Gastronomy and Wine Portal

Wine Travel Awards 2022-2023 managed to gather so many magnificent locations, destinations, businesses and personalities in their progressive community. The competition was high and so many wine lovers and enthusiasts supported their favorites at the public voting stage. And now we are ready to sum up the results. 

The geography is wide! This year, representatives from new destinations got nominated for the WTA 2022-2023. In addition to Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Canada, USA and India, our community was replenished with nominees from Austria, Greece, UK, Taiwan, Nigeria, Iran and other countries. 

New professions are on the list! The new generation of aspiring Master Sommeliers and MWs are much more open to the world of media and communications. In fact, some of the young somms, especially those who work in emerging wine markets, have crossed the line to become online influencers and ambassadors. In the WTA second edition, sommeliers are widely represented in the Ambassador nomination. The winner of the Ambassador of the Year category will be honoured with the Gérard Basset Prize “Ambassador of the Year” and receive a special prize. 

Traditionally, the Wine & Food Influencer nomination is sponsored by the international winegrowing group of companies Vinos de La Luz. TV hosts, actresses, bartenders, authors, bloggers, photographers and videographers passionate about wine and tourism entered the contest this year. 

The awards’ winners are determined in two stages: firstly, public voting, secondly, professional jury evaluation. According to the voting results, five leading nominees of each category that reached the final, are considered by the WTA Jury Committee, consisting of 12 reputable professionals in such industries as winemaking, food tourism, marketing, and journalism. The selection takes place within a 10-point system according to the unified Wine Travel Awards protocols.

This is an exciting stage of the project as it defines who will proceed to the next round. We congratulate all the finalists of the WTA 2022-2023! 

