The Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.
The site covers an important cultural region in Jalisco, including blue agave fields, historic distilleries, haciendas, and settlements connected with tequila production. UNESCO recognized both the agricultural landscape and the industrial traditions that developed around agave cultivation and distillation.
The inscription shows that tequila is more than a drink or a brand category. Its production has shaped land use, architecture, labor practices, local economies, and regional identity over centuries. The protected landscape also includes archaeological and historical evidence linked to earlier agave-based traditions.
The UNESCO site is not the same thing as tequila’s denomination of origin. UNESCO protects cultural heritage, while the denomination of origin regulates where and how products sold as tequila may be made.