Ep 470: The Grape Miniseries -- Furmint

One of the confusing things about wine is that often we can identify a wine and the basic facts about it -- we may have even tasted it -- but because it’s not obvious, we don’t know the grapes behind the wine. Although I bet you've heard of Tokaji, the great sweet wine of Hungary, you may not be familiar with Furmint, the main white grape that makes the wine sing and that usually makes up 85-90% of the blend of Tokaji.   What you also may not know is that this grape is not just for sweet wines. Starting around the year 2000, ambitious, creative producers began a quest to make quality dry wine from the grape and have had a quite a lot of success over the last 20+ years.   In this show we discuss Furmint, the white grape native to Tokaj-Hegyalia wine region of northeastern Hungary, that makes everything from simple bone-dry wine to complex oak-aged versions, to sparkling wine, to the classic botrytized sweet wines, Tokaji.   Full show notes are now exclusively available on Patreon! Become a member today! Photo: The Furmint grape. Credit: Wines of Hungary   Podcast Sources: https://winesofhungary.hu https://tastehungary.com/journal/furmint-forever/ http://furmintusa.com https://www.austrianwine.com/our-wine/grape-varieties/white-wine/furmint https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/furmint-grape-february https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/feb/15/wine-is-furmint-the-tastiest-grape-youve-never-heard-of https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=682 https://www.decanter.com/sponsored/furmint-the-journey-continues-474688/ _______________________________________________________________ I love my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access, my go-to source for the best selection of interesting, outstanding quality wines you can’t find locally. Every box you get from Wine Access is meticulous -- tasting notes with food and wine pairing, serving temperature suggestions, and perfectly stored wine. Go to www.wineaccess.com/normal to join my co-branded wine club with Wine Access and www.wineaccess.com/wfnp so see a page of the wines I'm loving right now from their collection.  Get 10% your first order. Check out Wine Access today!      If you think our podcast is worth the price of a bottle or two of wine a year, please become a member of Patreon... you'll get even more great content, live interactions and classes!  www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople   To register for an AWESOME, LIVE WFNP class with Elizabeth go to: www.winefornormalpeople.com/classes Get the back catalog on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.