Tokaj Wine Cellars

The Tokaj region straddles the Slovak and Hungarian border, and the Slovak part covers seven villages in Zemplín on volcanic soils, where the same method is used: grapes left on the vine to be attacked by noble rot, picked individually, and worked into sweet wines graded by how many baskets of the shrivelled berries went in. The cellars are cut into tuff and lined with a black mould that grows on the alcohol in the air.

What to look for

• The tuff cellars - chambers cut into volcanic rock, walls furred with black mould.
• The botrytised grapes - fruit left to noble rot and picked berry by berry.
• The puttony grading - the traditional measure of sweetness in the finished wine.
• The seven villages - the Slovak Tokaj communes on the volcanic slopes.

When to go

September to November is the harvest and the most interesting time to visit. Cellars take visitors year round by arrangement. Winter in the cellars is cold but the tasting is unaffected.

Things to know

Cellar visits must be arranged in advance; most are small family operations without regular opening. The Slovak side is far less developed for visitors than the Hungarian. The sweet wines are expensive and not to every taste.

Nearby

Kosice is northwest, and the Hungarian border is south.