Wine of the Week: Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint – A Dry Taste of Hungary

When a friend brings wine to dinner, I'm always excited to see what appears on the table. This week's wine was especially exciting because it checked two boxes for me.

First, my family owned vineyards in Hungary dating back to 1707 (that's a story for another day). Second, I happen to be a big fan of the Furmint grape.

So when Cathy and Michael arrived with a bottle of Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint from Hungary's famous Tokaj region, I couldn't wait to open it.

For many wine lovers, the mention of Tokaj immediately brings to mind the region's legendary sweet wines. Tokaji Aszú has long been considered one of the world's great dessert wines and was once known as "The Wine of Kings and the King of Wines."

But Tokaj is much more than sweet wine.

Today, many producers are showcasing Furmint in dry styles, revealing a side of the grape that is fresh, vibrant, and incredibly food-friendly.

About the Furmint Grape

Furmint is Hungary's most important white grape variety and the backbone of the Tokaj region. Its naturally high acidity makes it ideal for both sweet and dry wines.

When made in a dry style, Furmint often displays flavors of orchard fruit, citrus, stone fruit, and mineral notes. It has enough body and texture to stand up to food while maintaining refreshing acidity.

It's a grape that deserves much more attention from wine lovers looking to explore beyond Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay.

Tasting Notes

The Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint pours a pale straw color in the glass.

On the nose, aromas of white peach, citrus, and tropical fruit immediately jump out.

The palate is crisp and refreshing with flavors of juicy white peach, lemon zest, and hints of tropical fruit. A backbone of bright acidity keeps everything lively, while a subtle minerality adds complexity and length to the finish.

This is the type of wine that makes you want another sip.

Clean, bright, and refreshing, it is exactly the kind of white wine I reach for during the warmer months.

Food Pairings

The vibrant acidity and fruit-forward profile make this wine incredibly versatile at the table.

Try pairing it with:

• Grilled shrimp
• Seafood salads
• Lemon-herb chicken
• Fresh summer vegetables
• Goat cheese
• Sushi and sashimi
• Grilled fish
• Light pasta dishes
• Pork schnitzel

Its crisp character also makes it perfect for enjoying on the deck, at the beach, or with friends on a warm summer evening.

About Pajzos Winery

Pajzos Winery is located in the heart of Hungary's Tokaj region and is recognized for producing wines that reflect the unique volcanic soils and historic vineyards of the area. The winery balances traditional winemaking practices with modern techniques, focusing on expressing the distinctive character of Tokaj's indigenous grape varieties, particularly Furmint.

While the winery is well known for its sweet Tokaji wines, bottles like this dry T-Furmint demonstrate the versatility of both the grape and the region.

Final Thoughts

One of the things I love most about wine is how a single bottle can spark memories, conversations, and curiosity.

At under $20 a bottle, the Pajzos 2022 T-Furmint is an affordable introduction to one of Europe's most exciting white grapes.

Thank you, Cathy and Michael, for sharing this wonderful wine.

Have you tried Furmint? I'd love to hear about your experience.

Winephabet Street V is for Villány

Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 22 V is for Villany.

Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine, and hang out with us.

In this episode, we are discussing the Villany region of Hungary. I love talking about anything Hungarian as my grandfather is from Budapest and his Grandparents had vineyards in the Tapolca region in Hungary. Although Tapolca is a three-hour drive Villany, I felt close to my roots during this episode.

The Villany region of Hungary is focused on red grapes. It is known for its big reds. Located close to the Croatian border, Villany PDO is the southernmost wine region in Hungary. It has a sub-Mediterranean climate that has very warm summers and mild winters. Spring comes early which allows for a long growing season which many red varieties need. Cabernet Franc is Villany’s signature grape.

We are joined in this episode by Andras Horkay, dipWSET, Director, Central European Wine Institute; Andrea Gere, Attila Gere Winery, and Erhard Heumann, Heumann Winery. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Webinar   

Podcast

Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 5 - E is for Egri Bikaver

Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 5 E is for Egri Bikaver. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.

This month of February we learned about the Egri Bikaver. Egri Bikaver is from Hungary and better known as Bulls Blood. It is not a grape but a blend of 50% Kekfrankos (which we know as Blaufrankish or Lemberger) and the rest can be Kadarka, Syrah, Merlot, Portugieser, Minoir, Blauburger, Pinot Noir, Zweigelt or Turan. It is quite a funny story how it got its name. The condensed version is in 1552 at the siege of Eger the captain brought red wine to the soldiers. The soldiers drank the red wine and it stained their beards and the Turks thought the soldiers in Eger drak blood from the bull. There are a couple other legends out there as well.

