The Tokaj hills were made by ancient volcanoes millions of years ago. The soil is full of minerals from old lava and ash. Plants that grow in this special soil absorb the minerals through their roots, which gives the grapes grown here a unique flavour you cannot find anywhere else.
There are about 5,500 hectares of vineyards in the Tokaj region — that is more than 7,000 football pitches covered in vines. In late summer and autumn the whole landscape turns golden and green as the grapes ripen in the warm sunshine that bounces off the rivers below.
Grape-picking in Tokaj is still done largely by hand because the hillsides are steep. Families and workers walk between the rows with baskets, choosing only the ripest bunches. After picking, the grapes are pressed and the juice is collected — this is how grape growing has worked here for more than a thousand years.
The region is famous for a special tiny grape called Furmint. It has thick skin and grows in tight clusters. When the autumn mist from the rivers rolls up the hillsides in the mornings, something remarkable happens to the Furmint grapes — a special furry mould called 'noble rot' forms on the skin, concentrating all the sugary sweetness inside the grape. Farmers actually want this to happen!