1. The Visiting Card of the Country

Must visit

#5 SHABO’s wine culture center – 6840 votes

#1 SHUMI Winery – 4702 votes 

#2 Château Mukhrani – 1589 votes

#133 TrEno LMR (The Langhe Monferrato Roero Train) – 1490 votes

#164 Semeli Estate – 1293 votes

Brand – the visiting card of the country

#124 46 Parallel Wine Group – 8718 votes

#9 Family Winery SHABO – 6697 votes

#6 SHUMI Winery – 4718 votes

#159 Gocha’s Collection – Askaneli Winery & Distillery – 1017 votes

#163 Semeli Estate – 944 votes

Progressive approach

#11 SHUMI Winery – 3021 votes

#167 Ijevan Wine-Brandy Factory – 2774 votes

#127 Azienda Agricola Teresa Soria di Emanuele Contino – 967 votes

#154 Α. & G. PAPAIOANNOU – 823 votes

#158 Askaneli Winery & Distillery – 794 votes

Art & History Object

#207 SHUMI Winery – 2693 votes

#126 Casa Martini – Martini & Rossi – 963 votes

#145 Canelli and the Underground Cathedrals – 783 votes

#25 Domaine de l’Évêque – 624 votes

#137 Relais Villa Prato – 620 votes

Region of the Year

#162 Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella – 1218 votes

#161 Ukrainian Bessarabia’s Wine and Taste Route – 1042 votes

#188 Austria – 1027 votes

#139 Moscato Wine Route – 916 votes

#144 Piemont and Consorzio Asti DOCG – 868 votes

2. Education in Enotourism

Unique program 

#55 Shumi Wine School – 2767 votes

#155 Vitaliy Kovach Sommelier School  – 2131 votes

#201 Austrian Wine Academy – 1051 votes

#129 Accademia Maestri Pasticceri Italiani – 313 votes

#59 Le Bistrot du Sommelier – 303 votes

Cultural mission 

#60 SHUMI Winery – 2620 votes

#177 HOVAZ wine rooms – 662 votes

#196 Schloss Esterházy – 411 votes

# 61 Cité du Vin – 330 votes

# 63 GuideMASTER Wine Tour Guide Program – 184 votes

3. Enogastronomic Events

Magnet of the region 

#79 SHUMI Winery – 2302 votes

#78 The National Wine Day of Moldova – 714 votes

#197 VieVinum – 620 votes

#77 Worldwide œufs en meurette Championship – 594 votes

#202 WinExpo Georgia – 535 votes

Event of the year 

#111 Bodegas Gonzalez Byass – Tio Pepe Festival – 1428 votes

#83 London Wine Fair – 1043 votes

#146 Harvest Celebration at Chateau Mukhrani – 815 votes

#90 “VinOPERA” Castel Mimi – 538 votes

#113 Wine & Gourmet Taipei – 406 votes

4. Ambassador

Ambassador of the year

#179 Artyom Mkrtchyan – 3266 votes

#156 Vitaliy Kovach – 3091 votes

#165 Florence Authier Meuric – 2490 votes

#29 Sonal Holland – 1996 votes

#125 Olimpia Pleșa Brandhuber – 1656 votes

Creative strategy 

#135 Cinzia Benzi – App Bollicine del Mondo – 913 votes

#31 WineMasters.tv – 360 votes

#33 Wines of Armenia – 342 votes

#34 Visit Moldova – 244 votes

#143 Federico Quaranta and Tinto, Decanter Radio Program – 228 votes

5. Wine & Food Influencer

Author of the year 

#36 Nello Gatti – 1408 votes

#152 Ania Smolec – 1088 votes

#40 Per Karlsson – 722 votes

#98 Professor Marianna Sigala – 675 votes

#205 Wines To Find – 372 votes

Expert opinion

#160 Tomasz Prange-Barczyński – 938 votes

#151 Liz Palmer – 586 votes

#153 Bonello Athens – 565 votes

#41 Gergely Szolnoki – 303 votes

#120 The Wine Republic of Italy – 229 votes

The brightest journey

#184 Rojita Tiwari – 1336 votes

#148 Dr. Elizabeth Smith – 887 votes

#95 Daria Kholodilina a.k.a. Dariko Mogzauri – 606 votes

#50 Sofia Nikabadze – 605 votes

#104 Nataliia Burlachenko – 501 votes

6. Wine Guide

Top Guide 

#65 Miguel Leal – 1577 votes 

#69 Einat Klein – 1375 votes

#66 Britt Karlsson – 795 votes

#68 Wines of Armenia – 621 votes

#70 Tanisha Townsend – 528 votes

Travel Operator of the Year

#72 Visit Moldova – 555 votes

#123 Friends Wine Travel – 456 votes

#27 Wine Paths – 434 votes

#71 Moments & Travel – 306 votes

#75 Ways Travel – 257 votes

The nominees enlisted the big support of their friends, loyal audience and caught wine lovers’ eye, so that it yielded the results. Being charismatic and active on social media plays a crucial role in public voting. And we can see these features among our winners – famous chateaux, renowned experts and wine schools, attractive wine events and interesting wine authors and ambassadors. Once again, our sincerest congratulations to the finalists and good luck for the second round!

The WTA winners will be announced in May on the official website and be awarded at the WTA Ceremony on Wednesday, 17 May, from 10 am to 12 pm, at the London Wine Fair. The celebration in honor of the WTA 2022-2023 winners will also take place at the WinExpo Georgia in June. 

Wine Travel Awards 2022-2023 managed to gather so many magnificent locations, destinations, businesses and personalities in their progressive community. The competition was high and so many wine lovers and enthusiasts supported their favorites at the public voting stage. And now we are ready to sum up the results.  The geography is wide! This year, representatives […]

ProWein in Dusseldorf has long ago turned into an all-embracing universe of wines and spirits, and this year’s fair was not an exception. International environment was bubbling with participants and guests from all around the world, while dozens of events held by the world’s leading experts, Masters of Wine, famous winemakers and influencers, were impressive and grabbed the attention of the audience. The WTA team, which had to present the project and its participants to the visitors of this large-scale international hub, was ready for the standing-out challenge, and accepted it gladly. 

The presentation of WineTravel Awards and the tasting of 6 Ukrainian wines, which was, literally, the closing event of the fair, was an uncompromising success: it was the first time that WTA introduced the wines by our Ukrainian nominees at ProWein! We welcomed about 50 guests, including experts, journalists, wine and tourism influencers, traders, winemakers, retailers and HoReCa representatives. 

Oleksandra Hryhorieva, the Wine Travel Awards Project Lead, made a brilliant presentation of the WTA’s activities and plans for the 2023 campaign, as well as boundless opportunities for marketing, networking and business promotion it gives to those engaged in wine production, trade and wine tourism. The presentation revealed the unique concept of Wine Travel Awards (which, earlier this year, has joined the Bernard Magrez Start-Up Win incubator). WTA is not just an award which marks out the best travel locations, outstanding tourism professionals or brands. It is an exceptional B2B networking and marketing movement within a friendly, active and progressive community that unites experts in the field of winemaking and tourism.

This presentation was followed by the tasting held by the WTA Discovery editor, Victoria Makarova, and our Ukrainian colleagues.

The tasting was opened by two samples of the indigenous Ukrainian white variety, Telti-Kuruk: Beykush Telti-Kuruk 2022 and SHABO Telti-Kuruk Grande Reserve 2021. This variety was a new and intriguing discovery for most guests, although at least two of them noted that they were already familiar both with the grape and the producers.

Following were two samples of Odesa Black, Ukraine’s signature red. A short intro of this unique variety made by the WTA speaker warmed up the guests’ interest. A premiere wine Big Wines BIG ART limited edition Ivan Marchuk 2020 was presented by Natalia Burlachenko, CEO of Big Wines by Vinos de La Luz, and Villa Tinta Odesa Black VIP 2019, was introduced by Kostyantyn Tintulov, co-owner of Villa Tinta / Winehall Oksamytne.

