Interview with Zsuzsa Toronyi after the 8th edition of Furmint February in London

14 wines spanned 25 years at the 8th Furmint February tasting and masterclass in London organised by Zsuzsa Toronyi,held by Caroline Gilby MW and Richard Bampfield MW. The event was full house, a great success with participants like Jancis Robinson and representatives of key companies like Majestic, Liberty and Berkmann, sommeliers from restaurants like Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and media like Decanter.
In the cover photo from left to right: Zsuzsa Toronyi, Caroline Gilby MW, Richard Bampfield MW
Questions: Ágnes Németh

The masterclass took place on 23 February at Liszt Institute, the Hungarian Cultural Centre in London, as part of a trade tasting event of a curated selection of Furmint wines available in the UK. The chief organiser, Zsuzsa Toronyi, owner of Wine Communication and Wines of Hungary UK answered our questions regarding the event.

“Shifting the perception”

– You are the “engine” behind all the Furmint February events in London, and Furmint February has become the reference point of Hungarian wines in the UK. Do you remember how the idea occurred 8 years go?

– The concept of organising an awareness-raising tasting for Hungarian wines emerged shortly after I began working with Hungarian wines in the UK. At the time, Tokaj was the most widely recognised (the only), wine region with established distribution on the market. It was a logical decision to focus on wines that already had both reputation and availability, building on existing awareness to further promote Hungarian wines in the UK market. The key challenge was to introduce dry wines and shift the perception that Tokaj is exclusively associated with sweet wines.

– I had the honour to participate in some of the past events, and it was revealing to hear buyers and sommeliers about the potential of Furmint – with many great insights and useful ideas. How do you feel now, do you think that the education has been done and those “who count” in the UK have sufficient knowledge of Furmint?

– A particularly significant endorsement of our work over the past eight years came from Alex Hunt MW, Head of Wine at Berkmann Wine Cellars, who observed that Furmint now has universal recognition within the wine trade.
Each Furmint February places a strong emphasis on education, showcasing the many expressions of Furmint through focused initiatives such as The Thousand Faces of Furmint, a Sparkling Furmint masterclass, and presentations of single-vineyard wines. We invited trade professionals, journalists this year to experience the exceptional ageing potential of dry Furmints.
Furmint is now well established within the trade, and we have further strengthened its market position by expanding distribution and increasing sales through new importer partnerships, as well as additional restaurant and retail listings.

The growth opportunity lies in placing the wines directly in front of consumers through targeted by-the-glass trade promotions, while expanding into new UK regions and increasing visibility beyond London. Next year’s Furmint February will take place in Edinburgh, to expand the initiative beyond London and strengthening its presence across the UK. And we will run a nation-wide Furmint by-the-glass promotion to drive sales and consumer recognition.

“I have been a firm believer in the quality and potential of dry Furmint, ever since tasting Szepsy’s legendary Úrágya 2000 in his cellars. I, for one, am looking forward to this unique opportunity to taste and compare over two decades of rare wines showing how Furmint can age and how winemaking has evolved. It’s time to add Furmint to the list of great white grapes.”
Caroline Gilby MW

Is there life beyond Furmint?

– Obviously there are critics, some experts believe that placing too much emphasis on Furmint is not the smartest path, especially because Hungary produces much more other wines, like Olaszrizling or the popular aromatic varieties. Does Furmint help the other Hungarian varieties or styles or does it take all the limelight?

– Furmint and Tokaj serve as a gateway to other grape varieties and wine regions; however, at times, I feel they do not fully make room for other wines to follow. There is a clear need to introduce additional Hungarian grape varieties to the UK market, driven both by trade demand and the ambitions of Hungarian producers. We successfully hosted a Hárslevelű tasting during COVID, running the Blue of the Danube tasting for the third time this year (October 2026) focusing on Kékfrankos and Bikavér, and introduced other grape varieties at the Furmint February – Furmint and Friends tasting two years ago. For Balaton, we raised awareness and drove sales through a comprehensive JancisRobinson.com article.

The Wine52 Balaton campaign, accompanied by a 60-page magazine about the region, brought nearly 100,000 bottles of Balaton wines directly in front of UK consumers.

We also hosted a GROW/Olaszrizling masterclass at last year’s CEE Wine Fair. Further efforts are needed to support other Hungarian regions than Tokaj, and other grape varieties on the UK market. Building awareness and consideration for lesser-known wine regions and grape varieties is no easy task. It demands focus, consistency, patience, and significant investment from the wineries—an investment that is difficult to sustain without support from the wine marketing board.

Hoping for cooperation next year

– Over the years you have established a good relationship with the Hungarian Embassy in the UK. In what way do you help each other?

