Gastronomy and Wine Portal

Young and successful winery Stakhovsky Wines turned three years old the other day. The WTA nominee from Ukraine managed to make a decent Ukrainian wine during this time, which is popular both among Ukrainian and foreign consumers. Our sincere congratulations to Serhiy Stakhovsky and his team! We wish you strength in the realization of all your plans and new victories!

A journey from tennis to winemaking

Stakhovsky Wines is a craft family winery founded by the Ukrainian tennis legend, Serhiy Stakhovsky. Serhiy’s first acquaintance with Grands Vins occurred in Bordeaux, and they’ve had a great influence on him.

Stakhovsky decided to engage in winemaking in 2015. He rented a plot of 20 hectares in Transcarpathia (Zakarpattya, as marked on their labels), one of Ukraine’s most famous wine regions, with the soils of clay and stone, on the slopes of a mountain where volcanic kaolin clay and gold were once mined. For two years the team of Stakhovsky Wines was working really hard, cleaning the parcels and reviving the land, uprooting and replanting the vines and planting the new ones.

Exploring the beauty of the vineyards

Nowadays, Stakhovsky can boast one of the most beautiful vineyards in Transcarpathia. ​​The vines grow in an amphitheater overlooking the Danube lowlands. Specific location in one of the warmest spots of Transcarpathia allows cultivation of red grapes, even though Transcarpathia has long been known for the production of whites.

Grapes grown: Traminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Saperavi, Zweigelt. Planning to grow Furmint and Pinot Noir.

A taste of victory

The first wines by Stakhovsky were created from the 2018 vintage. Their style is elegant, restrained and at the same time powerful, just like the champion’s tennis. High-tech equipment from Italy, Germany and France is used for grape processing and vinification. Stakhovsky Wines wines are available in France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Japan, Estonia, United Kingdom and Austria. Traminer W, Saperavi ACE 2018 and Cabernet Sauvignon Ace 2019 can be purchased at La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux.

If you fancy tasting Stakhovsky Wines, join the wine tasting of 6 WTA nominees organised by the WTA team at ProWein on Tuesday, 03/21/2023 – 16.00 pm/hall 13 (Forum 13.2).

Young and successful winery Stakhovsky Wines turned three years old the other day. The WTA nominee from Ukraine managed to make a decent Ukrainian wine during this time, which is popular both among Ukrainian and foreign consumers. Our sincere congratulations to Serhiy Stakhovsky and his team! We wish you strength in the realization of all […]

The Drinks+ and WTA team was invited to take part at the virtual ProWein Media Summit 2023. This year, our media resources traditionally became the Information Partner of ProWein while ProWein got engaged in the WTA as its Exhibition Partner. So, we would like to shed light on some issues presented by the ProWein Press team in an-hour conference moderated by Monika Kissing.

The ProWein Media Summit began with the presentation of the press conference participants – Prof. Dr. Simone Loose, Head of the Institute for Wine and Beverage Business at Geisenheim University, Executive Director of ProWein Michael Degen, new Project Director of ProWein Peter Schmitz. They gave their review and conclusions on the post Сovid-19 ProWein 2022 and their rather positive evaluation of the results.

As Mr Michael Degen mentioned in his introduction speech, the focus of this year’s ProWein is going to be on alternative packaging, sustainability, rising costs on the glass and bottle production, impact of the alternative packages on the wine taste, design, low and the non-alcohol wines – the “World of 0” was specially created at ProWein.

Following ProWein Project Director Peter’s Schmitz presentation, Dr. Simone Loose, Geisenheim University, brought the Current ProWein Business Report 2022 to the table. The industry reaction, trends and a long list of challenges caused by rising costs and disrupted supply chains were among dominant topics.

Commissioned by ProWein, Geisenheim University polled experts from throughout the world across the entire value chain of the wine industry in late 2022, for the sixth time now. Participants include wine producers from the most important wine-growing countries in the Old and New World. Those are exporters, importers, specialist wine merchants as well as representatives from the food service, hospitality and hotel industries.

The ProWein Business Report 2022 follows on from ProWein unique, regular “Marktbarometer” (Market Barometer) for the international wine industry produced since 2017 and assesses the significance of the challenges facing the industry during the current economic crisis. This year, again 2,500 international experts from 47 countries have shared their insider knowledge.