They were followed by a wonderful Stakhovsky Wines Merlot “ACE” 2019 from Zakarpattya (Transcarpathia), and, last but not least, by an elegant blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon — Grand Admiral Proudly Ukrainian 2018, with a beautiful presentation by Anna Gorkun, CEO and co-owner of 46 Parallel Wine Group.

Nataliia Burlachenko, CEO of Big Wines, comments:

“This tasting was a very interesting and useful experience. Our guests showed genuine and practical interest in Ukrainian wines. Even after the tasting was over, some of them stayed longer, asking questions, sharing opinions, exchanging business cards with us. Presenting Telti-Kuruk and Odesa Black made by different wineries was a very good idea, demonstrating the diversity of styles and terroir. We are very grateful to the WTA team for organizing this tasting, hopefully, more to come.”

Anna Gorkun, co-owner of 46 Parallel Wine Group, shares her reflections and excitement:

 “The interest in Ukraine and everything related to it was predictable. A “full house” at the Wine Travel Awards tasting could be expected from the moment the event was announced. But the biggest question was, what brought our guests to this event: interest in politics or interest in wine? The world of wine plays by its own rules. There is no room for politics, sentiment or “special” circumstances in it. Despite all the difficulties, we, Ukrainian winemakers, like everyone else, grow grapes, produce wine and present it to the consumer on equal terms with other producers around the world. They can sympathize with us in a human way, but they evaluate us like everyone else, and we have to meet the highest quality standards in order to compete for our place at the international stage. This tasting confirms Ukrainian winemakers are very strong and have a huge potential for development in the future. After all, neither COVID, nor the financial crisis, nor the war in our homeland, nor the lack of basic resources for production (water, electricity, labor), nor limited financing (most credit programs are currently unavailable) presented crucial obstacles for us. We made, are making and will make wines of high quality matching international standards. The audience paid attention to every word that was said about our wines. There was compassion, but we were also proud to feel appreciation. Probably for the first time I felt the synergy of professional attention and human emotion within the audience. I was very pleased to have the opportunity not only to present our wine, but also to see our guests raising a toast to the victory of Ukraine. Our Proudly Ukrainian was a perfect choice for that toast!”

Detailed info about the Ukrainian wines presented in the WTA commented tasting at ProWein 2023 can be found in our article here.

We are very grateful to our guests who provided comments.

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“I have to say that all six wines presented by Ukrainian WTA nominees are really fine! Very good quality, I’m so proud of our winemakers!”

Michael Buckman, independent wine journalist, Switzerland:

“Most of the wines we were tasting are quite young and may need some time to reach their peak, but they do have a huge potential. It’s amazing to know that 2 out of 6 wineries are just 3 years old, and 1 is, in fact, a debutant. Development of the white Telti-Kuruk and the red Odesa Black depending on aging and vinification style is quite impressive. Well done, Ukraine!” 

Thomas Brandl, a famous wine critic, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles’ Ambassador for Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe and owner of xenos.com (Germany), gave us a word of support and professional advice:  

“I’m impressed by the rise in quality of the wines especially now, considering the challenges of war. Odesa Black and Telti-Kuruk were well known to me from my previous visits to Ukraine, but they presented a completely new experience for most attendees of ProWein. For the future I would suggest you to focus as much as possible on Ukrainian indigenous grape varieties, they are what makes a difference.”

Further on, some tasting notes from our guests. Some of them didn’t specify their names, but we really appreciate their analysis, so these comments are also included in our summary.

Beykush Telti-Kuruk 2022

Agnes Nemeth, Hungarianwines.eu, Hungary:

“I simply loved this wine — so fresh and flowery, easy to drink!” 

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Nose: fresh, fruity, notes of lemon. Palate: bitter mineral notes in aftertaste”.

SHABO Grand Reserve Telti-Kuruk 2021

Mariola Kamorowa, sommelier, Czech Republic:

“Complexity, structure, balance, very special minerality. Makes me curious about the terroir.”

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Fresh, mineral, high acidity, moderate alcohol, elegant oak aging notes, complex, has great potential. Very good!”

Bryce McNamee, owner of Boutique Wine Collection, American importing company (based in Philadelphia, office in Cape Town, South Africa):

“Remarkable wine!”

BIG WINES BIG ART limited edition. Ivan Marchuk 2020

Mariola Kamorowa, sommelier, Czech Republic:

“Aroma: fruit bomb! Plum, cherry, mulberry, and confiture. Spicy, delicate tones of vanilla, chocolate.”

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Nose: dark fruits, chocolate, black pepper, oak aging notes. Palate: elegant tannins. A little too young to drink, good potential. New World style.”

Guest / expert:

“MY FAVORITE WINE!!!”

