FURMINT in capital letters

Hungary joined the World Heritage Convention in 1985, and since 2002, the Tokaj historical wine region cultural landscape has also been under World Heritage protection.

World heritage protection extends to individual elements of the natural environment as well as to buildings, cellars, processing plants, and building complexes created in connection with winemaking – and, interpreted broadly, to all the intangible but clearly existing cultivation culture, tradition, the respect, connection and knowledge of the producers in Hegyalja towards grapes and wine, which has kept this area alive for centuries.

The Tokaj wine region has been protected since 1737, when a royal decree declared it a closed wine region – for the first time in the world. Of course, protection could and can only exist if those living there are aware of their own duties and responsibilities. Maintaining special winemaking processes also requires considerable professionalism and perseverance.

We know well that the basis for the creation of high-quality wines lies in the landscape, the terroir.

Would the wine produced in the Rheingau region known today be the same if it were not made from Riesling, would the wine world love the beauties of Burgundy so much if they were not based on Chardonnay or Pinot Noir? Perhaps the question is unnecessary and we should not even ask it: could Tokaj wine be so unique and unrepeatable if it were not made mostly from Furmint? We probably all know the answer: clearly not.

The presence of Furmint in Tokaj has been described and interpreted many times and in many different ways. It is possible that the variety has much deeper roots in the Carpathian Basin than we know it today. One thing is certain: Furmint has played a decisive role in the winemaking of the Hegyalja region for centuries. Nothing proves its effectiveness better than the fact that among the wine descriptions of the oldest wines in the world, the majority of natural sweet wines are nothing else than a series of Tokaj Aszús of various vintages. So much so that we can find very positive sensory descriptions of 300-350-year-old items, mostly from the pen of the well-known English wine writer Michael Broadbent and the German wine collector Hardy Rodenstock. These wines would not be as durable and viable if the grape variety that provides their backbone were not among the best grape varieties in the world. I was very pleased that Jancis Robinson, perhaps the world's best-known wine expert, wrote a letter a few years ago at length about the quality parallels between the Riesling-Chenin Blanc-Furmint varieties, which I myself have been an enthusiastic fan of for years.

There are several parameters that are essential in this regard. These include good adaptability, good cultivability, but at least equally important are shelf life and the almost perfect acid composition, which in the best case also enables the development of unique, complex and elegant aromatics that faithfully reflect the terroir. This can be said about these varieties without exception. Moreover, in terms of maturation, the sweet version of Furmint clearly stands out even from this illustrious group.

The fundamentally good acidity of this variety – which of course requires a moderate load and perfectly ripe raw materials – can generally turn even steel-aged items into well-balanced and exciting wines. Healthy and young Furmint, when aged in steel tanks, starts with an expressly lively, flattering aroma reminiscent of a white butter pear, and its good acidity and alcohol content can show impeccable balance even in average vintages. The good acid composition and rich flavour can also give complexity, sufficient body and concentration to these wines.

The other trend is the world of Furmints aged or fermented in wooden barrels, which gives more room for diversity. Among the items fermented and matured exclusively in new small barrels, there are some that can achieve the necessary elegance by the age of 3-4 years, but the experience of recent years shows that the finest dry Furmints are not fermented and matured in first-fill barrels. The size of the barrel in the case of the finest items is between 300 and 500 l.

If we look for the role of wines in gastronomy, we could do it very simply by approaching it from the point of view of acids. Namely, by following the following slogan: long live acids! Well, this may seem like an exaggeration, but it is a very real fact. With wines with good acidity, you can put almost anything on your plate, regardless of colour or variety. Finding the right accompaniment for a wine with good acidity is much less of a problem than if we were to try with its flat brother. Simply because the acids of wine can make the mucous membrane receptive in a positive sense. It welcomes spices, fat, complex flavours and textures with open arms. Even if it contains a little residual sugar – or not a little – or even carbon dioxide. So we can say that Furmint really knows a lot.