Prof. Dr. Simone Loose commented: “Interesting to note here is that industry leaders are proactively responding to the economic crisis. They tap into new markets with their products and react to traders’ and consumers’ needs with very innovative solutions. These include – according to the survey – alternative wine packaging and low-no alcohol wines.”

The most important results

The industry entered 2022 with positive expectations. Producers and traders hoped for a recovery from the negative impact of Covid-19.

Like in the previous year, rising costs and disruptions to supply chains rank top in the list of threats and challenges for the wine industry. The degree to which the industry is affected has clearly increased.

The global economic upturn after Covid-19 already led to a greater demand for energy and rising energy prices in 2021. With the war in Ukraine and sudden collapse in energy supplies in 2022, prices in many parts of Europe have therefore often more than doubled compared to 2020. Due to their higher energy consumption, producers are significantly more affected by this than wine traders.

Almost all producers were affected by transportation issues and supply chain disruptions. From the industry’s perspective, transportation and supply issues will continue to present a major challenge for their business

Further information as well as the complete ProWein Business Report 2022 can be found on the website of ProWein at www.prowein.de

Drinks+ & Wine Travel Awards continue their fruitful cooperation in the field of information partnership with the world’s leading trade fair for wine and spirits ProWein 2023, which opens its doors in Dusseldorf again to thousands of wine professionals from all over the world from 19 to 21 March 2023.

Do you fancy discovering Ukrainian wines? Join the wine tasting of 6 WTA nominees: Family Winery SHABO, Beykush Winery, 46 Parallel Wine, Stakhovsky Wines, Villa Tinta, Big Wines (Ukrainian branch of Vinos de La Luz) organized by the WTA team at ProWein on Tuesday, 03/21/2023 – 16.00 pm/hall 13 (Forum 13.2).

Big Wines (Ukrainian branch of Vinos de La Luz) – at ProWein on Tuesday, 03/21/2023 – 16.00 pm/hall 13 (Forum 13.2).

Moreover, the Wine Travel Awards Guide Special Edition (print & digital) will be distributed at ProWein exhibition hall and at the newly online trade press stand, a new digital platform of Messe Düsseldorf with extending the presence using the ProWein Portal.

The Drinks+ and WTA team was invited to take part at the virtual ProWein Media Summit 2023. This year, our media resources traditionally became the Information Partner of ProWein while ProWein got engaged in the WTA as its Exhibition Partner. So, we would like to shed light on some issues presented by the ProWein Press […]

Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian winemakers keep producing wines, receiving visitors and presenting Ukrainian wine culture to the world at international platforms, including the WTA.

Welcome our new nominee from Ukraine – Villa Tinta. Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian winemakers keep producing wines, receiving visitors and presenting Ukrainian wine culture to the world at international platforms, including the Wine Travel Awards. So, you can expect to see even more Ukrainian nominees this year.

The family wine estate Villa Tinta owns 550 hectares of its own vineyards (and also processes grapes grown on the 600 hectares of its partners’ vineyards) in the valley of Lake Ialpug. A unique terroir with a protected geographical name finds expression in wines from European varieties, as well as local ones: Odessa Black and Sukholimansky.

To whet your curiosity, you can taste Villa Tinta (dry ordinary wines from local and European varieties), Tintarella (sparkling wines using the Charmat-Martinotti technology), and Tinta (semisweet blended wines).

Do you fancy discovering Ukrainian wines? Join the wine tasting of 6 WTA nominees, including Villa Tinta, organised by the WTA team at ProWein on Tuesday, 03/21/2023 – 16.00 pm/hall 13 (Forum 13.2).

Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian winemakers keep producing wines, receiving visitors and presenting Ukrainian wine culture to the world at international platforms, including the WTA. Welcome our new nominee from Ukraine – Villa Tinta. Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian winemakers keep producing wines, receiving visitors and presenting Ukrainian wine culture to the world at international […]

This year has brought good news to the nominees of the Wine Travel Awards – special prizes behind which stand the amazing personalities of the wine world. This year, such awards await participants in two categories.

Wine & Food Influencer: The nomination is at no cost to all personalities – journalists, writers, bloggers, opinion leaders – in the wine industry due to the sponsorship of Vinos de La Luz. Moreover, Vinos de La Luz not only undertakes the mission of ensuring free entrance of wine & food influencers to the second edition of WTA, but also acts as a Fund Prize Sponsor for the winners of this nomination.