Lori and I had a great time with this topic. I hope you enjoy the podcast or webinar, whichever you choose to listen to or watch.

2016 Egervin Egri Bivaker (Bulls Blood) SRP $9.99

I didn’t have much of a choice here at the liquor store. In fact it was the only choice for Bulls Blood. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the wine and I was pleasantly surprised how I liked it. It was not a heavy, big red. It was light on the palate with a lot of character. There were some plum, cherry and blackberry notes with a hint of earthiness. There was a strong sour cherry finish. As the wine opened there was hints of red currant and fennel. It was quite enjoyable.

Learn more about Egri Bikaver (Bulls Blood) and the wines we tasted by listening to the podcast or watch the webinar.

For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/

Watch the Webinar

Listen to the Podcast

Old World Vines: Exploring Hungarian & Slovenia Wines

For the next three weeks I will be exploring the the regions of Hungary and Slovenia with Katy Bendel Daniels the owner/importer of Old World Vines. The education on the region as well as the wines were generously supplied by Katy.

I've tasted Hungarian wines before and recently, but never from Slovenia.  I am looking really forward to the next few weeks and sharing the learning experience with you.

How does one usually get into the wine industry...by following her passion and that is what Katy is doing. It all began with a trip to Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. Visiting castles, meeting winemakers who shared their stories with her.  Eight years later wanting a change, change took her back to her experience traveling through Slovenia, Croatia & Hungary. She decided to begin to import the wines from these regions and bring the culture and new varietals to the free market.

People don't realize that in the early 1700's these wine regions were THE wine regions.  After World War II they fell behind the Iron Curtain and cut off.  Many lost their land and bartered to get it back. It isn't until recently that these wines were able to cross the Atlantic to free market. Today, the wineries we will be talking about all have state of the art equipment and are bring a taste of old world wines, their stories and their varietals to you.

Put down your California Cabernet for a minute and explore with us such varietals as Furmint, Ribolla Gialla, Rumeni Muskat and Blaufrankisch. See how the high acidity of the wines make for great food pairings and open you palate to new tastes.

Stay tuned: Next week we taste Hungarian Wines, the week after wines from Slovenia.

To learn more about Katy, her business and the wines she imports, listen to her as a guest on the True Wine Culture podcast

A Taste of Hungarian Wines

I was asked a few weeks ago to take part in a #Winechat featuring Hungarian Wines.  How could I refuse. This was my chance to taste wines from my home country.  One of the wines is produced about 40 minutes from where my family is from.  Below were the selections for the evening.

I have to say the selections were very unique.  That's what I LOVE is tasting wines from different regions made with grapes indigenous to that region.  Not your mainstream wine.  Also an interesting not is that it's been 20 or so years after the re-establishment of private and faily wineries in Hungary.  My father actually had papers claiming our vineyards and I believe the filed them with the consulate but nothing ever came from it. Today, Hungary is in the midst of a huge wine renaissance.

2011 Bodrog Bormühely Lapis Furmint - The Furmint grape is widely grown in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region of Hungry.  It is the principal grape in the Tokaji dessert wines people think of when you think Hungarian wines.  Actually this was was relatively dry.  It is said the grape was introduced to the region during the Austro-Hungarian era of the Middle Ages.

The grape is very high in acidity and with residual sugar at 4.9 g/l it doesn't taste sweet at all.  The acidity is really nicely balanced. The aromas of this wine are of sweet ripe peaches and toasted sugar.  The minerality of the wine comes out in the taste along with a nice creaminess felt on the palate. The wine did go through a full malolactic fermentation furmentation and spent 9 months aging in Hungarian oak sur lie.

2011 Fekete Béla Olaszrizling - This wine comes from the Somló region about 40 minutes from Tapolca and Hungary's smallest appellation.  The region was once an underwater volcano. The grape is also known as Welschriesling in Austria and is no relation to the Riesling grape you are accustomed  to.  This wine had lemon on the nose with a hint of floral.  It was very soft on the palate and had a hint of spice on the finish. This wine is aged two years in 1200 liter Hungarian oak casks before bottling.  SRP $25

2011 Eszterbaur "Nagyapám" Kadarka - This wine comes from the Szekszárd region which is in southern Hungry. When I first tasted this wine I immediately characterized it as a Gamay with a hint of Pinot Noir.  Fermented with native yeasts, the wine had flavors of tart cherry, raspberry, soft tannins and a nice spice on the finish.  I tasted it room temperature as well as chilled for 15 minutes in the fridge.  It is definitely better when slightly chilled. SRP $18