The Tokaj region in Hungary has been famous for its wine since, approximately, the 16th century. Because of its complex landscape – volcanic soils, generally cold winters and hot summers, and being surrounded by the Bodrog and Tisza rivers, which creates humidity – this region has a specific climate. It’s mainly because of such conditions that a fungus called Bortrytis Cenerea appears in the grapes at Tokaj, which as a result, can make the Ászu Wine possible.
Ászu wines are the most special wines in the region. Made with bortrytised grapes, it has unique flavors and aromas. It’s special because it depends on the fungus appearance, which depends on specific climate to appear. The harvesting process is slow and unpredictable: because not every grape from a bunch is infected by the fungus – workers have to manually pick every rotten one; because the amount of these grapes are low – which makes a small quantity of Ászu wines; and, ultimately, because those specific climate conditions might not appear during a year or more. This, then, is the general explanation to why this fungus has been called the “noble rot” when it comes to impregnating Tokaj’s grapes.
But climate change has been a disruptive topic when it comes to Ászu wines, and that leaves us some questions: Is that the only reason why a “scary” fungus could transform itself into a “noble” being? What does “noble” mean? What could happen with such relations in a changing landscape? How are other more-than-humans being looked at in this scenario? People have been worried about drastic transformations. Changes are happening. Still, how are the relations between micros and macros being perceived? It is, then, looking at these entanglements that this research intends to reflect on the changing roles of multiples angencies facing climate change.