Villa Tinta Odesa Black VIP 2019 

Guest / expert: 

“Nose: a lot of dark fruits. Mulberry. Blueberry. Oaky. A bit shy, but opens up in a glass. Palate: rich and round tannins.”

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Very bright, elegant and smooth. A lot of ripe berries, dark cherry, some oak.”

Stakhovsky Wines Merlot “ACE” 2019

Julia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Nose: cherry, plum, ripe dark fruits, white pepper. Palate: smooth, perfect tannins. Very noble and complex. Elegant style. Excellent wine!”

Guest / expert:

“Nose: typical Merlot but more intense, slightly tart fruit, dominating blackberry. General impression: good balance, good work with oak. This wine would pair well with duck confit.”

Grand Admiral Proudly Ukrainian 2018

Yulia Vertgeym, sommelier, Mundus Vini judge, Mosel, Germany:

“Rich in nose and taste. Good balance. In blind tasting it could probably be recognized as a wine from southern Italy.”

Michael Buckman, independent wine journalist, Switzerland:

“Elegantly made, this wine definitely wants to spend more time in the bottle! 3-5 years at least. Good potential.”

The WTA team is very grateful to our participants for their beautiful presentations and amazing wines, and to our guests for their open hearts and valuable attention to Ukrainian winemaking. We would like to thank our hosts, ProWein, for helping us organize this event, and the professional and helpful team of ProWein Forum who made this event an efficient and comfortable experience for us. 

We are very happy that at ProWein 2023, for the first time, Wines of Ukraine were united by a national stand introducing 12 wineries, some of them being WTA 2023 nominees and voting winners. Together with SHABO, Ukraine’s flagship winery and WTA 2023 voting winner, who, for several years now, have been participating at ProWein with their own stand, Wines of Ukraine presented a bigger picture of amazing and heroic Ukrainian winemaking, demonstrating fine quality wines, despite the challenges of russian military aggression in Ukraine. Our wines had a tremendous success at ProWein 2023, and we will do our best in joining our effort in further promotion of Ukrainian winemaking.

More events and wine tasting from WTA and its nominees from Ukraine and other countries are coming soon! 

ProWein in Dusseldorf has long ago turned into an all-embracing universe of wines and spirits, and this year’s fair was not an exception. International environment was bubbling with participants and guests from all around the world, while dozens of events held by the world’s leading experts, Masters of Wine, famous winemakers and influencers, were impressive […]

Together with Coralie Haller, Marianna Sigala co-edited a new book devoted to new managerial approaches and cases in wine tourism – Technology Advances and Innovation in Wine Tourism. It combines theory and practice with research findings of tech advances on wine tourism, enriches knowledge and practice on wine tourism by including case studies related to new tech, […]

The first state visit of King Charles III to France, scheduled for 27 and 28 March, has been postponed to this summer.

This visit is expected in France as a sign of warming relations with Europe after Brexit. As the result of social outcry against pension reform in France, the Élysée decided in the end to cancel the invitation for the sake of the interests and safety of both parties.

We hope that the previously announced program will be implemented later. It was Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Cru Classé de Graves, which was chosen by the monarch.

Invited by Emmanuel Macron, Charles III has decided to include a detour via the Gironde during his official trip. The last visit to Bordeaux of Charles III dates back to May 9, 1977 for the opening of the exhibition “British Painting from Gainsborough to Bacon”. The Prince of Wales then took the opportunity to make a stopover at Château Latour in Pauillac.

This year, the King decided to visit the Smith Haut Lafitte estate, nominated for the Wine Travel Awards. The property of Florence and Daniel Cathiard was chosen for the meeting of the monarch opposite two other castles, which also stood in a row.

“It’s a huge honor for us,” enthuses Florence Cathiard. “Beyond the privilege of receiving the King of England, we receive a historical figure who is one of my icons. I have always appreciated his personality, his commitments, his love of nature. I had briefly had the opportunity to meet him several years ago, through common relations, after his last polo match”.

The first state visit of King Charles III to France, scheduled for 27 and 28 March, has been postponed to this summer. This visit is expected in France as a sign of warming relations with Europe after Brexit. As the result of social outcry against pension reform in France, the Élysée decided in the end to […]

The Wine Travel Awards at the world’s No.1 wine and spirits exhibition ProWein took its place of honor this year.

The International Wine and Spirits Exhibition ProWein, where the Communication Media Group Drinks+ presents its Wine Travel Awards project, opened its doors in Düsseldorf on Sunday.

Wine Travel Awards – a unique Ukrainian start-up that was linched in the most difficult time for the country and persisted despite all the difficulties, gathering a community of wine industry professionals from winegrowers and winemakers to bloggers and various educational institutions. This international wine award is currently in its second year, and the special edition of the WTA Guide has been published for the second time.

