Tokaj-Hegyalja is Hungary’s first and one of its most beautiful wine regions, stretching out over the gentle southern slopes of the Zemplén Hills in the triangle formed by Tokaj, Abaújszántó and Sátoraljaújhely. The combined beneficial effects of favourably located vineyards, the soil structure of volcanic origin, the rays of autumn sunshine and the moisture rising from the nearby River Bodrog are the secret behind the quality and special character of Tokaj wine. The tradition of making Tokaji Aszú, “the king of wines, and the wine of kings,” is largely passed on from father to son in the region.

Even before the Hungarian conquest, grapes were cultivated over the wine region’s 5,500 hectares of cropland, and the area was the world’s first self-contained wine region. A royal decree to this effect was promulgated in 1737, listing 28 settlements in the environs of which grapes suitable for the making of Tokaj wine could be grown. In 2002, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee included the historical Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region as a cultural landscape on its World Heritage list. The survival of the traditions of vine-growing that have evolved over the past 1,000 years in their pristine, original form and the integrity of the region over the length of a millennium justified the declaration of the wine region as a part of World Heritage.

The wine region is characterised by a continental climate, a volcanic rock base (of andesite, rhyolite, and tuffs thereof), and black soil formed upon it. While the mineral-rich volcanic rock favours full-bodied wines, areas with more loess-heavy earth suit wines of a mellower character.