Let’s be proud of the Furmint!

By approaching February, there are more and more talks about Furmint wines, but telling the truth, most of us still do not know everything about this grape variety. However, it is a unique treasure, which well deserves its place on the international wine scene as well as in top gastronomy, therefore, it is really worth getting a bit familiar with it.

Origin of the variety is unknown, but it has been cultivated for so long here in Hungary that it could even be considered our own one. It is relatively rare outside of Hungary, only a few winemakers are offering Furmint in their assortment in the neighbouring countries, however, there is a slightly increasing interest from the overseas countries as well about the cultivation recently. Being the base of the Aszú wine, it is the main variety of our most important wine region, Tokaj. It plays a key role in Somló wine region as well, but other areas such as that of Northern Balaton, Eger, Mátra are also at growing importance in terms of cultivation, indeed, and parcels are planted even in Pécs (Southern Hungary), and in the Great Plain as well.

Furmint revolution

The very first single-vineyard dry Furmint wine known all over Hungary was made at Királyudvar Winery by István Szepsy and Zoltán Demeter. This legendary Úrágya Furmint from 2000 acted as an accelerator. By getting into focus the dry Furmint wines in addition to the Aszú wines in the region, a more serious and concentrated work has been started by the winemakers on mapping the different characteristics of the vineyards in the wine region.

This was inevitable, as the consumption of the sweet wines has been dropped worldwide by that time. As long as big dry Furmint wines could be produced in every vintage, Aszú wines are more vulnerable to the weather conditions. Indeed, in recent years, there were also a few vintages that conditions were not good at all for making Aszú wines. Therefore, it is fairly logical that more and more wineries are trying to make superior dry Furmint wines as well. Discovering and creating this wine category enabled for many quality oriented small family wineries to survive in the last years, and a real fun club of the wine region has also been established.

International experts say that Furmint has every note that is characteristic to the best varieties: it is fruity enough but still gives big and serious wines with unique acid structure serving the long maturation.

It is also expected from a superior category wine to reflect the special characteristics of the terroir, which criteria are perfectly fulfilled by Furmint. So, everything is set in this variety to be a real rival of even the greatest Burgundian Chardonnay and German Riesling wines.

Furmint and gastronomy

Furmint gives freedom to the winemaker in winemaking process; it is up to the maker whether the bottles will be filled up with a sparkling wine, a light dry wine, or a full-bodied matured wine or late harvest sweet Szamorodni or Aszú wines. Accordingly, it offers plenty of options in food and wine pairing.

Experts usually agree on the concept that not exclusively the main ingredients are considered to be the most important factor by ideal pairing of a food with a Furmint wine. Applied seasoning and a carefully selected garnish or sauce are the ones that create the harmony with this variety. A fresh, fruity, dry, semi-dry, or even semi-sweet Furmint can be excellently paired with roast meat dishes, especially if the seasoning highlights the harmony.