It can’t be easy representing Vladimir Putin’s ally Viktor Orbán in Europe, but the Hungarian ambassador to the UK, Ferenc Kumin, has hit upon a novel form of soft diplomacy: wines made from the Furmint grape. Introducing a masterclass devoted to them in London recently, he pointed out that Furmint occupies a unique position among Hungary’s many native wine grapes. It’s the main ingredient in the country’s most famous wine, Tokaj — and it’s unusually easy to spell and pronounce (unlike, for example, Hárslevelű and Cserszegi Fűszerés). “Foor-mint, not fur-mint,” Kumin instructed us sternly, adding, “now comes the tricky part: we have to explain that there’s more to Tokaj than sweet wines.”
在欧洲替弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)的盟友维克托•欧尔班(Viktor Orbán)出面周旋并非易事，但匈牙利驻英国大使费伦茨•库明(Ferenc Kumin)倒是想出了一种新颖的软外交方式：以富尔明特(Furmint)葡萄酿造的葡萄酒。近日，他在伦敦主持一场以这种葡萄为主题的大师班时指出，富尔明特在匈牙利众多本土酿酒葡萄中占据着独特地位。它是该国最著名葡萄酒托卡伊的主要原料，而且拼写和发音都出奇地容易（不像Hárslevelű和Cserszegi Fűszeres那样，比如说）。库明严肃地纠正我们说：“要读作‘Foor-mint’，不是‘fur-mint’。”接着又补上一句：“接下来才是真正棘手的部分：我们得解释清楚，托卡伊可不只有甜酒。”