This month we were celebrating Furmint, Hungary’s flagship grape variety. First time ever, Wines of Hungary UK brought over the Furmint February Campaign from Hungary to the UK. The goal was to engage with both trade and consumers and show how versatile, palatable, complex and ageworthy Furmint can be.
The program started on 31 January with a full-house tasting at 67 Pall Mall. The event was hosted by Caroline Gilby who talked about the versatility of this grape variety. 26 wineries presented more than 90 wines from dry to sweet style.
The campaign attracted amazing media coverage throughout the month in The Buyer, The Guardian, on JancisRobinson.com.
- Rupert Millar writes about the ‘Furmint – Next Great Grape Variety‘ in the Drinks Business
- Justin Keay published an article on ‘Why the UK wine trade is going MAD for Furmint‘ with a selection of his top 10 favourites from the tasting.
- Kate Hawkings talked about why furmint is her favourite grape variety in The Gurdian.
- The Sunday Times’s very own Jane MacQuitty writes about Furmint as the ‘chick white wine we all be drinking’.
- Tamlyn Currin wrote a tasting article on jancisrobinson.com with some really terrific scores in there that Hungarian wines have barely seen before. She also discussed Furmint and food matching, with Furmint being fairly unique as a food friendly white wine.
- Richard Siddle made an interview with the Hungary’s Champion Sommelier, Matyas Szik (Part 1, Part 2 with a Hungarian Sommelier from London to follow), who explained why Furmint should be on every wine list.
- Chris Boiling on IWC Canopy writes about Furmint: The most versatile grape?
- Steven Spurrier, Natasha Hughes MW, Joanna Simon and Tamlyn Currin shared their thoughts and stories about Furmint which were posted on Facebook and Instagram.
- Some importers also got involved with the campaign, Corney and Barrow created a video of “What is Furmint February?”
- Egy Kis Furmint from Barta Winery was named Wine of the Week by Joanna Simon.
Thank you all for your amazing support!
As part of the consumer campaign, every Friday we gave away six bottles of Furmint to a lucky winner who posted a picture of Furmint on social media with #furmintfebruary19 hashtag and tagged the retailer. Consumers love Furmint!
Apply Now To Win A Trip to Tokaj
Retailers will have until the 13th March to apply to win a trip to Tokaj. Entrants need to apply online at www.furmintfeburary.co.uk describing what they have done for Furmint in February. The winner is announced in mid-March as Furmint Retailer of The Year. Peter McCombie MW will judge retailers on their Furmint-related promotions.