Tokaj wine region ( ) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short Tokaj-Hegyalja or Hegyalja) is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also one of the seven larger wine regions of Hungary (). Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region. The region consists of 28 named villages and 11,149 hectares of classified vineyards, of which an estimated 5,500 are currently planted. Tokaj has been declared a World Heritage Site in 2002 under the name Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape. However, its fame long predated this distinction because it is the origin of Tokaji aszú wine, the world's oldest botrytized wine. Due to the Treaty of Trianon, a smaller part of the historical wine region now belongs to Slovakia. Characteristics Some of the characteristics which make the Tokaj wine region unique are: Soil and microclimate: The Tokaj terroir consists of clay or loess soil on volcanic subsoil. The microclimate is determined by the sunny, south-facing slopes and the proximity of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, and is conducive to the proliferation of Botrytis (noble rot) and the subsequent desiccation of the grapes. Indigenous grape varieties: Furmint and Hárslevelű have been cultivated in the region for centuries and, together with Yellow Muscat (Hungarian: Sárgamuskotály), Kabar, Kövérszőlő and Zéta, are the only grape varieties officially permitted for use in the region. Cellars: A vast system of cellars was carved out of solid rock between 1400 and 1600 AD. They provide a constant temperature of around 10-12 °C. The cellars are covered with a characteristic mold, which feeds off the alcohol evaporated during aging and keeps the humidity in the range of 85-90%, which is ideal for the aging of Tokaji wines. Appellation system: A royal decree in 1737 or 1757 established a closed production district in Tokaj, supposedly the world's earliest system of wine appellation (though the claim is disputed by Chianti, whose territory was defined in 1716). Vineyard classification began in 1730 and was completed by the national censuses of 1765 and 1772. History Historical records show that vineyards had been established in Tokaj as early as the 12th century, but there is evidence for the earlier introduction of wine production to the region. A number of experts claim that viticulture could have started in the Tokaj region as early as in the Celtic times, that is BC. A