Varga Winery Scoops Record 16 Gold Medals

Péter Varga, founder of the winery.

When it comes wines, labels do count. And not just the design, or the information on the year, variety, etc. but the award stickers that help orientate the not so-connoisseurs. When people are unable to choose between two wines, an easy shortcut can be looking for a wine that someone else has already decided is good.  

If a wine receives a gold at major international competition, such as the Vinalies Internationales in Paris or the Monde Selection in Brussels, where more than 5,000 samples are tasted by professionals, that bottle with the shiny sticker is sure to contain something good.  

This year, Varga Winery collected 16 golds; a new record for the winery and the country. Six wines of the premium “Aranymetszés” range and a Royal Egri Hárslevelű were entered in six international competitions , four of which they won.  

The most successful competition was the Berliner Wine Trophy, where six out of the seven wines entered won a gold medal. Most recently, four Varga wines were awarded a gold at Mundus Vini Spring in Brussels.  

The winery moved into the premium winemaking category more than 10 years ago. What has led to this year’s success is continuous improvement and development and the work of some very good experts, the owners say.  

All Adds Up

“Everything has added up: we have a team of experts: our head of winery is one the most renowned professionals currently in Hungary; our chemist makes the most out of the state-of-the art equipment,” Máté Varga, managing director and co-owner of Varga Winery told the Budapest Business Journal.

“We also keep testing, experimenting and improving; continuous development is the key,” he adds. Another advantage according to Varga is the family-run aspect of the winery, which makes snap and effective decision making possible.  

Sending wines to international competitions – provided they have first been successful at local level – makes business sense as well. If they win two or three competitions, it brings success not only to the winery but also the region and the country, Péter Sárkány, a member of the Hungarian Wine Academy and Par Excellence award-winning tutor of the Hungarian Sommelier Association, told the BBJ.  

The expert, who regularly judges at international competitions, says the state should acknowledge and support the best-performing wineries by, for example, paying the entry fee or sample delivery. A win at these competition helps boost the trade of wines, so the whole country could benefit from it.  

“Tasting wines is a challenge but it is also very rewarding,” Sárkány says. From this professional aspect, the Aranymetszés wines of the Varga Winery are exceptionally rich in flavors and aroma, he adds.