business, closely following the production and distribution to world markets. He was the first capitalist in Hungary to re-purchase his family business from the State in the summer of 1989.Peter Zwack and his partner, Emil Underberg, formed a Company, the Peter Zwack & Consorten AG, and signed a Joint Venture with the Budapesti Likoripari Vállalat- the Budapest Liquor Monopoly known as BULIV. Under the name of Zwack Unicum Budapest Kft. In the Spring of 1990 the original Zwack Unicum was reintroduced onto the Hungarian market.Today Peter Zwack is Chairman of the Board of the Company. He has seven children and four grandchildren to date.
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Dobogó
Winery 
The
first Zwack of whom we have any record was physician to the Imperial court
of Austria Hungary. It was he who invented the complex formula of Unicum,
designed to alleviate the royal digestion, in 1790.It was not, however,
until 1840, that the 20-year-old Jozsef Zwack founded the first Hungarian
liquor factory. The young entrepreneur produced not only Unicum but 220
other liqueurs and brandies and was the first distiller of his generation
to experiment in the use of natural ingredients in fruit brandies and
liqueurs.
