Viniculture had been practised since Roman times in this part of Europe, then known as Pannonia. In medieval Hungary the main wineproducing area was the Szerémség (Srijem, Croatia); the foundation of the worldwide reputation of the wines of the Tokaj region was laid only in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Hungary of the latter part of the nineteenth century 41 distinct wine-growing areas were recorded. Sadly, just as this map appeared, the phylloxera epidemic that started out in North America and reached the heart of Europe via France, began to cut a swathe through the Hungarian lands. Some two-thirds of Hungary’s vines were wiped out over a period of almost 15 years. The new vines were launched with American stock.