100 and 1 best Moravian and Bohemian wine for year 2019

21. 1. 2019
News

The Wine Salon of the Czech Republic presents the collection of the 100 best Bohemian and Moravian wines for the year 2019. Thanks to the points parity in the final evaluation however a total of 101 wines can now be proud of this prestigious title, having succeeded in a competition entered by 2199 wines. From Saturday 2nd February these wines will be presented in the tasting exhibition of the same name that takes place in the historical cellar complex at the chateau in Valtice.

Naturally this year’s Absolute Champion – Pinot Blanc, Collection 1508, late harvest, vintage 2017 from the Chateau Winery of Bzenec – will be heading the collection on display. The announcement ceremony of all this year’s holders of the prestigious title “Gold medal of the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic 2019“, together with the comprehensive list of all entries in this tasting exhibition, the victors in the individual categories and the best overall collection, will take place for the winemakers and invited guests on 1st February in Valtice.

Expert jurors from among the ranks of the winemakers, sommeliers, oenologists and other wine professionals also decided on the winners in the individual categories:

• The highest rating, thus also the title of Champion and winner in the white dry and semi-dry wine category, was for the wine Pinot Blanc, Collection 1508, late harvest 2017 from the Chateau Winery Vinařství of Bzenec.

• The jury gave the highest marks in the semi-sweet white wine category to Pálava, special selection of grapes 2017 from the winery Vinařství Hanzel s.r.o.

• In the sweet white wine category the jury gave the best rating to the Riesling, late harvest 2017 from the winery Vinařství U Kapličky s.r.o.

• In the category of rosé wines and Blancs de Noirs (in the Czech Republic referred to as klaret wines) success went to Pinot Noir rosé, special selection of grapes 2017 from Štěpán Maňák. • The best wine amongst the dry and semi-dry red wines was Pinot Noir, special selection of grapes 2015 from Jiří Radocha.

• In the quality sparkling wine category the highest marks were awarded to the wine Louis Girardot Brut, quality sparkling wine s.o. 2013 from the company BOHEMIA SEKT s.r.o.

• The prize for the best overall collection went to the joint-stock company VINSELEKT MICHLOVSKÝ, a.s.

“During the judging of this year’s vintage we have for the first time allowed for the participation in the final of a twofold increase in the number of wines as compared with the previous years, that is 400 best wines coming from the qualifying rounds that precede this whole competition. The greater quantity of first-rate wines in the final again raised the specialised level of assessing the wines in the contest and, with that, the quality of the wines worthy of prestigious recognition as‚ Gold Medal from the Wine Salon‘,“Pavel Krška, Director of the National Wine Centre, which organises the competition, comments on this year’s innovation, adding: “The annual popularity of the Wine Salon, as well as the number of exhibition visitors grows, which go together one with the other, and that is why we organisers are always on the lookout for ways in which to find what is objectively the best among the thousands of Moravian and Czech wines.“

ON THE WINES IN THE WINE SALON

In the Wine Salon exhibition the wines awarded a gold medal of the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic will be on display for the entire duration of the exhibition. In relation to the number of entries, a total of 71 white wines were selected for the collection, of which 43 were dry, 15 semi-dry, 9 semi-sweet and 4 sweet, then a further 26 red wines, of which 25 were dry and one was sweet and the total number was made up with 2 rosé wines, one dry and one semi-sweet and also 2 quality sparkling wines. The wine sub-regions most represented were those of Mikulov and Velké Pavlovice with 27 wines each, Slovácko with 22 and Znojmo with 20 wines. The wine region of Bohemia in this year’s Wine Salon is represented by 3 wines from the Mělník sub-region. Two quality sparkling wines were from a non-designated sub-region. The grape variety having the most success this year was Riesling with 21 representatives, followed by Welschriesling with 10, Pinot Noir with 8, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc with 6 each and Lemberger (Balufränkisch) and Grüner Veltliner with 5 representatives. The vintage we most often encounter at this year’s Wine Salon is the year 2017, being represented by 45 wines, then vintage 2015 with 34 wines and 2016 with 17 wines. The oldest wine appearing at the Wine Salon this year is from the year 2009. The winery with the greatest number of successful wines is the joint-stock company VINSELEKT MICHLOVSKÝ a.s. with 10 wines. ABOUT THE COMPETITION AND THE WINE SALON OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC In the qualifying rounds of the competition, where wines are evaluated in the wine sub-regions of Velké Pavlovice, Mikulov, Slovácko and Znojmo and the Bohemian wine region, a record number of 2,199 wines were entered, out of which the 1,231 best entries were selected to go on into the competition’s first nationwide round. To the second – final round 398 finalists, coming from 112 wineries, went through, out of which 101 were then chosen by the juries as the best wines in the Czech Republic. These were then awarded the title “Gold medal of the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic 2019“. The remaining wines out of the nearly four hundred were awarded silver medals with the caveat that they had to have received a minimum of 84 points out of a possible 100. The total number of prize-winning wines is limited to 30% of the wines entered into first round. At the same time the jury chose the Absolute Champion of the competition, the category winners and the best overall collection.

SELECTION OF TASTERS AND THE EVALUATION SYSTEM

In the competition committees each year the expert jury is formed by our best tasters – holders of international tasting examinations in line with ISO standards who act, in conjunction with a modern computer system, the multi-round evaluation and a warranty of the Union of Winemakers of the Czech Republic, as a guarantee of objectivity and the selection of what are truly the very best wines of Moravia and Bohemia. An entirely fundamental attribute of this competition is the requirement for a prior bottling of the registered wine batch. The Wine Salon – National Wine Competition is also one of few competitions which systematically carries out chemical control analysis in compliance with the declared and the actual specifications of a wine. At the same time the Wine Salon – the National Wine Competition is without dispute the most stringent competition of its type in the Czech Republic. The Wine Salon is also holder of the title Champion TOP Wine Objectives of the Czech Republic and every year over 22,000 visitors attend some of its tasting programmes. It was established by the National Wine Centre, o.p.s.

Opening times:

Monday: closed, Tuesday – Thursday: 9.30 a.m. –5 p.m., Friday – Saturday: 10.30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday (June – September): 10.30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Open all year round except January, when the preparations for the upcoming exhibition are underway.

> Structure of tasting programmes for the year 2019

TRADITION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMPETITION

The Wine Salon – National Wine Competition of the Czech Republic is the largest wine competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the National Wine Centre, o.p.s, and as the only wine contest in this country that has the official warranty of a professional organisation – the Union of Winemakers of the Czech Republic. With the 2019 edition the contest is already in its 19th year.

PATRONAGE

The Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2019 is held under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman, the Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Toman and the Governor of the Southern Moravian District Bohumil Šimek. Press release. For further information: Pavel Krška, National Wine Centre, o.p.s. E-mail: pavel.krska@vinarskecentrum.cz Tel: +420 519 352 072, +420 721 414 575 Marek Babisz, Chief sommelier of the National Wine Centre, o.p.s. E-mail: marek.babisz@vinarskecentrum.cz Tel: +420 602 470 262 Tereza Melišová, Omnimedia s.r.o. E-mail: t.melisova@omnimedia.cz Tel: +420 774 996 628