But the vine-growing district does not end at Tokay; it continues on
the eastern slopes of the mountain range as far as Uihely, forming two
sides of an irregular triangle, and the total length, say from Szanto in
the west to Tokay, and from Tokay to Uihely, being about thirty-eight
miles.
As a matter of fact, Tokay, which gives its name to the wine, does not
produce the best vintage; other localities are more esteemed. Tallya,
for example, situated a few miles east of Szanto, has long been
renowned. As early as the sixteenth century the excellence of the wine
from this district was acknowledged by infallible authority. It appears
that during the sitting of the Council of Trent, wines were produced
from all parts for the delectation of the holy fathers. George
Draskovics, the Bishop of Fuenfkirchen, brought some of his celebrated
vintage, and presenting a glass of it to the Pope, observed that it was
_Tallya_ wine. Whereupon his Holiness pronounced it to be nectar,
surpassing all other wines, exclaiming with ready wit, "Summum
Pontificum _talia_ vina decent." This place, so happily distinguished by
Papal wit, is pleasantly situated on the side of the hill; it possesses
about 2100 acres of vineyards.
The places in the Hegyalia are all called towns, though in reality they
are not much more than large villages. Tokay has 4000 inhabitants; it
is at the foot of the hill, close to the junction of the Theiss and the
Bodrog; a ruined castle forms a picturesque object in the foreground,
and beyond is the far-stretching plain.
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