Gastronomy and Wine Portal

On 22–23 October 2023, the Warsaw Wine Experience, an international wine exhibition, which also included events from the Wine Travel Awards, took place in Warsaw (Poland).

The Warsaw Wine Experience, the most prestigious premium wine trade fair in Poland, brings together both consumers and business representatives and includes a variety of seminars, workshops and masterclasses. The Wine Travel Awards presented several events at the exhibition, which are worth mentioning in more detail.

On 22–23 October 2023, the Warsaw Wine Experience, an international wine exhibition, which also included events from the Wine Travel Awards, took place in Warsaw (Poland). The Warsaw Wine Experience, the most prestigious premium wine trade fair in Poland, brings together both consumers and business representatives and includes a variety of seminars, workshops and masterclasses. The Wine […]

On November 7-9, 2023, the 4th Wine Congress Wine Future will take place in Coimbra. The purpose of this year’s event is to analyze the many challenges facing the wine industry worldwide.

Wine Future 2023 will take place in the historic and beautiful city of Coimbra, Portugal, from 7 to 9 November at the impressive Convento de São Francisco and will feature keynote speeches, tastings, various panels and a trade fair area and numerous hospitality events.

Communication media group Drinks+ and WTA are pleased to announce that they have become information partners of Wine Future-2023 and announce a long and fruitful cooperation with this great congress.

Some of the most influential names in the international wine sector will discuss diverse and important topics, including how to engage Gen Z and Millennial consumers; digital marketing and social network strategies; sustainability; and health and social policy as it relates to wine. The aim of all the speakers and the organizers is to share solutions and inspire everyone present.

Representatives from the WTA project, as a media partner of Wine Future 2023, will also be present at the conference, so stay tuned for updates and reports from this landmark event.

The Portuguese wine sector is not only supporting the event, but some of the best-known names in the Portuguese wine industry are key speakers across the program:

• Frederico Falcão, President of ViniPortugal which represents Wines of Portugal is the co-organizer of this initiative;
• Adrian Bridge, CEO of Taylors, will take part in a panel on wine tourism;
• António Amorim will discuss the use of new technologies in the wine industry;
• Bento Amaral, a renowned Portuguese winemaker, participates in the panel on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sogrape will be represented by João Gomes da Silva on the panel on how to increase sales in difficult times, while its winemaker Luís Sottomayor will help comment on the wines supplied by this brand for some of the tastings, especially the legendary Barca Velha in the Masterclass that Mark Squires will lead under the name the Magnificent 12.

We are very proud to announce that our prominent Ukrainian winery Shabo – the winner of nomination at the WTA 2022-2023 in the category “Brand – the Visiting Card of the Country” – will also present its special selection of iconic wine “Vaja” vintage 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon – Iukuridze Family Wine Heritage at this Masterclass.

A second tasting, conducted by Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, will present 12 legendary Portuguese wines, including Quinta do Crasto, José M. da Fonseca, Mouchão, Buçaco, Niepoort, Casa da Passarella, Quinta do Casal Branco, Douro Vértice, Costa Boal and the acclaimed Vinho Verde producer, Anselmo Mendes.

A third tasting, led by Richard Mayson on the historic and legendary wines of Madeira and Porto, will include Kopke, Sogrape, Niepoort, Quevedo, and Quinta do Vallado.

Wine Future is organized by Wines of Portugal and Chrand Events USA and co-organized by the Centro 2020 Programe, which includes Vinhos da Bairrada, Vinhos do Dão, Vinhos de Lisboa, Vinhos do Tejo and Vinhos da Beira Interior. This meeting also has the support of numerous portuguese institutions and brands such as Coimbra City Council, CCDRC, Turismo Centro Portugal, Taylor’s Port, Amorim, Verallia, APED, Sociedade Ponto Verde, Diário de Coimbra, Revista de Vinhos, Delta Cafés and Grupo Nabeiro.

The full program can be viewed here.

You can buy a ticket for this stellar wine congress here.

For further information please visit.

On November 7-9, 2023, the 4th Wine Congress Wine Future will take place in Coimbra. The purpose of this year’s event is to analyze the many challenges facing the wine industry worldwide. Wine Future 2023 will take place in the historic and beautiful city of Coimbra, Portugal, from 7 to 9 November at the impressive […]

Bernard Magrez Incubator recently hosted Big Mentor Day, an event that combined a conference and business networking.

Almost a year ago, the Wine Travel Awards project became one of the members of Bernard Magrez Start-Up Win, a charity initiative launched by Bernard Magrez to help develop start-ups in the wine sector. The WTA was selected from a few hundred outstanding global initiatives as a promising start-up in wine tourism and as a platform for networking in the wine community.

