First I am not of Hungarian background and can not read Hungarian. However I have a small book that is an English transalation of a Hungarian one - it likely is out of print. The English translation is King of Wines-Wine of Kings; The Little Book of Tokaji Wines by Istvan Lazar. The Hungarian original published in 1987 is Borok kiralya - kiralyok bora. Kis konyv a tokaji borrol. Corvina Kiado, 1987. In addition to the main text by Istvan Lazar, there are a few recipies using Tokaji wine by Emil Turos at the end of the book. The booklet was printed in Hungary, 1987, by Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest.
" Around the end of the 12th century, the wine-growers living in what was then Lotharingia (Lorraine, now forming part of north-eastern France) were passing through difficult times: improved transportation had allowed the higher quality Mediterranean wines to reach Lotharingia, and so their own lighter somewhat sour-tasting wines lost ther popularity.
This was also the time when industrious peasants from abroad were invited to settle in the territories of the Hungarian kingdom. And the expertise of these Walloon viniculturalists as well as those who arrived from an area around Venice to this region was very marked. Yet by no means were they the earlist wine-growers here. On the contrary, they were persuaded to settle in the Tokaj region to add their talents to the established viniculture.
The origins of grape cultivation by man in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region has not been clearly ascertained by arechelogical findings. However, we can be certain that at the time when Hungarian Transdanubia was still the Roman province of Pannonia, grapes were cultivated not only in the vicinity of Lake Balaton and the present capital. but also in parts of what was then called Barbaricum. It is probable that the Dacians and Celtic groups had cultivated grapes here earlier. According to Anonymus, the Hungarian chronicler who lived at the turn of the 12th century, Prince Arpad and his Magyar tribesmen , when they arrived around the spring of A.D. 895, celebrated for many days on the mountain of Tarcal. This is, in fact, a mountain in the Tokaj region, They praised their good luck in having found such a wonderful place, for it was rich in grass, fish, venison and wine."
"Why was their need for Walloon and Italian expertise? The Italians had brought with them several varieties of grapes that have subsequently become well established in this area. The Walloons, on the other hand, had become masters of winemaking in Lotharingia, in a climate that was unsuitable for grape cultvation. The weaker the quality of the grape, the more difficult it is to produce a fine-bodied drink during fermentation, drawing off, handling, and aging in the cellar. Thus the Walloons contributed valuable and useful knowledge partially in the area of cultivation, but also in the matter of cellar procedures that follow the harvesting of grapes. And they might have been the ones who introduced the use of wooden casks."
There is much more including how occupation by the Turks made the Tokaji region much more important as it was not invaded.
All I can do is give a few quotes, because I do not have the background to evaluate them. Lazar does seem to know what he is talking about.
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