For Furmint February Try Furmint, A White Wine From Hungary
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February 1st was International Furmint Day. The month is designated Furmint February. But what is Furmint*, many might ask? It’s a white grape from Hungary, made into a noteworthy white wine. We knew Furmint as the main white wine grape used in the grape blend for Hungarian’s famous Tokaji (Tokay), but we’d never had any that was bottled as a single varietal. So we set out to find a few well-regarded to taste with wine friends at a weekend dinner. This turned out to be a challenge, since Furmint wines appear to be quite rare in the U.S. We ended up buying them online. So white wine lovers: Let’s all do our part. Try it, share it, and get sales up so more people can get to know this food-friendly, affordable wine. It’s not a wine that gets much attention in the U.S. Furmint (FUR-mint) is important enough that the world’s best wineglass maker, Riedel, has designed a glass for it (photos #9 and #10). Before we go further, a bottle of Furmint and a set of glasses would make a welcome gift for a wine connoisseur (by which we mean students of wine as well as experts). An overview of Furmint (FUR-mint) follows. Also below: > All the red wine holidays. From Hungary’s Tokaj region, Furmint is a white grape variety most famously known for its role in producing the prized Tokaji Aszú† (TOE-ky ah-ZU) sweet wines from the region. Nobles from all over Europe became fans, with King Louis XIV of France calling it the wine of kings. Its high acidity and sugar content make the grape perfect for sweet wine production. It’s also thin-skinned and susceptible to the noble rot†, the mold Botrytis cinerea (photo #7). Botrytis cinerea attacks the grapes and sucks out moisture, which concentrates the grape’s sugars and flavors into a honeylike sweetness and complexity. Botrytised wines are the apex of sweet wine production, sought after by many for their lush, rich, intense sweetness. Tokaji Aszú is one of the most famous dessert wines in the world. Like Sauternes, the botrytis brings out complex flavors of honey and apricot; and in the case of Tokaji Aszú, Furmint’s intense minerality as well. Thus, while traditionally associated with sweet wines, many Hungarian winemakers now produce excellent dry Furmint wines. Food-friendly and refreshing, with high acidity and high minerality, wine aficionados now have the chance to discover dry Furmint. While our focus here is dry Furmint, let’s start by defining the different types of Furmint wines. These sweet wines are glorious and worth the splurge with the right foods. The key to pairing food with dry Furmint is to work with its high acidity and complex mineral character. That’s pretty easy with everyday favorites such as: A wild grape native to Hungary, Furmint has been cultivated in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region for centuries, with documented mentions dating back to the 16th century, during tumultuous period of the Ottoman occupation (1541 to 1699 C.E.). Ampelographers** believe that it is highly probable that the grape originated there. Furmint’s use in Tokaji dessert wines has its first known reference 1635, describing a full-bodied sweet dessert wine made from late-ripened grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). Although it was still a dangerous frontier zone exposed to frequent raids, during the Ottoman occupation the Tokaj wine region remained unoccupied and became a sanctuary for wine production and cultural preservation. Tokaji Aszú, the sweet wine made from Furmint, gained international acclaim quickly. In the 17th century, it was known as the “wine of kings, king of wines,” a phrase famously attributed to King Louis XIV of France, a lover of Tokaji wines. This reputation spread across European royal courts, making it a prestigious quaff among nobility. The unique wine-making process involved hand-picking individual botrytized grapes from the cluster, a labor-intensive method that made the wine extremely expensive and rare (not all grapes in a cluster would get botrytis). In 1737, the Tokaj wine region became the world’s first classified wine region, predating the Port wine region (Douro Valley, Portugal) in 1756. The famed classification of Bordeaux did not happen until 1855. The sweet wine was well established by the late 18th century when, in 1796, the Hungarian politician János Dercsényi described Furmint as the “genuine Tokaji Aszú” grape [source]. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918), Tokaji wines became known as a national treasure and were often used as diplomatic gifts The phylloxera epidemic that began in 1863 and lasted for decades nearly destroyed Hungarian vineyards (as well as those in other parts of Europe, Australia, South Africa, and California, as the insect spread). The recovery was slow, and wine production in Europe was further disrupted by the two World Wars and communist era. While Tokai was produced then, quality was often sacrificed. After the fall of communism in 1989, Hungarian winemakers began reviving traditional Furmint production techniques. They started focusing on both the traditional sweet styles and exploring dry Furmint wines, which have gained significant international recognition in recent years. While Hungary has been producing dry Furmint wines for centuries, it was in small quantities for local consumption. The main focus was where the money was: in the world-famous Tokaji Aszú. Dry furmint became widely recognized and commercially significant only recently, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In the 1990s, after the fall of communism, Hungarian winemakers began experimenting more with dry Furmint, influenced by international demand for food-friendly dry white wines. By the early 2000s, top producers like István Szepsy (Szepsy Winery), Disznókő, and Királyudvar began making high-quality dry Furmint wines, proving its potential beyond sweet wines. Since then, Tokaj and other regions have developed crisp, mineral-driven dry Furmints, gaining international recognition. Dry Furmint is now considered one of Hungary’s flagship white wines, enjoyed both domestically and internationally, with styles ranging from fresh and citrusy to rich and oak-aged. They have caught the eye of winemakers in other countries. Plantings appeared in the neighboring countries of Austria and Slovenia. There are small plantings in California, Australia, and South Africa as small winemakers experiment with what the grape might do in their regions—where the climate is very different from southern Hungary’s. The origin or etymology of “furmint” is not entirely certain, but here are the leading theories—for which there is no evidence: |
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________________ **Ampelography is the science of identifying, naming and classifying cultivated grape varieties through detailed analysis of the unique characteristics of the plant. †Tokaji Aszú is a sweet dessert wine made primarily from botrytized grapes. Botrytis, a fungus, leaches moisture from the grapes, drying them out, which concentrates the sugars and flavors (photo #7). Hence the nickname, noble rot. Aszú means “dried.” Note that while botrytis is often referred to as “gray mold,” mold is a type of fungus. While the mold first appeared spontaneously in warm, humid conditions, winemakers can now use techniques to encourage its growth. When pairing foods with Aszú,the rich, lusciously sweet, high-acid wine making is a versatile pairing wine that works well with sweet, salty, spicy, and umami-rich dishes. ††The other Hungarian grapes that can be used in a Tokaji blend, hárslevelű and sárga muskotály for added complexity, zéta and kövérszőlő for aroma, and kabar for richness and depth. |
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