`Djanfeda, Chincha, Goher’: Turkish Aspects in The Past of Viniculture at Jászberény

Abstract

Jászság is a distinctive region in the Alföld, the wine-growing area of eastern Hungary. This region, with its wooded landscape, lies at the foot of the Mátra mountains, west of the River Tisza and is surrounded by two other rivers, the Zagyva and Tarna. The Jász people gave their name to this part of Hungary when they settled here in the 13 th  century along with the Kun people, having originated from the Alans, an Iranian nomadic people of antiquity.  

The cultivation of grapes on the land of the Jász people has a long tradition. Our earliest records date back to the 16th century, the age of Turkish occupation. The Jászság region retained its former privileges to some extent even during the Turkish occupation (1552-1682).

As a treasury-owned area belonging to the Hatvan Khaz it paid its taxes directly to the Sultan`s court. On the basis of data collected from Turkish letters of the time (1570-1682), we have every reason to assume grapes were naturalized by the Turks in Jászberény. The oldest grape variety is the pale red Kadarka, commonly known as Turkish góhér or Turkish Grape. Characterized by its spicy scent and flavour, it was probably brought into the country by the Turks. When filtered the colour of Kadarka is ruby red.

 The Jász people also cultivated other grape varieties, such as the red Szlankamenka, Oportó, the greenish-yellow Rizling with a scent resembling garden mignonette, the yellowish or slightly pinky Kövidinka, the Mézesfehér, the greenish-white Ezerjó, the Saszla, the Isabella and the Delavári grapes.

In addition to the historical overview of the Turkish legacy of viticulture in Jászság, the study also presents vineyard buildings and folklore of the grape harvest.