In excess of 6,000 exhibitors from over 60 countries are showcasing now their ranges in 13 halls of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre were Wine Travel Awards Guide is available at the International Trade Press booth.

The WTA Guide is available in print and digital versions.

The electronic version will be published on the ProWein website all year long. Visitors to ProWein will also be able to scan a QR-code from the posters which will lead to the digital WTA Guide. It will be also available on the WTA, Drinks+ and our partners’ websites all year long and spread via email marketing.

The WTA Guide present information on wineries from all around the world and other interesting winemaking locations, as well as stories of the ambassadors and influencers, the Award nominees.

This year, we will hold a special tasting of six wines produced by Ukrainian wineries in the framework of ProWein 2023. We have selected the best of the best — Family Winery SHABO , Beykush Winery , 46 Parallel Wine Group, Stakhovsky Wines, Villa Tinta, Big Wines  (Ukrainian branch of Vinos de La Luz).

Join us on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 – 16.00 / Hall 13 (Forum 13.2).

In addition, for the first time at ProWein, Ukrainian producers are presented with a collective stand, which already in the first days of the exhibition caused increased interest in Ukrainian wine and the Wines of Ukraine brand.

The Wine Travel Awards at the world’s No.1 wine and spirits exhibition ProWein took its place of honor this year. The International Wine and Spirits Exhibition ProWein, where the Communication Media Group Drinks+ presents its Wine Travel Awards project, opened its doors in Düsseldorf on Sunday. Wine Travel Awards – a unique Ukrainian start-up that […]

For many years Drinks+ has been a traditional information partner of VinItaly, reporting on the events of this exhibition. If you are a professional in the food, wine and distilling industries, join the world’s leading event and get a free badge.

On April 2-5, the leading exhibition of wine and spirits – VinItaly, will take place in Verona for the 55th time. Organizers of this large-scale business and advertising exhibition announce that all food, wine and distilling professionals have the opportunity to receive a free badge.

The freebadge is an entry ticket reserved only to international trade operators / buyers with a direct and active role in purchasing. You can get a badge here.

Drinks+ Communication Media Group, with its new innovative project Wine Travel Awards, which has already been joined by many Italian wine operators, will be presented at the stand in the International Wine Hall for the international press.

For many years Drinks+ has been a traditional information partner of VinItaly, reporting on the events of this exhibition. If you are a professional in the food, wine and distilling industries, join the world’s leading event and get a free badge. On April 2-5, the leading exhibition of wine and spirits – VinItaly, will take […]

Consumer interest in such a trend as alcohol-free wine is steadily growing. For the first time, a tasting of such wines took place at the MUNDUS VINI Spring Tasting 2023.

At this year’s Mundus Vini Spring Tasting as part of the 32nd Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Award, non-alcoholic wine was presented for the first time. A total of 187 wines were tasted, the best of which were awarded 21 gold and 54 silver medals.

The largest number of medals went to manufacturers from Germany, followed by Spain, France, New Zealand and Italy. The awarding will take place at ProWein Düsseldorf.

The new tasting topic “Non-alcoholic drinks” was led by MUNDUS VINI board member prof. Dr. Ulrich Fischer.

“In my opinion, there are big differences in the quality of the presented wines. The best wines are characterized by varietal typicality, good taste and delicate tannins, which makes alcohol-free wines a real alternative. I predict that the market share of non-alcoholic wines, which is currently around one percent, will increase significantly in the next few years,” said Ulrich Fischer.

Special awards in the “non-alcoholic beverages” category were awarded to:

Best Sparkling Rosé
VITISECCO ROSÉ alkoholfreier Dry
Bähr Pfalztraube GmbH, Germany

Best Sparkling White
Blanc de Blancs ALKOHOLFREI
Julius Zotz KG, Germany

Best Sparkling in retail markets
ENGEL Riesling alcohol-free
Peter Riegel Weinimport GmbH, Germany

Best Sauvignon Blanc
Now Zero Sauvignon Blanc
Giesen Group, New Zealand

Best Merlot
Vinnuendo 0% Merlot
Mureda Alimentacion SL, Spain

Best Riesling
Freispiel ZIEMLICH GEIL alcohol-free
Weingärtner Stromberg-Zabergäu eG, Germany

Best Pinot Blanc
Breakaway Pinot Blanc entalkoholisiert
Winery Bergdolt-Reif & Nett, Germany

Best white wine in retail markets
Michel Schneider Riesling Non-alcoholic
Zimmermann-Graeff & Müller GmbH, Germany

Best red wine in retail markets
VINSENZA Rosso non-alcoholic, Spain
Peter Riegel Weinimport GmbH

Best Producer
Bähr Pfalztraube GmbH

Best Merchant
Peter Riegel Weinimport GmbH

Photo: https://www.meininger.de

Consumer interest in such a trend as alcohol-free wine is steadily growing. For the first time, a tasting of such wines took place at the MUNDUS VINI Spring Tasting 2023. At this year’s Mundus Vini Spring Tasting as part of the 32nd Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Award, non-alcoholic wine was presented for the first […]

Austrian wines are enjoying continued success in international markets. In 2022, exports reached a new record level of 231 million euros. White wines and Sekt saw the greatest growth in value. Austrian wine was in particularly high demand in Canada, the USA and Northern Europe.