Wine Travel Awards took part in the Big Mentor Day, as part of the Incubator’s professional community. The event was held at Château Pape Clément, the headquarters of Bernard Magrez Start-Up Win, and organised by the Incubator and Jane Anson – the famous wine critic. The WTA team was represented by our Marketing Director – Lyudmyla Bobyk.

The event began with a presentation of the winners of the Big Mentor Week programme, organised by Jane Anson and Chinedu Rita Rossa with the support of the Gerard Basset Foundation. These are talented young people from different parts of the world (Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, India, Thailand, Chile, USA) who are starting their way in the wine business: sommeliers, bloggers, wine consultants, managers, etc.

As part of the event, a business game was organised, in which all those present – start-up companies and a group of talented young people from Jane Anson – took part. Anson’s representatives played the role of investors who, after getting acquainted with the start-up participants, decided how much money they were willing to invest in a particular project. The winner became the company project Vinsulation (co-owners are graduates of KEDGЕ Business School) in which investors invested the most money. This start-up offers insulative wine shipping packages. Their mission is to upcycle vineyard wastes to create insulative wine shipping packages to replace Styrofoam plastic.

In the afternoon, participants had the opportunity to chat via Zoom with Loiс Pasquet, a legendary modernist winemaker from Bordeaux. He is reviving the autochthonous grape varieties in the Graves appellation, which existed in these places before phylloxera. This is the region where grapes have been grown since the Roman Empire. Paquet follows the principles of the biodynamic philosophy in viticulture and winemaking. Liber Pater 2015 by Louis Paquet costs €30,000.

During the event, Lyudmyla Bobyk managed to interview Jane Anson, who has been living in Bordeaux for over 20 years and is a renowned wine critic and author of the book Inside Bordeaux.

Bernard Magrez Incubator recently hosted Big Mentor Day, an event that combined a conference and business networking. Almost a year ago, the Wine Travel Awards project became one of the members of Bernard Magrez Start-Up Win, a charity initiative launched by Bernard Magrez to help develop start-ups in the wine sector. The WTA was selected […]

On 23 October 2023 at 11:00, Hotel Nobu (Wilcza 73, Warsaw, Poland).

Register for the event here.

The format of the event is an author’s presentation of one of the most famous international wine producer and the unique wine tourism complex in Georgia – SHUMI Winery.

Speaker: Salome Lomsadze, Commercial Director of SHUMI Winery, who represents the younger generation of top managers of this unique winery complex.

At the Wine Travel Awards 2022-2023 SHUMI Winery was chosen the winner in three different categories of the Visiting Card of the Country nomination – Must Visit, Progressive Approach, Art & History Object – by three independent WTA judges.

SHUMI Winery received seven Gold Awards during the Mundus Vini Summer Tasting 2023 competition in the category The Best Producer in Georgia.

The presentation will be accompanied by a tasting of the best wines from SHUMI Winery:

• Tsinandali Iberiuli 2022, white dry
• Mukuzani 2022, red dry
• Saperavi Qvevri Iberiuli 2021, red dry – Gold Mundus Vini 2023
• Iberiuli Kisi Qvevri 2020
• UNIQUE alcohol drink ZIGU

Register for the event here.

Visiting the exhibition is free of charge with prior registration.

On 23 October 2023 at 11:00, Hotel Nobu (Wilcza 73, Warsaw, Poland). Register for the event here. The format of the event is an author’s presentation of one of the most famous international wine producer and the unique wine tourism complex in Georgia – SHUMI Winery. Speaker: Salome Lomsadze, Commercial Director of SHUMI Winery, who represents the […]

International wine group Vinos de La Luz presented, at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica, wines from four countries, including Ukrainian Big Wines.Big Art.

Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica is the only global wine event dedicated to wines produced in regions with heroic viticulture. The competition selects the best wines obtained as a result of extreme viticulture, with the aim of promoting and protecting the production of small wine-growing areas which are characterized by their history, tradition and uniqueness, are of great ecological and landscape value, and grow mainly local vines. The competition takes place under the patronage of OIV.

This year, the sponsor and nominee of the Wine Travel Awards, the international winemaking group Vinos de La Luz, headed by Ricardo F. Nunez, presented wines from four countries at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica, including the Ukrainian Big Wines.Big Art. The Vinos de La Luz has production facilities in Argentina, in two DO of Spain, in Italy (Tuscany), USA (California) and Ukraine.

