Abstract: This study aims to examine the development of wine regions/PDO districts based on regionalism. To achieve this, we have thoroughly analyzed the historical development of wine regions from antiquity until the present. We have placed particular emphasis on those areas that were among the first to embark on the path of legally regulated development. Due to our involvement, we have focused primarily on the development of the Tokaj wine region and, through it, the Hungarian wine regions. The various types of national regulatory systems served as the basis for the European Union’s origin protection system. Through a detailed analysis of domestic regulations, we have attempted to demonstrate that the system’s immaturity has led to a rather annoying situation, which is difficult and incomprehensible for consumers to follow and understand. Moreover, even official bodies use the terms in a confusing manner. Terroir, as an important viticultural and wine-geographic concept, is linked to regionalism at the level of its local foundation, according to our approach. In the final part of the study, we extended the theoretical issues of regionalism to the interpretation of wine regions and PDO districts. The various region concepts can be used to interpret the development of wine regions and provide assistance in understanding their development. In our case, homogeneous regions specializing in grape and wine production have such a profound and pervasive impact on the functioning of the region that they clearly demonstrate the region-forming role of the sector.