Országos Borkirálynő Választás

The Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region is the most illustrious in Hungary and known world wide for its viticulture. Although grape and wine culture have a thousand year tradition in this region, it only became world famous at the 17th century when, as the result of delayed harvest and the process of vinification, the illustrious speciality of the wine region, the Tokaj Aszú, became well-known.

The climate of Tokaj-Hegyalja is subcontinental; its weather in autumn is special which makes the land exceptional. During ripening often the weather becomes rainy for a week and this dampish weather is followed by a milder, sunny and dry period.

This is conducive to the proliferation of Botrytic Cinerea (noble rot) which is the essential condition for the subsequent desiccation of the grapes (development of aszu)

The soil of the wine region is exceedingly varied; at the outskirts of Tarcal and Tokaj there is a wide spread of loess while on the slope of the Zemplén Mountain range there are stony "nyirok" soil and brown forest soil with clay illuviation which are hard to cultivate.

It is geography which, with other factors, produces high quality grapes. The south and east slopes of the inverted V-shape range of the Zemplén Mountain protect the vine from the cold north wind but at the same time help the moisture reach the vines.

The wine region is divided into five zones which are differentiated by their climate, geography and the characteristics of their soil: Kopasz Hill (Tokaj), Mád Basin, Erdőbénye Basin, Tolcsva Basin, Felső-Tokaj. Quality is also affected by the closeness of the rivers Bodrog and Tisza, which flow at the foot of the hills, and contribute to the formation of the microclimate.

Apart from the geography and the situation of the rivers the third important factor concerning quality is the cellar. At the Hegyalja region the cellar are carved out of solid rock, often storied and they are several hundred years old. The temperature of these wine cellars are remaining around 11 Celsius. The high humidity and the compounds derived from the ageing of the wines feed the noble mould (Cladosporium cellare) appearing on the walls and forming a coherent layer. This noble mould also helps maintain the favourable temperature of the cellars.

Tokaj-Hegyalja is a closed-wine region.

27 villages from the 5500 hectares wine region:

Abaújszántó, Bekecs, Bodrogkeresztúr, Bodrogkisfalud, Bodrogolaszi, Erdőbénye, Erdőhorváti, Golop, Hercegkút, Legyesbénye, Mád, Mezőzombor, Monok, Olaszliszka, Ond, Rátka, Sárazsadány, Sárospatak, Sátoraljaújhely, Szegi, Szegilong, Szerencs, Tarcal, Tállya, Tokaj, Tolcsva, Vámosújfalu.

One of the characteristic features of the closed-wine regions is that plantable grape varieties are established, therefore at Hegyalja region 65% is Furmint, 30% is Hárslevelű (Linden leaf), 5% is Muskotály and lately Zéta varieties are planted here. Red types of grapes are not allowed to grow in this region.