The world’s first closed wine region, it has been a UNESCO protected area since 2002. It is diverse, multi-coloured, colourful, and can show it practically through three grape varieties.
Tokaj was first mentioned by Anonymus in connection with the conquest of the country, but the first mention of the vine is from the time of Béla IV, in a letter of donation of a land near Olaszliszka in 1252. Tokaj-Hegyalja gained real importance from the second half of the 16th century as the Rákóczi family’s sample estate, with the family deriving a significant source of income from the Tokaj wine sold. The first written record of Tokaji aszú dates back to 1571. Unfortunately, the phylloxera epidemic led to a significant reduction in the number of varieties, but the most serious blow was dealt to the wine-growing region by socialist large-scale farming. Fortunately, the change of regime gave a new impetus, and progress is still noticeable today.
Its soil is incredibly varied, and the former volcanic activity has produced countless rock types and shapes. It is not uncommon to find more than 30 different soil layers in the best-endowed vineyards. This is reflected in the complexity of the wines.
The main grape varieties are furmint, lime-leaf and yellow grape, with fat grapes, zeta and cabar also permitted, but they are of much lesser importance. Thanks to their fine acidity, they make dry wines that can be aged for a long time and are surprisingly light for their sugar content, making them easy to drink. Botrytis is one of the wonders of the region. When it occurs, the sugar and acidity are concentrated within the berries, making Tokaj sweet wines well-balanced, lively and long-lasting. It is impossible to talk about Tokaj without the aszú. The way it is made is unique in the world, botrytis is found elsewhere, but the harvesting by the grain is unique to this region. Complex, concentrated wines with a real depth thanks to micro-oxidation, they are not considered by many experts to be dessert wines, but wines with terroir characteristics and residual sugar.