– We have been working together with the Hungarian Embassy and the Liszt Institute in London since the beginning. HE dr Ferenc Kumin ambassador and Enikő Magyar former Agricultural Attache and now Bálint Illés is supporting our work. We are organising events together as well as promoting Hungarian wines like the Decanted Hungary, which features DWWA medal winning wines. Last year the Embassy hosted a highly successful South Korean lunch with Hungarian wines for Korean restaurant owners, and sommeliers fostering business connection and driving sales. The year-end Importer Brunch is an annual tradition where HE invites importers and buyers to review the performance of Hungarian wines over the past year and discuss opportunities and recommendations for further development.

– The key people and bodies of the Hungarian wine marketing have changed several times during these past 8 years. Could you cooperate with the official Hungarian wine marketing, and can you cooperate now?

– We have worked closely with the main Hungarian wine marketing bodies in the past 8 years, and UK initiatives have received their support to date. However, this year there was no budget allocated to support Furmint February in the UK unfortunately. We are actively fostering collaboration to ensure the successful joint execution of planned Furmint February activities next year.

“Awareness is established, listings are increasing”

– Why did you choose this intimate masterclass format this year, instead of the earlier grandiose walk-around tastings combined with masterclasses?

– This year’s Furmint February was very much on strategy or at least executed as part of the objectives. “Some tastings introduce a category – and some tastings quietly change your perspective on it. 25 Years of Dry Furmint in London was very much the latter” as demonstrated by this year’s vertical tasting, this reflects what I aimed to achieve in London: awareness is established, listings are increasing, and nearly every restaurant features a dry Furmint. Now we need to keep the trade engaged and educated about Furmint and its full potential – this year in partnership with Liberation Tardive’s 10+Wine campaign we presented a rare opportunity to taste iconic Furmint wines from the past two decades.
Unfortunately, we were unable to run the planned nation-wide by-the-glass trade promotion and the Edinburgh tasting this year, so these initiatives will be prioritised for next year.

– As you said earlier on the phone, the masterclass and tasting in London was a big hit, full house and you received a lot of positive, enthusiastic feedback. Can you quote some of the comments?

– It was a tasting with a wonderful atmosphere. Everyone was thoroughly delighted with the wines and especially appreciated the selection featured in the masterclass. Jancis Robinson congratulated us after the masterclass, highlighting the quality and complexity of the wines, as well as the well-considered structure of the tasting. We will be able to read more of her insights on her website and in the Financial Timas as well.

“It was indeed a serious and highly prestigious event. We are delighted to have been part of it with our Muzeális Aszú.”
Szilvia Kárpáti Grand Tokaj

“It was a real privilege to be able to share such amazing Furmints, going all the way back to 2003 for dry wines and 1988 for Aszú.”
Caroline Gilby MW

“Thank you so much for the tasting yesterday, it was amazing. I particularly liked the dry whites, which really showed the ageing potential of the Furmint.  I am glad I came.”
Luisa Vogliolo-Welch, wine writer

“I am well acquainted with dry Furmint and have enjoyed several bottles over the years, but I had never imagined that it could age so gracefully and develop with such elegance. This experience has been a complete revelation—thank you, I have learned a great deal.”

Christopher Burr MW

The wines of the masterclass

1. Furmint Méthode Traditionnelle 2018, Carpinus Winery, Tokaj, ABV: 11%, brut
2. Kis-Garai Furmint 2021, Tokaj Hétszőlő, Tokaj, ABV: 13,5%, single vineyard: Kis-Garai
3. Furmint Selection 2021, Chateau Dereszla, Tokaj, ABV: 12,5%, vineyards: Henye, Poklos
4. Birsalmás Furmint 2019, Sauska Tokaj, Tokaj, ABV: 14%, single vineyard: Birsalmás
5. Nagy Somlói Furmint 2016, Kolonics Winery, Somló, ABV: 13%, vineyard: Arany-hegy
6. Mandolás Furmint 2014, Tokaj Oremus, Tokaj, ABV: 12.5%, single vineyard: Mandolás
7. Szent Tamás Furmint 2012, Royal Tokaji, Tokaj, ABV: 14%, single vineyard: Szent Tamás
8. Tokaji Furmint 2009, Füleky, Tokaj, ABV: 13%, estate wine
9. Tokaji Furmint 2007, Dobogó, Tokaj, ABV: 14%, vineyards: Betsek, Szent Tamás, Palota
10. Tokaji Furmint 2005, Patricius, Tokaj, ABV: 12.5%, estate wine
11. Úrágya Furmint 2003, Szepsy, Tokaj, ABV: 13.5%, vineyard: Úrágya
12. Dry Szamorodni 2015, Harsányi Winery, Tokaj, ABV: 15%, vineyard: Ciróka
13. Kapi Vineyard Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos 2015, Disznókő, Tokaj, ABV: 11%, RS:187 g/l, vineyard: Kapi
14. Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos 1988, Grand Tokaj, Tokaj, ABV: 11.5%, RS:131 g/l