According to the latest figures from Statistics Austria, Austria exported 67.7 million litres of wine in 2022, equivalent to 231.3 million euros in value. Although volume was slightly lower than the previous year (-3.5%), value rose by 6.4%. As a result, the export price per litre reached a record level of €3.42. “Success in the export markets, and especially the record average price, is very important for our wine industry. The current wave of inflation is also hitting our winegrowers hard, which is why we need to focus on growing their added value,” emphasises Chris Yorke, CEO of Austrian Wine (Austrian Wine Marketing Board).

Export figures 2000-2022, as at March 2023, source: Statistics Austria

White wine and Sekt in demand

Austria’s white Qualitätswein was in particularly high demand (+7.9% in value). “We have noticed that our white wines are really hitting the spot with international consumers and demand is continually growing,” says Yorke. Demand for Sekt also continued to rise (+19.3%).

Strong growth in Canada, the USA and Northern Europe

With reference to the specific export markets, Yorke explains, “Already at last year’s VieVinum, Austria’s largest wine fair, we began to notice that our wines are in very high demand in certain countries, such as Canada, the USA and in Northern Europe. Consumers in these markets are looking for high-quality, environmentally consciously produced wines and also pay good prices for them. That’s a perfect match for us!”

Canada managed to secure good growth again, with a 46.7% increase in value to 10.7 million euros. Over the last five years, the value of exports to the Canadian market has grown more than sevenfold. The USA was also on the upswing again in 2022, recording a 11.2% rise in value. Strong growth was also seen in the Netherlands (+17.0% in value) and Scandinavia, e.g. Sweden (+7.2% in value), Denmark (+29.4% in value) and Finland (+62.3% in value). Switzerland, Austria’s second most important export market, also witnessed a respectable rise of 8.6%. In Austria’s biggest export market, Germany, exports of cheaper bulk wine increased to the detriment of bottled wine, resulting in a slight drop in export value (-1.3%).

Losses in the UK and China

The United Kingdom was on a downward trajectory in 2022, dropping 38% in value. As a result of Brexit, working this market has become more complicated and challenging. Following a strong increase in 2021 (+77.9%), the volatile Chinese market fell again slightly (-15.8% in value).

Japan and Korea on the upswing

Following several years of stagnation, the prestigious Japanese export market grew considerably (+61.3%). Strong growth (+26.4% in value) was also recorded in South Korea, which is emerging as a promising future market for Austrian wines.

Top 10 export countries 2022 (share of total sales); as at March 2023; source: Statistics Austria

Next export target: quarter of a million euros

“We can see that the targeted joint efforts of both Austrian Wine and the country’s winegrowers are paying off. We are on track to reach the next export target of a quarter of a billion euros,” concludes Yorke.

Photo: © Austrian Wine

Austrian wines are enjoying continued success in international markets. In 2022, exports reached a new record level of 231 million euros. White wines and Sekt saw the greatest growth in value. Austrian wine was in particularly high demand in Canada, the USA and Northern Europe. According to the latest figures from Statistics Austria, Austria exported […]

Ukraine, an amazingly beautiful land demonstrating natural and cultural diversity, the land of industrious, open-hearted and talented people, is going through its darkest time now, due to the full-scale russian aggression since February 2022. Despite the war, life goes on here, Ukrainians continue to grow grapes and produce wonderful wines that have already been recognized internationally. Ukrainian people are doing all they can for their Victory, hoping to welcome guests from all over the world very soon.

SHABO Family Winery, founded in 2003, is a family business of the Iukuridze family. The winery has the most up-to-date production facilities, and a Wine Culture Center with bicentennial Swiss cellars, modern art collection, and several tasting halls. SHABO’s own vineyards covering 1200 hectares are located in a unique terroir of Shabo village, Odesa region, between the Black Sea and the Dniester estuary. They have the largest plantations (more than 40 ha) of Telti-Kuruk, a unique Ukrainian indigenous grape variety.

Villa Tinta (Winehall Oksamytne) is a family estate winery founded in 1998, located in the village of Oksamytne, Bolgrad district, Odesa region. Their own 500 hectares of vineyards grow in the unique and picturesque spot of Danubian Bessarabia, washed by the River Karakurt and Lake of Yalpug.

46 Parallel Wine Group is a young and successful winemaking company that has won more than 70 awards in domestic and international tasting competitions, Mondial de Bruxelles, Sélections Mondiales des Vins Canada, and London Wine Competition.The company’s slogan is “Proudly Ukrainian!”, and they do have a lot to be proud of!

