In the article, Winelovers Wine Awards – Discovering the Wines of Central and Eastern Europe, I highlighted how this international wine competition is becoming the new point of reference for the promotion and enhancement of wines from Central and Eastern Europe.
I had the honour of being invited as a member of the jury to the third edition of this competition, an unmissable opportunity to increase the knowledge of wines and regions that offer historicity and uniqueness of grape varieties and winemaking styles.
The Experience
Winelovers Wine Awards, is organised by Trinety Media Ltd., and was held at the Corinthia Budapest Hotel, from 28 to 30 June 2024.
The jury members were highly qualified professionals, such as Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, Sommeliers, DipWSETs and Buyers; the evaluation of the wines took place in the mornings over the three days.
The afternoon of the first two days was dedicated to very interesting masterclasses, that allowed the judges and trade representatives invited to the event, to go into greater depth about the characteristics of some wine regions and evaluate the overall quality of Central-Easter European wines, that have risen exponentially.
These are the categories of wine that I was delighted to judge
- aromatic white wines.
- reductive white wines.
- oak-aged white wines.
These are the masterclasses I attended with great enthusiasm:
- Central and Eastern Europe in the world map of wines.
- Sell your wine in 10 minutes interactive masterclass.
- Wines of Romania – Feteasca Neagra and other beauties.
- Special masterclass for sommeliers.
Winelovers X – Walk around tasting
On the afternoon of Saturday 29 June, a walk around tasting took place, in the beautiful setting of the ballroom of the hotel. Other than being the chance to taste a wide and varied range of samples, it proved to be a great opportunity to meet with producers, distributors, and importers.
Here are some producers, present at the walk around tasting, who attracted my attention with their wines (in alphabetical order):
- Chateau Chizay
- Chateau Pinot
- Cramele Recaș
- Csernus Winery & Vineyards
- Esckol Pince
- Kancellár Birtok
- Matyisák-Pincészet
- Pivnitele Birauas
- Tornai Pincészet
- Tűzkő Birtok
- Vylyan Pincészet
Conclusion
Winelovers Wine Awards 2024 was a precious opportunity for enrichment and exchange with highly qualified professionals and gave me first-hand proof of how the overall quality of wines produced in Central East Europe is clearly growing.
Another factor that will play in favour of producers from Central East Europe in the near future is their irrepressible desire to earn the spotlight in more mature markets, through effective answers to the clear demand for “new wines” able to excite and to communicate the unique characteristics of the terroir of origin.
The 2024 results
I look forward to the 2025 Winelovers Wine Awards. See you next year!