The Grand Gold Medal at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica was awarded to BIG WINES BIG ART limited edition wine. Ivan Marchuk 2020 Odesa Black. That was announced by Nataliia Burlachenko – the Vinos de La Luz ambassador, wine writer, head of Big Wines.Big Art., and Wine Travel Awards nominee, in the Ambassador and Wine & Food Influencer nominations, on her social network page.

Each bottle of Big Wines.Big Art has a serial number and is protected against counterfeiting. The label depicts the painting “Awakening” by Ivan Marchuk. The final decoration is a plaque in the form of a gold coin with the La Luz logo.

«Exactly! Ukrainian wine BIG WINES BIG ART limited edition. Ivan Marchuk 2020 Odesa Black! We sincerely rejoice at this achievement! We wish to thank Roberto Gaudio for holding the Heroic Wines Competition, which undoubtedly includes all wines of Ukraine. Thanks for the support to Victoria Agromakovа, who was the reason why I stayed awake for two nights, waiting for the results J and to Araik Manukyan, who immediately thought about us when it came down to heroic wines!», – wrote Nataliia Burlachenko.

The first gold medal was awarded to BIG WINES BIG ART limited edition wine. Ivan Marchuk at the prestigious international competition Mundus Vini-2023. The second gold was at the Berliner Wine Trophy-2023. And here is the Grand Gold Medal from Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica. We can proudly say that Ukrainian wines are getting better and better and we have something to show to the world.

The other wines from Vinos de La Luz – Iluminado USA 2018, Peñafiel 2018, Callejón Single Vineyard Pampa el Cepillo 2020, received gold at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica.

By the way, three Malbecs from Vinos de La Luz simultaneously won platinum medals at the Decanter competition last year.

We sincerely congratulate our old friends Dr. Ricardo F. Nunez and Nataliia Burlachenko, as well as everyone involved in the creation of this wine, with a new victory and are proud of the success of Ukrainian wine from the local variety Odessa Black.

Gold at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica was won by the famous Ukrainian winery BIOLOGIST Craft Winery, for Traminer Orange 2021 and Merlot 2020.

“So let’s support our Ukrainian winemaking, let’s choose Ukrainian wine in supermarkets, wine boutiques and restaurants! The more we choose our own, spread it, tell everyone how wonderful our wine is, the greater the demand will be in Ukraine and beyond its borders!”, – comments Nataliia Burlachenko.

Photo: facebook.com

International wine group Vinos de La Luz presented, at Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica, wines from four countries, including Ukrainian Big Wines.Big Art. Cervim-Viticoltura Eroica is the only global wine event dedicated to wines produced in regions with heroic viticulture. The competition selects the best wines obtained as a result of extreme viticulture, with the aim of promoting […]

As part of the event, a global charity online auction of fine wines and rare spirits will take place. Funds raised from the auction will go to the Gérard Basset Foundation to finance education and career opportunities for young wine professionals.

The annual Golden Vines® Awards, also known as the ″Oscars of fine wine″, will take place on October 13-15 in Paris. As part of the event, a charity online auction of fine wines and rare spirits will be held. This year’s charity auction will feature more than 130 lots, including extraordinary bottles of wine, as well as the opportunity to dine at the finest Michelin-starred restaurants, take part in unique masterclasses with winemakers from outstanding châteaux, visit and dine in the vineyards of famous estates with their owners. Along with fine wines, there are unique offers of rare spirits, including bottles of Maison Camus cognac, released in honor of the great Gérard Basset, as well as a private dinner with the owner, Cyril Camus, in his apartment in Paris.

Bidding, hosted by the auction site Curated, opened online on October 1 and will close at midnight on October 15. If you would like to bid, please follow the link.

You can also take part in the Sotheby’s Golden Vines Live Auction by placing a bid before the start of bidding on Friday, October 13. Among the lots: VistaJet, Gucci, Boucheron, front-row seats at a Brooklyn Nets game, visits to the Michelin-starred restaurants of Massimo Bottura, Alain Ducasse, Mauro Colagreco.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the Gérard Basset Foundation to fund education programs in the wine, spirits and hospitality industries that focus on diversity and inclusion, including people of other races, people with disabilities, war survivors (such as Ukrainian ) and economically vulnerable sections of the population. The foundation funds programs in more than 15 countries around the world, as well as innovative scholarship programs funded jointly with Taylor’s Port, Dom Pérignon, Artemis Domaines, Camus, Brooklyn Nets, Michel Reybier Hospitality and Wine Owners.