Beykush is a family winery located in Mykolaiv region. Their vineyards are growing on the Beykush peninsula, washed by the Berezan estuary and Beykush Bay. Their winemakers are well-known for their successful experimenting with blends. Beykush wines have gained the highest awards in domestic and international competitions. Just before the war, Beykush finished the construction of a new winery building, a little masterpiece of contemporary architecture.

Stakhovsky Wines is a craft family winery founded by the Ukrainian tennis legend, Serhiy Stakhovsky, who decided to engage in winemaking in 2015. He rented a plot of 20 hectares in Transcarpathia, one of Ukraine’s most famous wine regions, turning it into one of the most beautiful vineyards in Transcarpathia. The winery has a big tasting hall where tourists can taste elegant and powerful wines by Stakhovsky.

Vitaliy Kovach, the founder of Kovach Sommelier School, is a member of Italian Sommelier Association and one of the most famous sommeliers of Ukraine. His expertise, profound knowledge and passion for wines, as well as his irresistible charisma, contribute to the success of his Sommelier School.

Ukrainian Bessarabia’s Wine and Taste Route, a unique wine and gastronomy region located in the south of Ukraine, has a length of about 800 kilometers and unites 27 participants, including winemakers and farmers. Traveling this route is the best way to get acquainted with the culinary specialties and wines of Bessarabia.

The Black Sea Craft Winemakers’ Association was established in 2021 in order to coordinate and develop Ukrainian winemaking industry, as well as to enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian wines internationally, and to promote the brand of Wines of Ukraine. In times of war, the Association also focuses on helping to rebuild destroyed wineries and on demining the vineyards liberated from russian occupation. Currently, the Association includes 72 wine manufacturers.

Tanya Olevska is a wine and food influencer, blogger, and journalist, member of the Association of Sommeliers of Ukraine, Founder of wine and gastronomic tours “Friends Wine Travel”, founder of blind wines tasting project “Kyiv Wine Cup”, and brand ambassador for the Kyiv-based restaurant “Hlek – Modern Kyiv Cuisine”. Tanya lives in the United Kingdom at the moment, working for the London Wine Fair. But her heart and soul belong to Ukraine, and, of course, to the amazing Ukrainian wines!

Yurii Kovryzhenko is a famous Ukrainian chef, a graduate of many well-know cuisine schools, such as Ecole Ritz Escoffier, Ferrandi Paris, Basque Culinary Center. His unique molecular borsch astounded the Michelin Guide. Yurii is the Ambassador of Ukrainian cuisine worldwide, promoting national gastronomy at official events, international forums and competitions, and cooking for top officials and the political elite.

Ukraine, an amazingly beautiful land demonstrating natural and cultural diversity, the land of industrious, open-hearted and talented people, is going through its darkest time now, due to the full-scale russian aggression since February 2022. Despite the war, life goes on here, Ukrainians continue to grow grapes and produce wonderful wines that have already been recognized […]

This year’s Mundus Vini Spring Tasting session within the 32nd Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Award was impressive — as impressive, perhaps, as ever before, but also bringing new trends and new challenges the contemporary winemaking is facing into the spotlight. 

To begin with, a few remarkable numbers. Director Degustation Christian Wolf and board member Prof. Dr. Ulrich Fischer, supported by a very efficient, dynamic, stress-resistant and very friendly Mundus Vini team, gave their warm welcome to a total of 242 international wine experts from 46 countries within 6 days. Two rounds of tastings, each 3 intense and inspiring days, presented 7,568 wines from all over the world, plus 187 non-alcoholic wines; all of them were critically tasted and evaluated by the expert commission.

During the blind tasting and evaluation, experts were informed of the category, grape variety, vintage and residual sugar level for each sample. Tanksamples a were marked accordingly.

Prices for the submitted wines were ranging from less than Euro 2,99 (17 wines) to over Euro 50 (139 premium wines), the core being Euro 5 — 15 (1497 wines), while fine wines in the price range of Euro 15-30 counted as many as 912. The geography of wines, as well as the members of the jury, was incredible, proving once again that the world of wine is expanding, yet bringing people in the industry closer, despite geographical and cultural differences. New wine regions are emerging, totally changing the map of winemaking and shifting the long-existing barriers subdividing it into the Old World and the New World.

The results of the blind tastings and evaluation are as follows: 3021 wines, including 70 Grand Golds, 1920 Golds, and 1031 Silvers. Focusing on Grand Gold, one may see that, apart from the usual headliners such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Austria, Greece and Germany, Grand Gold has been won by the regions with robust winemaking traditions but significantly less worldwide export coverage, such as Turkey, Serbia, UK, Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria. We are very happy for Moldova bringing home 4 Grand Gold medals for 2021 Pinot Noir de Purcari Limited Edition by the famous Purcari winery, 2018 Domeniile Davidescu GENERATII Rara Neagra / Syrah / Feteasca Neagra and 2018 Domeniile Davidescu GENERATII – Saperavi by Vinaria din Vale,  as well as 2019 Barbaro by Fautor SRL. 

