1737 · Hungary
The Tokaj classification
Tokaj received a royal classification of its vineyards, predating the more famous French systems.
What happened
A royal decree in 1737 delimited the Tokaj region and classified its vineyards, well before the 1855 Bordeaux classification and before the French appellation system.
Tokaji Aszú had already been documented for over a century, and was supplied to European courts as a luxury.
The claim sometimes made that this was the world's first classification is contested — the Douro demarcation of 1756 and earlier Italian and Hungarian precedents are all cited by different authorities.
"First classified wine region" is a title claimed by several places on different criteria. WineHQ notes the 1737 date without adjudicating the competition.
How firmly this is dated
Documented. Recorded contemporaneously. The date is not in question.
The royal decree of 1737 and the surviving vineyard classification records.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Tokaj wine region regulatory information — Hegyközségek Nemzeti Tanácsa / Tokaj regional body, Hungary
Along the timeline
Before · 1703
The Methuen Treaty redirects British drinking
A trade treaty gave Portuguese wine a duty advantage over French, and built the British taste for Port.
After · 1756
The Douro is demarcated
The Marquês de Pombal established a demarcated Port region with boundaries, classification and quality control.