Tokaj-hegyalja (meaning the Foothills of Tokaj in Hungarian)

The historic wine region of Tokaj has been under protection since 1737, when a royal legislative decree declared the area to be a closed wine region, the first of this kind in the world. This involved also obligations: wine-making in this area has been strictly regulated by the laws for the last 300 years. The cultural landscape gives a true description of the wine-making traditions of this region, the historical traditions of this wine-speciality making, as the formal appearance of the cellars and cellarages of the region was formed in accordance with these specific needs showing a great difference to other wine regions located in other parts of Hungary.

In the ancient cellars located beneath characteristic vineyards, villages and smaller towns all we can track every momentum of Tokaj wine-making. The preservation of traditional viticulture in its undisturbed original form as it has evolved over one thousand years justifies the decision by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in placing the Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape on the list of World Heritage Sites.