The owner of a well-known international group of companies, Dr. Ricardo Nunez, WTA Jury member, will personally determine the winners. According to the final results of the 2022-2023 awards, the first prize – 1000 euros – will be awarded to the WTA winner in the Wine & Food Influencer nomination, who will get the highest points and will have the largest number of votes according to the results of public voting. Two other winners of the nomination determined by the jury will receive 500 euros each.

Ambassador of the Year: The titleholder of the category will be awarded with the Gérard Basset Prize «Ambassador of the Year». This became possible thanks to the agreement of the Basset family – Romané and Nina Basset, Co-Founding Trustee and Chair of the Gérard Basset Foundation, ASI General Secretary.

Ambassadors of wine, regions, roads of wine and taste, as well as promoters of a brand or certain types of wines are invited to become a nominee and get a chance to be rewarded with 1000 euros or an educational course of the same value. The most important in this award, which the laureate can be proud of, is, of course, the name of an amazing specialist, an unsurpassed connoisseur of wine and an amazingly sensitive person – Gérard Basset.

Register and become a nominee for the WTA 2022-2023!

This year has brought good news to the nominees of the Wine Travel Awards – special prizes behind which stand the amazing personalities of the wine world. This year, such awards await participants in two categories. Wine & Food Influencer: The nomination is at no cost to all personalities – journalists, writers, bloggers, opinion leaders […]

Vinos de La Luz group of companies – sponsor of the ‘Wine & Food Influencers’ nomination for two consecutive years of the project – is the international wine group owned by Dr. Ricardo F. Nunez, which includes wineries in the most famous regions of the Old and New World: Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Tuscany, and the Uco Valley, projects in California and Georgia as well as the Pangea wine (which comes from the wines of five continents and is expected to be the sensation of the year!). To congratulate the winners of the Wine & Food Influencer nomination of the WTA 2021-2022, Vinos de La Luz granted them with the special prize – a bottle of Peñafiel Edition Limitada 2016.

The winners coming from different corners of the world received their bottles of wine either by post or in person. Nataliia Burlachenko, Director International Brand Ambassadors of Vinos de La Luz, has recently returned from her trip to Georgia and Armenia where she had a chance to meet the WTA winners and congratulate them in person.

Sofia Nikabadze, a wine blogger who has been in love with Georgian wine for more than 8 years, got her bottle of Peñafiel Edition Limitada 2016 directly from Nataliia. Sofia was ranked first at the public voting stage in the Brightest Journey category (2439 votes).

Likewise, Sirvard Amatuni, GIZ Advisor for PR and Private Sector Projects in Armenia, received a prize bottle personally on behalf of the Wine consumption study, the winner of the Research of the Year category. Our sincerest congratulations to the first edition’s winners!

Spanish Peñafiel Edition Limitada by Vinos de La Luz (100% Tempranillo) from the Ribera del Duero region has a balanced velvety taste of dark berries with bright tannins and a luxurious long aftertaste. The delicate aroma of spices, notes of leather, berries and vanilla.
Peñafiel Limited Edition 2016 has only 5.327 numbered and certified bottles, that was the population of Peñafiel, the province of Valladolid, Spain, in this second vintage.
Special thanks to the Mayor of Peñafiel, Mr. Roberto Díez González for officially certifying the number of citizens of the City in 2016.
Join the WTA community and get promoted and supported due to the project’s marketing tools (both online and offline) for the period of 2022-2023!

Vinos de La Luz group of companies – sponsor of the ‘Wine & Food Influencers’ nomination for two consecutive years of the project – is the international wine group owned by Dr. Ricardo F. Nunez, which includes wineries in the most famous regions of the Old and New World: Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Tuscany, and […]

The Wine Travel Awards (WTA) and Drinks+ team is delighted to announce their collaboration with Maria Athanasopoulou and her tourism marketing company Respond On Demand.

Maria Athanasopoulou became part of the WTA Jury Committee for the second season and will contribute her expertise to define the final awards’ winners in April. Needless to say, her profile and professional background are worthy of WTA nomination, so that Maria becomes a nominee in the Author of the Year category, Wine & Food Influencer nomination. B2B Travel & MICE Event organised by Respond on Demand is nominated for the Event of the Year category, Enogastronomic Events nomination.

In the framework of this prospective collaboration, the Drinks+ Communication Media Group, one of the most authoritative international groups in Eastern and Southern Europe, became the information partner of all the B2B Travel & MICE Events headed by Mrs. Maria Athanasopoulou. 

