Post by Jaga on May 20, 2008 8:28:09 GMT -7
I did hear that the relations between Slovakia and Hungary are not rosy from political reasons also. But here is something lighter:
BUDAPEST (AFP) — A centuries-old sweet wine once hailed by the king of France has fired a decades-old cross-border battle between Hungary and Slovakia as each claim the right to use a label for a wine produced in a region cut into two by the border.
Like many conflicts in the Carpathian Basin, the battle over Tokaji (Hungarian for 'of Tokaj') wine is a legacy of the peace agreements following World War I, cutting off chunks of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy and establishing independent new states along new borders.
The region that produces the golden-coloured vintage was carved in two, with most falling into Hungarian territory and a much smaller part into what today is Slovakia.
Exactly how big is that Slovakian part, and what production methods are in use, are at the heart of the wine debate that heated up when a top European Union committee drafting the wine sector reform adopted at the end of April officially classified the entire Slovakian side of the cross-border region as a Tokaji wine-growing region.
Hailed in Bratislava as a small but significant victory in the decades-long battle, the move was dismissed on the other side as not legally binding. Budapest vowed to go to court if Slovakian winemakers start using the Tokaji label.
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQnVSoPjfdtDKnyvGYxXURfZe8pg
BUDAPEST (AFP) — A centuries-old sweet wine once hailed by the king of France has fired a decades-old cross-border battle between Hungary and Slovakia as each claim the right to use a label for a wine produced in a region cut into two by the border.
Like many conflicts in the Carpathian Basin, the battle over Tokaji (Hungarian for 'of Tokaj') wine is a legacy of the peace agreements following World War I, cutting off chunks of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy and establishing independent new states along new borders.
The region that produces the golden-coloured vintage was carved in two, with most falling into Hungarian territory and a much smaller part into what today is Slovakia.
Exactly how big is that Slovakian part, and what production methods are in use, are at the heart of the wine debate that heated up when a top European Union committee drafting the wine sector reform adopted at the end of April officially classified the entire Slovakian side of the cross-border region as a Tokaji wine-growing region.
Hailed in Bratislava as a small but significant victory in the decades-long battle, the move was dismissed on the other side as not legally binding. Budapest vowed to go to court if Slovakian winemakers start using the Tokaji label.
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQnVSoPjfdtDKnyvGYxXURfZe8pg