02 March 2022 / Edit Szabó
Vivien Ujvári now makes wines for the Barta Winery and produces selected wines with her father from the tiny estate in Raposka under the name UJVÁRI.
Actually, no. It’s true that our family has owned a 0-65-hectare vineyard since the 1850s, and my childhood was spent constantly out in the vineyards, but my parents didn’t push me towards anything. I was going to be a light industrial engineer. I got my degree, and then one day, I got a call from a childhood friend, Bálint Földi. That conversation changed my life.
Bálint was considering applying to the post-graduate viticulture and oenology course at Corvinus University and asked me if I’d like to join him. He knew that we had a small family estate, that I was interested in wine and that I liked to go to tastings, but he wasn’t sure that I’d immediately go for the idea. Strangely, the moment he asked the question, I was sure that it was the path I had to follow.
No. I love nature, and I knew that I would be almost completely disconnected from it as a light industrial engineer. Plus, even then, I was going to the cellar and the vineyards with my dad more and more often, and it was great to feel the momentum of our common interest carrying us forward. Until then, vines and wine had just been a hobby for me, but then I realised that I wanted to make it my profession. I was attracted by the idea that, while learning about the sophisticated world of wine, I would be honing my tastes and developing my personality. Bálint and I embarked on this adventure together, got our degrees, worked together in New Zealand and have now both been winemakers for a long time.
I graduated in textiles, specialising in mechanical engineering and wrote my thesis on industrial irons. I worked as international procurement officer at Corvinus University but spent my last semester as a cellar hand in California.
Let’s just say I can fix minor faults without any problem, and if something isn’t working properly, I know immediately what kind of technician to call. But if I’m stuck, and there’s nobody around, I’ll tinker with the press sensor system, mess with the cooling or fix the pump, of course.
I’ve never really thought about it like that, but I think I am. Women winemakers are generally thought to be better tasters than men, but nobody expects them to have technical skills. And since wine quality is greatly influenced by technology, it’s great that I feel at home here and can see the connections.
All of them. In California, I learned what cleanliness means in a winery and why the cellar and the equipment have to be spotlessly clean. In New Zealand, I experienced how crazy wine can smell. If you walk past a tank of Sauvignon Blanc while it’s fermenting, the aromas you are used to in the glass are amplified a thousand times over. And it was also in New Zealand that I understood what teamwork means. An international team came together, there were few leaders among us, and people automatically started helping each other so that we could work better. During my time there, I also became much more open and adaptable. And in Australia, I learned how much the little technological things matter.
The significance of a 0.1 g difference in acidity, or if the residual sugar of the wine changes even slightly. And it was also there that it became clear to me that the most important thing is for the aromatics of a wine to be pure, only then can its texture and chiselled structure come into play. And during my travels in France, I was amazed at how the winemakers have such an amazing sense of balance in their wines. Each trip has added something to my professional development and helped to shape my approach. I’m sure that I would be making my wines very differently without them.
Obviously, it’s a long list, with my dad is at the top, of course. Apart from him, I’d also like to mention the chief winemaker at Saint Clair Family Estate in New Zealand, Hamish Clark, because his management style has been a lifelong example to me. He not only handed out the tasks and gave directions, but also came out of his office, drove the forklift, shovelled coal and took the sack off my shoulder as he passed by. He would help anyone at any time, without hesitation, cheerfully and joyfully. And all this, while running a highly successful wine business, where we were already processing 6-7,000 tonnes of grapes each vintage.
Yes, but I was very lucky because I didn’t actually have to look for it. The estate manager called me and said he would really like us to work together. He knew I was going to Australia but asked me to arrange an interview with the owner of the winery, Countess Maria Degenfeld, before I left. I did so, and a week after I returned home, I was sitting having an interview. If it wasn’t for that, I might have stayed out in Australia, but I’m really glad my life turned out the way it did.
Initially, I said I would stay in the wine region for at least five years, but now I’m not setting any time limits. This wine region excites me, I’m enjoying myself here and I enjoy the fact that the vineyards and the wines still have something new to show me every year.
Yes, and it’s often not easy, but I go home at least once a month. I have an inner compulsion, I simply have to see the estate. It’s been in my family for over 150 years, so I have duty to take care of it and develop it as best I can, I can’t just leave everything to my dad. Wines bearing the UJVÁRI brand name are now getting established on the domestic market, and I have to keep an eye on them. And for me, it is also important that my childhood friends are still there, waiting for me at home, and it’s always good to be together with them, to meet up, talk and exchange ideas.
It’s definitely an advantage. Tomi is an industrial designer, he designs cars, and I enjoy being active with him in completely different areas of life. He’s passionate about art and loves literature, so we talk about books and go to museums, but he’s also interested in wine and likes to come to come with me to tastings.
It’s all three together. Maybe it would be easier for me if I could convince myself that it’s a product, because in a way, it is, but for me, it’s definitely part of my expression, so it’s also a work of art, I suppose.
Fortunately not, there are a lot of good craftsmen among us, and that’s fine. Good balance is also important here because a wine can never be an end in itself. If you think of it solely as a work of art, you may end up making unsaleable wines. The market needs wines that are good value for money, but we shouldn’t overlook the fact that winemakers are also put in a lot of work when they make a lower priced wine. And it is also true that just because it is expensive, it is not necessarily good. The value of a wine is never determined by its price.
I had never really thought about it like this, but when our 2016 6 puttonyos Barta Aszú won the Decanter Platinum Award, it was very satisfying. Otherwise, awards are good feedback, but not that important. What I want most is to always love my own wines, to feel how they develop and improve every year. I made my first ever Aszú at Degenfeld Winery in 2013. We opened a bottle at Christmas and loved it. It was an incredible feeling to know that it was my wine. I had anticipated the direction it would take, but I was still surprised and delighted.
Good grief! That will be in 2070! I’d like to taste several wines with everyone gathered there: fine Mosel Rieslings, Australian Shiraz, lovely Bordeaux Blends, a 2016 Barta Aszú, which I made, and it would be nice to bring out a magnum of the Szürkebarát (Pinot Gris) that my father bottled in 2000. It’s an amazing wine, with fantastic depth and I think it will still have life in it, if there are any bottles left by then!