Such an association is quite logical because in the second 2022-2023 edition, the leading project of the D+ group – Wine Travel Awards – is betting precisely on operators of the tourism sector that specialise in food and wine & spirits tourism. We lead by the example that the WTA community helps initiate partnership and collaborations between different actors of wine tourism.

We would like to remind you that from September 1, the WTA have opened early registration and are inviting all tourism operators to participate in this innovative marketing project. Take your chance to benefit from joining the WTA community: https://winetravelawards.com/registration-form 

Maria Athanasopoulou is the founder of the tourism marketing company Respond On Demand. Besides, Maria serves as the chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the World Food Travel Association, and she is also a Master Culinary Travel Professional. She represents Green Destinations as an ambassador. She has given seminars for tourism professionals, as well as many speeches and presentations on tourism in Greece and abroad. Maria is also a Sustainable Tourism marketing expert.

The Wine Travel Awards (WTA) and Drinks+ team is delighted to announce their collaboration with Maria Athanasopoulou and her tourism marketing company Respond On Demand. Maria Athanasopoulou became part of the WTA Jury Committee for the second season and will contribute her expertise to define the final awards’ winners in April. Needless to say, her […]

Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair, which will take place in Champagne in March, became the WTA Exhibition Partner for the 2022-2023 edition.

Sharing the mission of marching wine & spirits with tourism, the Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair (WST) and the Wine Travel Awards (WTA) start their cooperation for the awards’ second edition. The projects’ common efforts aspire to help different operators of the wine tourism field to build bridges and promote their offers on the international level. 

The specialized Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair, considered to be the world’s first wine tourism exhibition, will be held on March 12-14, 2023 in Reims, the city of coronations and champagne. The location seems to be perfect as, firstly, it takes place in the amazing historic Champagne region of France, where the method of champagne production was discovered in the Middle Ages and the kings of France were crowned for decades. Secondly, you can get there from Paris by train in less than an hour.  

To meet the needs of tour operators, travel agencies and MICE buyers, WST will present a wide range of international exhibitors specializing in the industry, including the WTA community members. In the framework of the trade fair, the WTA will hold the nominees presentation on Monday, 13 March, from 15:15 to 17:15 (Paris time).

1,000 tourism professionals from approximately 50 countries are expected to attend the exhibition. The organizers emphasize that the main idea of the Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair is to position the event as an annual meeting place for tourism partners in the wine and spirits sector. WST enlists the support of the Reims Tourist Office (l’Office du Tourisme de Reims) and Hervé Novelli, President of the Supreme Council of Wine Tourism and former Secretary of State for Tourism.

Registration and more detailed information about the Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair is here. 

Photo: WST

Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair, which will take place in Champagne in March, became the WTA Exhibition Partner for the 2022-2023 edition. Sharing the mission of marching wine & spirits with tourism, the Wine & Spirit Tourism International Trade Fair (WST) and the Wine Travel Awards (WTA) start their cooperation for the awards’ […]

Inspired after the first successful year of the Wine Travel Awards the first digital edition of WTA Discovery was issued. 

Having wine & spirits professionals and trendsetters from more than 30 different countries in our WTA community and traveling all across Europe with the WTA project, we believe that we have many interesting stories to tell you.

WTA Discovery is strict-to-the-point announcements which was moved into the WTA newsletter. Therefore, in this WTA Discovery digital edition, content related to the project’s updates and deadlines, useful information for business regarding trends, events and personalities in the wine tourism world can be found. The format is easy to scan and lets you explore the subject more by following the link to the material on the official website. 

Let’s see the first WTA Discovery in details:

• The early bird registration until the 1st of December!
• The formation of the WTA Jury Committee is at the final stage. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we reveal to you some names. 
• Hit the road to the Jura wine region with a new WTA nominee, Jacky Blisson MW!
• This is a longread which is worthy of your attention. Robert Joseph, wine business consultant, strategist and public speaker, provides efficient and hands-on cases for businesses in the wine and wine tourism industry. Useful and applicable.

If you have any thoughts to share – we’d love to hear from you!

To subscribe to the WTA discovery go to winetravelawards.com and fill out the form.

Inspired after the first successful year of the Wine Travel Awards the first digital edition of WTA Discovery was issued.  Having wine & spirits professionals and trendsetters from more than 30 different countries in our WTA community and traveling all across Europe with the WTA project, we believe that we have many interesting stories to […]

Wine Travel Awards have opened their doors for nominees of the second edition 2022-2023. 

