An Interview With Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa: Founder Of Hatten Wines

Hatten Wines

Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa, the founder of Hatten Wines in 1992, was recently interviewed with regards to his experience in the wine business.

Throughout the years, the produce from the Hatten Wines in Bali had gone to fill the cellars of the biggest hotels and restaurants in the island as well as has been tasted by the thousands of Bali luxury villas guests and visitors.

Budarsa at 47 still continues to promote his local wines on the island and beyond, thriving to become a Balinese icon and the pride of wine production. 

During his interview, when asked how challenging it was in the beginning of his business.

Budarsa answered that in terms of cultivating the grapes in the vineyard, at first it appears that Bali’s tropical climate had make it seems impossible for cultivating wine grapes.

Out of several experimentations of how to produce vineyards and grapes in a tropical setting, the Hatten Wines in Bali has produce of more than 800,000 bottles of wine per year, covering a range of 7 different varieties of wine, the First Child, a Rosé wine; the Second Born, a Rosé Sparkling wine; Alexandria, a white wine; AGA Red; Pino de Bali Red; AGA White; and the Tunjung, a Sparkling White wine.

Now, the Hatten Wines in Bali occupies some 15 hectares of lush green vineyards along the North Coast of Bali, particularly in Singaraja.

In its own vineyards, Hatten Wines has grown the local black grape, the Alphonse Lavallée French table grapes and white grape varieties (Belgia and Chasselas Loulou).

Budarsa also revealed that they are currently focusing on the domestic market as wines from Australia have saturated Italy and France in the foreign markets.

Though currently focusing domestically and looked down by many locals and expats, Hatten’s Aga White won a silver medal at Wine and Spirit Asia’s wine challenge in Singapore just last month, while its Alexandria won a bronze medal in the same challenge.

Budarsa also revealed that they still continue to keep on trying to promote their wine to consumers through prestigious blind tasting events. They are also providing free wine tastings at their outlets.