Villány was an inhabited place already in the prehistoric times, which is demonstrated by artefacts from the Bronze Age. It is only probable that the Celts pursued viticulture, in the case of the Romans it is a proven fact. The script on the altar stone found in the side of the Szársomlyó Hill documents the plantation of 50 hectares of vines.

After the Hungarian Conquest, the Kán, Kalán and Bor tribes settled down in this area. It is likely to have been a royal domain later.

After the Tartar Invasion the Hungarians cultivated vineyards mostly around the castles (Siklós and Szársomlyó in this wine region). This is also suggested by a document of King Béla IV from 1247: in the foundation certificate of the Szársomlyó castle he mentioned the outskirts of Harsány with the vineyards.

During the Turkish rule Villány was completely destroyed, but viticulture did not cease to exist, the inhabitants of the nearby villages went on cultivating some of the plantations. At the time of the lost battle of Mohács the territory was owned by Péter Perényi. The Turks settled down Slavic and Rác (Serb) inhabitants in the devastated Hungarian villages. They brought the Kadarka sort with themselves, together with the technology of making red wines by long-term on-skin fermentation. After the defeat of the Turks in 1687 in the battle of Nagyharsány, more Rác (Serb) population was settled down.

The decreased vineyards were soon restored and even enlarged. The population that had decreased in number during the Turkish rule was continuously replaced in an organised way from the late 17th century, especially by German ethnic people. The settling down of the Germans brought considerable changes in viticulture and wine production. They brought in the vine sorts called "Portugieser", i.e. the Blue Oporto. Rows of cellars were built in the vicinity of the villages. The short and usually simple, shallow and rarely bifurcating cellars were accessible from the press houses. The harvested grape was brought here in large barrels on carriages, and it was processed and fermented here. The Villány wine became more and more famous; it was an important export product.

The phylloxera epidemic caused a considerable damage in Villány, too. After the epidemic, sorts of French origin were also planted, including the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot. In the Villány area red wines are dominant, whereas in the Siklós part of the wine region vines producing white wines prevail.

Villány, Siklós

• Villány district: Kisharsány, Nagyharsány, Palkonya, Villány, Villánykövesd

• Siklós district: Bisse, Csarnóta, Diósviszló, Harkány, Hegyszentmárton, Kistótfalu, Márfa, Nagytótfalu, Siklós, Szava, Túrony and Vokány settlements with their areas qualified as 1st and 2nd class production areas in the vineyard and wineries cataster.

• Recommended sorts: Chardonnay, Linden Leaf, Italian Riesling, Rhine Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon, Tramini, Ottonel Muscatel, Blue Oporto, Blue Francs, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir

• Supplementary sorts: King?s Daughter, Riesling Silvani, Zengő, Grey Monk, Yellow Muscatel, Zenith, Green Veltelini, Kadarka, Zweigelt, Blauburger

• Plantation sorts: Little Girl, Cserszeg Spicy, Pearl of Zala, Mornen (Medoc) Noir, Purple Kadarka, Rubintos (?Ruby?), Cs 2

The vineyards can be found in the south, southeast and southwest slopes of the Villány Mountains (?the devil-ploughed hill?). The highest peak of the mountains is 442 metres above sea level. The mountains consist of Triassic and Jurassic limestone and dolomites and have a flat top.

Mainly loess and red clay, loess mixed in some places with Triassic dolomite and limestone, or Jurassic limestone.

Similarly to the Lower Mecsek wine region, it has a sub-Mediterranean climate. The weather is usually warm and quite dry, the vegetation period is long, the annual number of sunny hours is high and the active annual amount of heat is quite high too. Also similarly to the Mecsek wine region, summer hails are rather frequent, occasionally causing considerable damages. The wine region belongs to the agro-ecological district of the Tolna-Baranya Hill Ridge.

It is one of the characteristic Hungarian red wine producing areas, with wines of national and even international recognition. Its white wines are also excellent. The red wines of the region have a beautiful colour; they are soft, velvety, spicy and harmonious wines. Famous sorts of wine are the "Villány Blue Oporto", the "Villány Burgundy", the "Villány Blue Francs" etc. The white wines are among the best produced in Hungary, too. This is the region home to the first ?wine route? of Hungary.