The hidden European wine region for food

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK)

“According to the Hungarian system, Tokaj is a city.” So says local guide Márti Szegedi. We’re standing at the end of Tokaj’s modest, meandering main street, flanked by a charming mix of buildings, some painted in gentle pastels with wooden doors and shutters. I spot a tiny chocolate shop, a vending machine selling milk and several storefronts stacked with plastic bottles of local wine. It’s a sunny Monday afternoon, and there’s barely a soul to be seen. With a twinkle in her eye, Tokaj-born Márti adds, “But everyone knows it’s a village.”

Occupying a historically strategic spot where the Tisza and Bodrog rivers meet, the ‘city’ gives its name to the surrounding Tokaj-Hegyalja region. This UNESCO World Heritage-listed Histor