The wines of Hungary, we are told, "possess considerable body with a moderate astririgency." The varieties of wine known as Ausbruch and Maszlacz, including the Tokays, Rust, Menes, and many more, are of the most important character. Without the addition of dry berries the so-called natural wine or Szamorodni is obtained. The Tokay essence, a very sweet wine, should be also very old. When fifty years in bottle it costs some £3 l for a small flask. Ausbruch, also sweet, should be also old, Maszlacz is of four different kinds. The Mezes, Male or Imperial, does not get into trade. Meograd, Krasso, and Villany from the West of Hungary are good strong wines of the second class. Wines of the third class are very numerous. There is no space to mention more than the red wines: Baranya, Presburg, Somogy, Vagh-ujhelyer, Paulitsch, and Erdod, and the white Miszla, Balaton, Fured, Hont, Pesth, and Weissenburg. Sam-lauer is one of the best white wines made at a place called Samlau, as Erlauer another good wine at Erlau. The most commonly known Hungarian wines of the present are Oedenburg, Samlau, Neszmely, and Carlo-witz.

Compound of lime, resin, spirits of wine, and grapes, without body or flavour. Nor were things better in the days of old. Dugald Dal-getty, a German Ensign, writing from Athens in 1687, says, "Would that I could exchange a cask of Athenian wine for a cask of German beer !" The vin du pays is impregnated with resin or turpentine now as formerly, whence, according to Plutarch, the Thyrsus of Bacchus is adorned with a pine cone. Pliny says it favours the preservation of the drink.

1 The island owes this name to its patron saint Irene, martyred here a.d. 304.