Finnish-Hungarian wine professional business development meeting and masterclass
As the first stage of the Hungarian Wine Business Program, the Agricultural Marketing Centre, in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary in Finland, held a business development meeting on the 24th of November, 2020. accompanied by a “hybrid” wine masterclass and tasting.
Finland is among the main target markets of the Hungarian wine export, so our intention equally was to help the appearance of those producers and their wines that are already present on the Finnish market and this time wish to strengthen their business relations, as well as of those wineries that are at the moment only in the phase of planning to expand their export to Finland's wine market.
In line with the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic and the recommendations of the local authorities, the meeting was organized in a “hybrid” format: the Finnish wine industry representatives, including Master of Wine experts - like Ms. Heidi Mäkinen, President of the Finnish Sommelier Association -, international wine academics, wine importers and sommeliers in person; while the Hungarian speaker and the representatives of the wineries participated in the event via video call.
In the framework of the online masterclass and wine tasting, dr. Mihály Konkoly DipWSET presented Hungary's wine regions and districts along with the main characteristics of the wines made there through a premium wine selection of the participating ten Hungarian wineries.
During the "virtual excursion", the Finnish guests who arrived to the Embassy residence had a chance to roam the Balaton Uplands followed by the wine districts of Eger, Szekszárd and Villány. The line of wines was opened by a dry Tokaj Furmint, that was followed by the excellent red wines of the listed regions. The tasting was closed by late-harvest Tokaj wines and Aszú, which are well-known and recognized among the Finnish too.
Representatives of the wineries also joined the presentation interactively: they gave a glimpse into their activities and the wines they produce via a short video or brief personal introduction. The audience also had the opportunity to address questions both to the wineries and the speaker.
During the walk-around tasting, which followed the master's course, the Finnish participants could try additional wines from the wineries, and in parallel, conduct B2B negotiations online with the representatives of the wineries, using tablets provided by the Embassy at venue.
