Erzsébet Pince (Elizabeth Cellars) is a family winery founded by one of the first female winemakers in Tokaj, Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Prácser. In the year of the political change in Hungary, 1989, to start their own family business, Erzsébet and her husband bought a cellar in the old wine merchants’ street (Bem street) in the historic center of the town of Tokaj. Not just any cellar, though, but one of the region’s great historical cellars, that was dug in the 1600s, and had been rented by Russian emperors (among them Tzarina Elizabeth) in the 1700s for storing Aszú wines purchased for the court.

Erzsébet Pince produces around 1000 cases of wine annually, all from historical grand cru and premier cru sites that were classified by Bél Mátyás in the 17th century. The Pracser family–father, mother, daughter, and son–run the estate. They take pride in the production of exceptional single-vineyard dry wines and Aszu, Tokaj’s classic natural botrytis wine.

All of the wines are made in small lots, from low-yielding vineyards that use sustainable and organic viticultural practices. The family team also includes a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier who assists in quality control and blending. The winery’s first bottled vintage was 1993, a 5 puttonyosaszú from a 5-star vintage.