Vencel Garamvári, founder of Garamvári Vineyard, passed away on August 6th at the age of 85. He was a true gentleman, with refined taste, an experienced wine enthusiast, and a passionate lover of champagne and other sparkling wines. He was the first winemaker to make a bottle-fermented sparkling wine from 100% Furmint. A great man. Rest in peace!

In memoriam Vencel Garamvári

(1941 – 2026)
The text below was published by the family on the day of his death.

It is with deep sorrow and a broken heart that we announce the passing of Vencel Garamvári, the founder of our winery and a defining figure in Hungarian wine and sparkling wine culture.
He was an inseparable part of the winery’s everyday life until the last moment, and finally, surrounded by his loving family, he passed away quietly – leaving behind a grandiose oeuvre that inspired generations. An unparalleled journey that we remember with respect and gratitude.
Vencel absorbed his father, József,’s love for winemaking and his humility towards nature. After graduating from the Budafok Oenological Technical School and the University of Horticulture, he earned a degree in winemaking engineering in 1966. He began his professional career at the Törley Sparkling Wine Factory in Budafok, where he soon became production manager and then director – thus laying the foundation stone for the production of premium sparkling wine in Hungary.
In 1990, at the dawn of the renewed Hungarian wine industry, he founded Vinarium, embracing quality Hungarian wineries, and then brought the Garamvári Vineyard to life, which, according to Vencel’s vision and guidance, has established and nurtured the Hungarian wine and sparkling wine culture: preserving ancient traditions, but also in the role of a pioneer of the profession and creativity, always keeping in mind uncompromising quality and the duty of striving for perfection, for more than 30 years now.
He was helped in this by his lifelong partner, Zsuzsanna, with whom he was able to achieve both his personal and professional successes hand in hand, until his last heartbeat. He inspired our family to do this, from which the third generation of dedicated winemakers has grown up, and continues the work that Vencel started. This is the legacy that he created, in South Balaton and Budafok.
As he put it: “I always dreamed of being surrounded by my own vineyards on all four sides.”
And the dream came true.
Vencel not only built the Hungarian wine industry, but also selflessly shared his knowledge and experience. He was a pioneer, but also a mentor and inspiration for generations.
His work, vision and love for winemaking will live forever in every grape, every bottle and every rising bubble of Garamvári.
We will preserve his memory and legacy with respect and love. With the sincere love of our hearts, we ask everyone who shares our grief – representatives of the winemaking profession, lovers of wines and sparkling wines, and our friends and acquaintances alike – to pay tribute to Vencel’s memory as he himself would have done: with a silent toast.