Photo: rr1.com

As part of the event, a global charity online auction of fine wines and rare spirits will take place. Funds raised from the auction will go to the Gérard Basset Foundation to finance education and career opportunities for young wine professionals. The annual Golden Vines® Awards, also known as the ″Oscars of fine wine″, will […]

On November 7-9, Coimbra (Portugal) will host an event that will gather more than 60 experts from the international wine sector. Tickets for this stellar wine congress can be purchased on the Wine Future official website.

Communication media group Drinks+ and WTA are pleased to announce that they have become information partners of WineFuture-2023 and announce a long and fruitful cooperation with this great congress.

Wine Future 2023 will bring together the most influential and respected names in the wine world, including Dr. Laura Catena, Robert Joseph, Nobel laureate Sir Christopher Pissarides and many of the most relevant and the most influential experts from all areas of the wine industry.

Robert Joseph

This year, the visitors of Wine Future will be able to take part in the Green Wine Future event. The main topics are: the current state of the wine industry, the attraction of new consumers (millennials and Gen Z), work in an unstable economy, overcoming competition from “alternative drinks”, growing sales in unstable times (new strategies and trends) and many other.

Sir Christopher Pissarides

During the conference guests will have the opportunity to participate in iconic wine tastings:

• Icon Wines of Portugal, presented by Dirceu Vianna Jr. MW;
• The Magnificent 12, under the patronage of Mark Squires;
• Legendary Madeira & Port, hosted by Richard Mayson.

We are proud to announce that our outstanding Ukrainian winery Shabo, as the winner of the WTA award 2022-2023 in the Brand – the Visiting Card of the Country category, will present its special selection of the cult wine “Vazha” of the 2014 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon – family heritage Iukuridze.

This year’s guest of the congress, a real rock star – the Iron Maiden frontman Paul Bruce Dickinson will share his rich experience as a musician and businessman. He will explain how the challenges of working in seemingly disparate fields like rock music and commercial aviation mirror the same challenges that the wine business world faces every day.

Please come from November 7 to 9 to the impressive Convento de Sao Francisco in the beautiful historic city of Coimbra.

! You can buy a ticket for this stellar wine congress here.

!! Use code MP23WF for a 15% discount upon checkout. The limited time of proposition till 1^st November.

The full program can be viewed here.

Photo: facebook.com/winefuture.org, www.fuw.ch

On November 7-9, Coimbra (Portugal) will host an event that will gather more than 60 experts from the international wine sector. Tickets for this stellar wine congress can be purchased on the Wine Future official website. Communication media group Drinks+ and WTA are pleased to announce that they have become information partners of WineFuture-2023 and […]

On November 8-10, Krakow will host the most important event in Poland that unites the entire wine industry – the 20th anniversary edition of ENOEXPO. This year, ENOEXPO becomes «The fair-partner of Wine Travel Awards» and a nominee of the third season of the WTA, as Enogastronomic Events/Magnet of the Region. ENOEXPO-2023 is held along with HORECA – the 30th International Exhibition of Equipment for Hotels and Catering Enterprises.

Drinks+ & Wine Travel Awards begins fruitful and active cooperation with the largest wine exhibition in Poland and presents the WTA project at its site in Krakow – a completely new format in the field of wine, culinary and tourism industry, which unites international professionals from all over the world, created by Communication Media by the Drinks+ group, one of the oldest wine media groups in Eastern Europe.

At the exhibition in Krakow, Wine Travel Awards will present its own stand with the opportunity to present the wines of WTA partners and Walk-Around Tasting. The WTA presentation will take place on November 9 from 15:00 to 17:00. As part of the WTA presentation, the floor will be given to Tomasz Prange-Barczyński – an authoritative wine critic, editor and writer, the nominee and winner of the public vote of the Wine Travel Awards in the category of Wine & Food Influencer/ Expert opinion.

Tomasz Prange-Barczyński

Also national selection rounds of the most important culinary competition Bocuse d’Or and the competition of young chefs in the first edition of the Trophee Mille Polska will be held under the roof of HORECA/ENOEXPO-2023. We will also see the Polish wine and cider competition, the main idea of which is to promote wine, cider and mead produced in Poland. More detailed information is here.

You can find out everything about all the events HORECA/ENOEXPO-2023 on the official website.

On November 8-10, Krakow will host the most important event in Poland that unites the entire wine industry – the 20th anniversary edition of ENOEXPO. This year, ENOEXPO becomes «The fair-partner of Wine Travel Awards» and a nominee of the third season of the WTA, as Enogastronomic Events/Magnet of the Region. ENOEXPO-2023 is held along […]

On 8 September, a traditional meeting for Tastevinage, Burgundy wine selection label, took place in the iconic Château du Clos de Vougeot. Oleksandra Hryhorieva, Drinks+ correspondent living in Burgundy, joined the jury of the 112^th edition.

