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Our Wines | The Winemaker Bela Varga, Winemaker Bela Varga, former winemaker for Claar Cellars (Pasco, WA) and assistant winemaker for Chateau Souverain (Healdsburg, CA), came to Callaway Vineyard and Winery in 2007 with stellar winemaking credentials. In recent years, Varga has been a consulting winemaker to a number of wineries, including: Rodney Strong, Cacciatore, Wine Pod, Galucchio, Tokaj, Glen Ellen and Windsor Vineyards, as well as operating his own vineyard and winery in Hungary. Varga, trained at one of Europešs oldest winemaking programs at the University of Budapest, earned his Masters degree in Enology and Viticulture in 1988. His story is unique, having climbed over the Iron Curtain and scaled barbed wire fences to leave his native country, Hungary. He ended up in Canada where he worked for eight years as winemaker for Vincor, Canadašs largest producer and marketer of wine and related products. As winemaker at Claar Cellars for four years in the early 2000s, Varga produced several "Best of Class" wines including his 2000 Dry Riesling and Late Harvest Riesling, while also receiving the Best Riesling Ice Wine Award in Germany. "My philosophy on winemaking is focusing on accentuating the varietal character, utilizing the best properties the fruit can offer throughout the entire winemaking process. Everything else...oak aging, blending, etc., is secondary embellishment. I pay special attention to grape maturity, monitoring and zeroing in on the optimal time for picking," states Varga. Winemaking is not the only passion for Varga, who is also a talented jazz pianist. At the young age of five, Varga began playing the piano by ear and was immediately enrolled in music education schools. He graduated from the Budapest Jazz Conservatory in 1985 and has played with Moe Koffman, Maynard Ferguson and Pat Metheny. |
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