Furmint, fine, fiery white tokaj grape variety grown most widely in Hungary, just over the Slovakian border from Tokaj, and in ‘Styrian’ Slovenia and Croatia as Šipon. It is also being revived in Austria’s Burgenland, particularly Rust where both Heidi Schröck and Triebaumer make fine dry and sweet versions. dna profiling has shown that it has a parent–offspring relationship with gouais blanc and hárslevelű.
Helpfully for the great sweet wine that is Tokaji, the grapes are particularly sensitive to noble rot, yet the wine is characterized by very high acidity, which endows the wine with long ageing potential, high sugar levels, and rich, fiery flavours. In Tokaji it is usually blended with up to half as much of the more aromatic grape variety Hárslevelű, and some Sárga Muskotály (muscat blanc à petits grains) is also sometimes included in the blend.