The beginning of autumn has its own charm: green starts turning red and yellow, the weather switches between fresh mornings, sunny days, and an occasional downpour. Taking the famous Route des Grands Crus, you get surrounded by vineyards of the Côte d’Or, which will soon become a true golden coast inheriting beautiful autumn colours. The harvest period has already started in Burgundy. Now, we can see cars and trucks parked along the roadside, workers cutting bunches of grapes and transporting them in small batches. Truly charming season!

On one of such sunny autumn days, 8 September, 118 wine professionals – sommeliers, winemakers, wine traders and merchants, négociants, wine marketers and journalists – gathered together in the Château du Clos de Vougeot to taste 400 Burgundy wines that applied for Tastevinage. William Wouters, President of l’Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI), joined the 112^th edition as a guest of honour.

2 main grape varieties (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), different appellations, different climats and vintages create this complexity and mosaic of Burgundy terroirs. Tastevinage, organised by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin since 1950, aims, first of all, to assure the wine quality keeping the bar high as only the wines rated 13 out of 20 and higher got qualified. Consequently, this rewards the producer for their wine quality that they have developed through long work and high competence. Secondly, the task is to promote great examples of Burgundy wine and the region as a whole, at the same time bringing Burgundy wine closer to consumers. It is not rare that you can find a bottle of crémant de Bourgogne, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay with the Tastevinage label in the supermarket, wineshop or directly at the domaine. So, it becomes the label of both quality and trust creating a link between producer and consumer for the greatest satisfaction of everyone.

At my table, the blind tasting menu consisted of 2 crémant de Bourgogne, 2 Bourgogne white 2022, Côte de Nuits-Villages white 2022, Marsannay white 2021, Marsannay white 2019, Bourgogne Côte d’Or red 2020, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru red 2022, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru red 2019 and Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru red 2013. During the evaluation, the jury must take into account the actual qualities of the wine, its possible evolution, and whether the wine represents well its vintage and appellation. Another interesting point to keep in mind is whether I would be particularly proud to offer this bottle of wine to my friend.

If I could single out a couple of wines that I tasted, it would be Bourgogne Côte d’Or red 2020 and Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru red 2022.

Bourgogne Côte d’Or, red 2020

Colour: cherry red with the red ruby reflection. Intense nose with the notes of cherries, blackcurrant, blackberry, and spices. Delicate mouth with fine tannins, enveloping palate notes of raspberry, cherry, and black pepper. Fresh and light finish.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, red 2022

Young, full-bodied, and powerful, with a great potential for ageing. Colour: twilight purple with cherry red reflection. Nose gives beautiful aromas of rose and licorice, cherry, and blackcurrant. Vigorous mouth with notes of cherry, black- and redcurrant, hints of black pepper, with quite a long finish.

After all, there are a lot of great bottles to offer: 132 wines, 33% of the total wines featured, were selected at this fall edition of Tastevinage. 46 regional appellations, 50 villages appellations, 36 premier cru and grand cru appellations convinced the palate of professional tasters. The full list of laureates can be found on the official website here.

Фото: tastevinage.fr

On 8 September, a traditional meeting for Tastevinage, Burgundy wine selection label, took place in the iconic Château du Clos de Vougeot. Oleksandra Hryhorieva, Drinks+ correspondent living in Burgundy, joined the jury of the 112th edition. The beginning of autumn has its own charm: green starts turning red and yellow, the weather switches between fresh […]

Moldova Wine Festival will be held in Chisinau on September 16-17. Here, wine, music and culture of the Republic of Moldova will unite in a unique event dedicated to fans of their favorite drink.

In the very heart of the Moldovan capital is a place where Moldovan wine fans will gather soon. Moldova is a country where viticulture and winemaking originated 4000-5000 years ago (it is a territory between the Dniester and Prut rivers).

Three dozen of the best Moldovan wineries will present their best wines at the Moldova Wine Festival. Among them the nominees, finalists and winners of the Wine Travel Awards: Vinuri de Comrat, Château Purcari, Mileștii Mici, Castel Mimi, Cricova Winery, and Château Vartely.

Producers will share the secrets of their best wines, and each guest will have the opportunity to taste selected wines and purchase a bottle of their choice in the festival’s retail area.

Moldova Wine Festival will be held in Chisinau on September 16-17. Here, wine, music and culture of the Republic of Moldova will unite in a unique event dedicated to fans of their favorite drink. In the very heart of the Moldovan capital is a place where Moldovan wine fans will gather soon. Moldova is a […]