Do not miss your chance for the best price offer and opportunity to receive as many bonuses as you can! The advertising campaign starts from November 1, 2022.

Currently, WTA are offering the Early Bird nomination package: 1st category — 380 euros;  2nd category — 285 euros; 3rd category — 190 euros.

To become a WTA nominee fill in the registration form here. 

WTA have already been appreciated by many prominent personalities (Alder Yarrow, Roberto Cipresso, Nello Gatti, Per Karlsson, etc.) and wine and travel associations of the world, such as Wines of Hungary, Wine of Moldova, Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia, Austrian Wine, Valpolicella Consortium, Asti DOCG Consortium, etc.

In the first year of the project activity (2021-2022), we successfully presented our community members at the London Wine Fair, Prowein, Vinitaly, Bordeaux Wine Week, IWINETC (Portugal), Italian Taste Summit, Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival, etc. In the second WTA year, we extend our cooperation to the wine & spirits tourism industry by working with the devoted B2B and enogastronomic events (Greece), as well as exhibitions such as Wine & Spirits Tourism International Trade Fair in France.

Joining the WTA as a nominee, each participant receives the advertising campaign of the Wine Travel Awards throughout the year (till November 2023), that includes: 

• a profile of a nominee on the official website of the awards: www.winetravelawards.com; 
• a publication on the website www.drinks.ua (the website has a global reach);
• publication of a nominee’s profile details in the Wine Travel Awards Guide – the final catalog of nominees, which will be distributed at the world’s leading wine exhibitions and the WTA events. Please check out the WTA Guide 2021-2022 here.
• informational support on Drinks+ and WTA social media as well as in email newsletters through our own databases of international wine and tourism operators (22,650 addresses).
• a possibility to be involved in the WTA events during a year.

By participating in the WTA, nominees will receive a chance to create a better global awareness for their business, will be able to attract active tourist flows, win over consumers, and establish a base for networking and cooperation. 

Tourism is an opportunity for wine and wine is an opportunity for tourism!

Wine Travel Awards have opened their doors for nominees of the second edition 2022-2023.  Do not miss your chance for the best price offer and opportunity to receive as many bonuses as you can! The advertising campaign starts from November 1, 2022. Currently, WTA are offering the Early Bird nomination package: 1st category — 380 […]

The Wine Travel Awards Guide 2021-2022 will be presented for the first time at ProWein 2022.

The exclusive PR catalog of the Wine Travel Awards nominees and winners – the Wine Travel Awards Guide 2021-2022 will soon debut on ProWein 2022.

The Wine Travel Awards (WTA) Guide is a special advertising edition in English that is published by Communication Media Group Drinks+ one time a year in print and digital versions, and read by over 150,000 members of the wine community globally.

The printed version of the Wine Travel Awards Guide 2021-2022 will be distributed at the International Trade Press stand at ProWein, located at the North entrance next to halls 7.0 and 9.

The web version of the catalog will be posted on the Digital: online trade press stand – the online platform at prowein.com, a new digital offering from Messe Düsseldorf. This format allows to expand the presence of the Wine Travel Awards Guide among professionals in the alcohol market. The online press stand is available a few days before the exhibition and is open for three months after the end of ProWein 2022.

In addition, the ProWein 2022 visitors will be able to scan the catalog, using the QR-code on Wine Travel Awards posters that will be placed in different areas of the exhibition. Our readers can already see the catalog here.

Wine enthusiasts and professionals read the WTA Guide for keeping abreast of new trends, established and growing producers and regions, brands, as well as wine tourism offers around the world.

This year’s WTA Guide will also be distributed at the world’s leading WTA exhibitions and events, such as the London Wine Fair, Bordeaux Wine Week and the Balkans International Wine Competition.

We remind you that the WTA winners will be officially announced and awarded at the Wine Travel Awards Ceremony at the London Wine Fair 2022, which will take place at the Industry Briefing Room on June 8, 2022 at 12.30-14.30.

As part of the event, the Drinks + and Wine Travel Awards teams are organizing a walk-around tasting of nominees and WTA partners from around the world, including Ukraine. The wine tasting will be accompanied by the buffet presentation of Ukrainian cuisine from the famous chef, gastronomist and TV presenter Yurii Kovryzhenko.

If you would like to attend the First WTA Ceremony in London, please follow the registration form here.

The Wine Travel Awards Guide 2021-2022 will be presented for the first time at ProWein 2022.