Sárospatak is an old town on the Bodrog river, right where the foothills of the Zemplén range run out into the plain, and in Hungarian history it carries more weight than its size suggests. It was a seat of the Rákóczi family, and the castle in town was one of their strongholds in the long wars against the Habsburgs. Local tradition also claims it as the birthplace of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, in 1207, and the Reformed College here, founded in the sixteenth century, once counted the Czech educator Comenius among its teachers. Not bad for a small place at the edge of the map.
The cellar is part of the same story, because this is the Tokaj wine region, where wine and the Rákóczi name have been connected for centuries. Tokaj wine, and above all Tokaji Aszú, the sweet wine made from grapes shrivelled by noble rot, was famous across Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and it was said to be a favourite of kings. The region was listed as a World Heritage cultural landscape in 2002. The cellars in this area are cut into the soft volcanic tuff, cool and damp all year, and the dark mould on their walls is part of the process.
The riding here is gentle and pleasant rather than dramatic. The approach roads are quiet and mostly well surfaced, rolling through small villages with press houses and cellar rows on the slopes, and the Zemplén hills to the north give you some gentle bends and the odd viewpoint. Autumn is the best time, when the vineyards go yellow and the harvest is on, though spring is good too, and the summer heat can feel heavy on the plain.
Sárospatak is a proper town of about fourteen thousand people, so you will find fuel, food and cafes without trouble, and Sátoraljaújhely, ten kilometres away, sits on the Slovak border and is just as practical. A word of sense: if you visit a cellar and taste, a rider should taste only a sip, or leave the bike and go on foot. The wine is good, but the road home is long.