Wine regions

The tradition of viticulture in Villány dates back to Celtic-Roman times. After the settlement of the Magyar tribes in Hungary, the Bor and Kán tribes settled down here, and later it became a royal estate on which Béla IV built castles on the grape growing hills after the tartar invasion. In the villages abandoned during the Turkish occupation following the battle of Nagyharsány, the Rac (Serbs) settled down here. With them came Kadarka. They were followed - mainly during the reign of Maria Teresa - by Danubian Swabians, who besides the Portugieser grape (formerly known as Kékoportó), also brought the technique of fermenting on the skins with them from Germany. The tiny press houses built on edges of the villages were also a gift from them. The wine region soon became prized and the Villány Swabian winemakers carried out serious export activity. Following the phylloxera devastation of the late 19th century, it was rootstock breeder Zsigmond Teleki Villány who cross-bred those basic varieties, which were replanted in Villány and in other European wine regions. French-originating varieties, like Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot and the white grapes on the edge of Siklós appeared in the region during this time.