Alsace wine 16th century. It was planted in Kientzheim under the name "Tokay", taken from Hungary’s most famous wine Tokaji, which does not use Pinot gris, but rather Furmint and Hárslevelű mainly. For a long time, the Alsatian wines produced from this variety were labelled Tokay d'Alsace. However, in 1993, an agreement was reached between Hungary and the European Union (of which Hungary was not yet a member) to phase out the name Tokay from non-Hungarian wine. In the case of Alsace, the name Tokay Pinot gris was used as an intermediate step, with the "Tokay" part eliminated in 2007. The geography
History of Rioja wine The completion of a railway system linking Logroño to Bilbao, Madrid and Irun coincided with the onset of the phylloxera epidemic in Europe. The French were the first and hardest hit by the louse, which created an immediate and insatiable demand for all the wine the Rioja could produce. Amidst devastation in the French wine industry, dozens of négociant and French winemakers, mostly from Bordeaux, traveled to the Rioja to set up wineries, where they could continue to produce wine – bringing with them extensive knowledge, techniques and experience. This ushered in a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity for