State pre-emption right in Tokaj wine region ‘protecting world heritage’

The state’s pre-emption right introduced this January in north-east Hungary’s renowned Tokaj wine region in the case of contracts to sell vineyards and cellars serves to protect its world heritage status, the deputy state secretary for social and heritage protection and priority cultural investment has told the daily Népszava.

Property owners in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region are expected to report to the state once a sale transaction has been prepared and ask whether the state wants to acquire the property under the same conditions, Csaba Latorcai noted in the interview published on Wednesday.

In the past, several properties were acquired by foreign owners and it was not possible to oblige them to cut ragweed and properly maintain the buildings because they were not living in Hungary, he said.

Asked whether the real intention of the law was to prevent foreigners from acquiring property, he said: “Indeed this is one of the considerations”.

He described the pre-emption right as a “gentle method” for protecting Tokaj’s world heritage status.

More than a hundred sales transactions have been made since the new law was introduced on Jan. 1, and the state has not intervened in any of them. “We don’t interfere if there is no need to”, he added.

Tokaj Aszú is one of the most special and unique Hungarian wines, which definitely belongs to the greatest sweet wines of the world. Read more HERE.

Photo: facebook.com/ITokaj

Source: MTI