Hungarian wines viewed from US wine trade perspective
I’d started a series of polls last year and the one on December 10th was about “Which is the single most important varietal Hungary should focus o in the future“. Whilst Furmint was elected the single most important one only one people made a comment about it. Since most readers do not read the comments because they’re not displayed on the main page and although I don’t fully agree with the comment author, found it very interesting, from someone working it the wine trade industry in the U.S. I thought it would be a good idea to share her thoughts with all of you so I contacted her and she agreed with the sole condition that she remains anonymous. So here it is, as it is, she didn’t want to change anything before I publish it.
First of all, you can’t look at a SINGLE varietal like Austria. Austria went with Gruner because they really don’t do red wines all that well,(and make very little) given their terroir. Hungary has excellent red wine options, so you should cover both categories. If I had to pick one varietal overall, it would be Irsai Oliver—and just replace Pinot Grigio around the world. That would account for plenty of sales I think…… Now let’s move beyond and look at further possibilities.
According to this survey most people have opted for harslevelu—giant mistake in the global wine economy. It is very much a polarizing grape—people love it or hate it—most foreigners dislike it. White wine markets that could appreciate it, such as Germany, don’t need it since they have enough Riesling to bathe in. Other markets just don’t get that grape, with few wine geek exceptions. That varietal won’t fly within the global markets, and yes, I am speaking from experience.
Furmint actually has potential, and some wineries are heading in the right direction with dry styles. Personally—and knowing what consumers seek in key global markets where I work with more then 8000 wines from around the world, I would make the following suggestions for Hungary’s production focus:
1. Easy to drink, aromatic white wine category–target Irsai Oliver. Done right, this can successfully compete within the category and in a low price, would offer a friendly intro to other unknown Hungarian varietals. But it can’t be a watered down, over acidic version—look at possibly Nyakas and maybe one or two others that have a sense of where to go with this.
2. Medium to full bodied white wine—-go for the Furmint—dry Furmint CAN be terrific done right such as with Szepsy, Sauska, Degenfeld and a few others. Most wineries still do this badly….It is a flagship grape that can stand up to higher price points and more complex food. It simply works, and again, I have tested it in key markets.
3. Easy going fruity red—-Portugieser. HELLO!! This is a pretty, fruit forward luscious red, again, done right. I had Sauska’s recently and it was YUMMI! Wine will sell in competitive on and off premise, and great By-The-Glass. Done deal. (Kadarka is hopelessly sensitive to rot and climactic conditions, so a pain and not worth the effort on a large export scale.
4. Big, bold red—Kekfrankos first and foremost—need I say Takler? The wine rocks. Sauska’s new KF is also stellar. Both are reaady for prime time, key global markets. BIG deal.Beats the pants off of every top Austrian producer in our portfolio—and that would be most of them out there…..we have a huge Austrian supplier pool.
5. International red varietal—NO PINOT.PLEASE. That is a trend about to be over. Go for the CABERNET FRANC and PLEASE do something with this. It could be a good niche for Hungary with names like Sauska, Takler and one or two others.
6. Dessert wines—Hungary owns this category with Tokaj–would be nice if the country could actually get its act together and create a platform strategy, then tell the story. In fact that would be nice for the whole Hungarian Wine industry.
FOR ONCE, it would be nice to see the country do something right with the wine sector. And yes, I know, I can just keep dreaming. Meanwhile I help Australian wines, Sopexa is seeking my help on French wines, working also on Argentina’s branding, not to mention Italian and of course American wines. Even Greece is moving along…sadly Hungary just can’t be found on the world wine map in terms of activity….
These are my opinions based on many years of work in multiple markets, but mostly the States. Incidentally, if you don’t compete here as a wine producing country, you don’t really exist, as far as the global sector is concerned. Spectator can’t really review Hungary—not enough wines and noise in market; Parker can’t review Hungary for the same reasons, and obviously same goes for Tanzer. These are the three that count, period.
I have suppliers from every known wine region, including Hungary. I am not ready to give up on Hungarian wines—personally, I see a lot of work that still needs to be done to improve quality and consistency, lots of unrealistic pricing and expectations, but I also see too much wasted potential. Maybe some day the sector asks for my help and then, I can help provide REAL product direction, a marketing strategy and guidance for the industry to use as a global platform, and then to those key producers that are ready for prime time. (And those may not be the names everyone would expect….) Cheers to 2009!
Hello to Budapest(!) and New York(?) from San Francisco,
Your comments make interesting reading. We have been importing and distributing Hungarian wines in the U.S. market for six or seven years and I can confirm most of what you say. Hungary has not yet been able to make significant inroads into export given its long viticultural history and extensive agricultural substance. Interestingly enough, that’s true not just for the U.S. but for its European neighbors as well. Try to find a good Hungarian wine in Germany or Austria and you’ll see what I mean. This is a good indication that this issue is Hungarian made and not specific to the U.S. market or American consumer. Still, I am certain that things will improve, the wine is simply too good (and getting better) and the industry too important to languish. In fact, the success Hungarian wines have enjoyed in the last 20 years at home might be one important reason that there was not much pressure to work on increasing the export business.
A couple of quick notes on the wines: I would add to the Irsai Oliver two or more native varietals which are also easy going refreshing white wines: Kiralyleanyka, Cserszegi Füszeres, and Muskat Otonel. I fully agree with the writer’s assessment of dry Furmint as the way to go. We are already seeing a growing number of beautiful wines made from this premium grape. On the reds I also see a sizable potential for Portugieser and Kadarka. Typically these are medium bodied wines with relatively low alcohol that pair well with food. Thus they offer a viable alternative to the big and heavy U.S. reds many wine lovers, in particular women, are looking for. I beg to differ with her view that Hungarian Kekfrankos are better than their Austrian Blaufrankisch but I am happy to reconsider after tasting more wines such as those from the newly founded Sauska estate. (Small intermezzo here: The Hungarian wine makers would be well advised to learn from their Austrian colleagues how to successfully market their wines in foreign countries by supporting a well run Hungarian Wine Marketing Organization like the Austrians do.)
Finally, her comments on Tokaj are spot on: Tokaji is indeed unique and THE Hungarian wine. It should always play an integral part of any marketing initiative aiming to position Hungarian wine successfully in the ocean of the world’s wine markets.
Cheers, Frank