Two Grand Golds went to Georgia, awarded to 2020 Glekhuri Saperavi Qvevri Special Edition by Teliani Valley, and 2020 Vazisubani Estate Saperavi Qvevri by Vazisubani Estate. Speaking of Georgia, our team is happy to congratulate SHUMI Winery, the Wine Travel Awards 2023 nominee, for winning 1 Gold and 2 Silver medals.

As a lover of Israeli wines, I paid attention to the Grand Gold for 2019 Yarden Malbec by Golan Heights Winery from Katzrin, Israel. Yarden wines also won a generous harvest of 7 Gold medals. Interesting news came from China, where the winemaking and wine culture seem to be booming these days: 2018 Niya Winemaker Cabernet Sauvignon Dry by CITIC GUOAN WINE from Beijing, from grapes grown in Xinjiang — Grand Gold. I was lucky to blind-taste this wine on my board. Suffice it to say, the high score was given to it by all the board members. In total, apart from Grand Gold, wines from China were granted 20 golden and 4 silver medals by Mundus Vini Spring Tasting 2023.

Ukrainian wineries also submitted their wines for the competition, and we are extremely happy to congratulate the Wine Travel Awards nominee and our long-term partner, Vinos de la Luz, with a brilliant Ukrainian premiere: 2020 Big Wines Big Art Odesa Black Ivan Marchuk, the first Ukrainian-produced wine of BIG WINES, the branch of Vinos de la Luz, won a gold medal! Chateau Chizay, an amazing winery from Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), is a proud winner of two Silvers: for 2018 Merlot Aged and 2018 Pinot Noir Aged. Well done, Ukraine, the country of ancient winemaking traditions and unbreakable spirit! 

A reminder: for those of you who are planning to visit ProWein 2023 expo, the WTA team is holding a tasting of 6 high-class Ukrainian wines on Tuesday, March 21, at 16 PM, Hall 13 (Forum 13.2). 

Trending now: alcohol-free wines. This trend, no matter how many heated discussions it caused among the jury, as well as wine experts in general, is growing so steadily that it cannot be ignored. For the first time, the tasting of non-alcoholic wines was held at MUNDUS VINI Spring Tasting 2023. A total of 187 wines were tasted, the best of which were awarded 21 gold and 54 silver medals. The unanimous opinion of the jury of experts specially assembled for this competition: the organoleptic features and overall quality of alcohol-free wines have noticeably improved across the board. “There are numerous wines that can be highly recommended in this segment, and some that bring outstanding quality to the glass”, said Meininger, the organizers of Mundus Vini, in their report of the event.

Another trend which was actually welcomed by experts with great enthusiasm is the upsurge of PIWI wines. PIWI, resulting mostly from climate change and the “green” agenda as such, are sustainably produced wines from grape varieties with naturally high resistance properties, such as Johanniter, Solaris, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Calardis Blanc, Cabernet Blanc etc. Some experts claimed that these varieties did not have the sophistication and complexity of organoleptic features, demonstrated by the classic varieties. However, PIWI winemakers have already managed to prove the opposite, working with the new varieties that produce very different wines with their own character and organoleptic profiles, from grapes grown at the vines which are not cultivated in the laboratory, but in the vineyard, no genetic engineering involved. The Mundus Vini team and PIWI International organized a special tasting for the jury of the first session during the evening program, and the wines tasted there were, according to some experts, clean, elegant, and “demonstrating an impressive character”. Here I need to add that a few craft wineries from Ukraine, such as Bohdan’s Winery, Yanchyn Hills, Chateau Edem, Vitaliy Malanchuk and others, have been working with these varieties successfully for several years. Hopefully, we will have an opportunity to taste their wines at Mundus Vini some time soon.

Meininger and Mundus Vini will present the selection of the award-winning wines of the Spring Tasting 2023 at ProWein in Düsseldorf in mid-March. Subscribe to the event not to miss it. Thank you, Mundus Vini, and see you at ProWein 2023!

Wine Travel Awards and Drinks+ Media Group are grateful to Meininger Verlag GmbH and Mundus Vini team for collaboration and invitation to participate in the MUNDUS VINI Spring Tasting 2023. To be continued!

This year’s Mundus Vini Spring Tasting session within the 32nd Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Award was impressive — as impressive, perhaps, as ever before, but also bringing new trends and new challenges the contemporary winemaking is facing into the spotlight.  To begin with, a few remarkable numbers. Director Degustation Christian Wolf and board member […]