The future, it seems, lies more in the great dry Furmints, whose vineyard-selected versions satisfy the needs of every wine enthusiast. Their dry wines have a good structure with high acidity and rich aromatics. In good cases, they are very elegant. Dry wines from grapes that are not overripe, harvested only when fully ripe, without botrytis berries, are of great value, with a potential for decades.

(a very tasty Indian spice base based on garlic, chilli and ginger, made with coriander and cumin). Red-meat poultry – goose, duck, wild-fowl, even pigeon – due to their harder structure provide a good background for the higher acidity and tannins often found in Furmint wines. It makes the wines silkier, especially when prepared at higher temperatures.

First of all, we should think about the Tokaj varieties. It is important to free them from their gastronomic strait-waistcoat and not to present them exclusively as an accompaniment to cottage cheese strudel on the table. Everyone knows that sweet wines are the best companions for sweet flavours. Tokaj sweet wines are perfectly capable of fulfilling this role. However, do not forget that a sweet wine bottled at a high concentration, especially if it is too full and rich, washes away the flavours tasted before. It does not allow the food to prevail. Of course, this is the smaller problems, since at least then there are no unpleasant taste effects in our mouths.

In addition to desserts, the other area that is considered acceptable is the goose liver and duck liver line. The high fat content of the liver requires the acids in the wine, and its sweet aromas harmonize nicely with the sweet flavours, so there is something to connect these two independent characters. Do not forget that a home-made liver, fried in fat, or with garlic, does not necessarily require a 6 puttonyos Tokaji Aszú. Here, a lighter, fruity, youthful Szamorodni, with lively acids, often does a better job. But feel free to experiment. Goose, duck, or even a delicate game meat can be an impeccable pairing with an elegant sweet Furmint. Just like good quality winter salami with fresh brioche or milk-loaf.

Among the desserts, there are some ingredients that are particularly important to us, such as cottage cheese, citrus fruits, raisins, nuts, figs, caramel – all of these flavours are present in the botrytized Furmints of Tokaj, so it is easy to follow one of the possible guiding principles of food-wine pairings, which is to try to base our choice on the common denominator. I note that the higher acidity is also important here, since the acidity of cottage cheese also plays a role in the development of harmony.

I think that in this story, each character has their own place and task. The purpose of awarding the World Heritage title itself and creating the accompanying legal and administrative framework is to preserve something that we consider very valuable for posterity. Not to let it be lost, but to preserve it for our children, grandchildren and then their grandchildren. No generation should forget that the environment we live in is not ours. We are responsible for it, because we were given it for a while to live in it, to use it. To use it, to create value and to bring joy to ourselves and, above all, to others. This can only be achieved through a conscious attitude and lifestyle, the integral part of which is the love, development, protection, preservation and sharing of the environment and existing values ​​with others. In the case of Tokaj, all this is simply unimaginable without Furmint, as the shaper and moulder of the landscape, nature and wine and man within it.

I think it is clear that gastronomic traditions belong to the past of a people just as much as built monuments, literary works or even music.

And here we can turn back to the relationship between Furmint and the World Heritage title. Because Furmint, as one of the most valuable grape varieties in the world, should be the subject of the protection that we, the people of the Carpathian Basin, are obliged to give it. Just like our other fruits, food, animals, in other words everything that we – and only we Hungarians – put on the table. What can be identified only with us, what cannot be imitated, what can be linked to us now, and probably will be so in a hundred and fifty years. The World Heritage title is a great opportunity, but do not forget that this is just the framework. We have to fill this frame with content. If necessary, with teaching, variety selection or even reviving a traditional dish. Furmint has a prominent place and role in this story because wine is one of the best image carriers. Many countries would be proud if they had such a great opportunity to give visitors or those interested at home such a concrete, tangible, valuable and easily memorable object about their countries.

And there is hardly a better means to convey all of this than the number one grape variety of Hegyalja, Furmint. The grape variety that has both good and bad qualities, but is still unique in one thing. Which is that Tokaj can be what it is by and through Furmint. Sometimes strict, elegant, lovable, kind, luscious, lush, encouraging and inspiring at the same time. We just have to know how to take care of it, protect it, improve it, live with it – and with the opportunities provided by world heritage protection.