A total of 201 samples took part (one being disqualified since it was labelled as table wine – author's note) coming from 15 countries. Other than Italy these were in alphabetical order: Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Malta, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. The tasting committees comprised 63 tasters, of which 28 came from abroad, who awarded 2 great gold medals (Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Constantini Vina, Goriška Brda, Slovenia and Cabernet Alto Mincio, Val di Pietra IGT, Italy), as well as 57 gold and 80 silver medals. However, in line with the regulations of O.I.V. – Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin - which allows for only 30 % medals, no silver medals were actually handed out. Italy was the most represented nation in term of awarded samples with a total of 39 gold medals, meanwhile a record number of gold medals for a foreign participant (6) went to Israel. Croatia took four golds, Slovakia (Víno Matyšák twice) and Serbia both two, Chile one and Slovenia added another gold to the top double gold mentioned above. 
 
Apart from the above-mentioned medals, which are shared out under the strict scrutiny of the representative of O.I.V. (in this instance German winemaker Ralf Anselmann), every participating country has the opportunity to gain a journalists' prize Premio della Stampa, which is given only by those jury members who are journalists (provided the wine achieves a minimum rating of 85 points). Our Moravian Baloun Winery once again excelled by defending this special award from Bergamo which it has gained every year. 
 
"Participating samples were of an outstanding quality this year and to win two gold medals and the Premio della Stampa award in this contest in which only red wines are judged is a great success for both Slovakia and the Czech Republic," was the comment of John L. Baker, one of the jurors representing the Czech Republic, who has attended every edition of this burgeoning wine contest since its inception. 
 
Full results can be obtained from www.emozionidalmondo.it. 
 
 
Text & Photo: Helena Baker, AIWS – Bergamo{fotogalerie foto_aktuality_2258}

Radomil Baloun Winery from Velké Pavlovice once again defends its award in Bergamo

For the seventh time, bottles of St. Martin’s wine shall be ceremonially opened this year on 11 November under the patronage of the Viniculture Fund, furthermore this year in a still more magical numerical combination – at 11 am on 11.11.2011. Every year the popularity of St. Martin’s wines is growing, and with it also the number of winemakers and wine growing firms with an interest in producing and selling wines under the St. Martin’s brand. 
 
“Wine is indisputably a cultured drink, and when this sublime quality is combined with freshness in the form of young St. Martin’s wines, success is guaranteed. St. Martin’s wines offer a natural path to quality Czech gastronomy. During the dozens, if not hundreds of St. Martin’s events, these wines act as a social lubricant, helping to bring guests together. And last but not least, St. Martin’s wines are also capable of captivating consumers and drawing them into the magical world of the countless aromas and tastes of all the Moravian and Bohemian wines,” comments director of the Viniculture Fund, Jaroslav Machovec. 
 
When the Viniculture Fund first launched the St. Martin’s brand onto the market in 2005, 36 wine growing enterprises applied. Since then the number of winemakers and wines has increased dramatically. Last year the number had increased to 90 winemakers and firms, and over 1 600 000 bottles reached the market. It is the ambition of winemakers this year to break the 2 000 000 mark. This year 118 winemakers and wine firms are contending for the possibility of using the “St. Martin’s” logo. 
 
St. Martin’s wines are the first wine of the new vintage. These are refreshing and fruity wines, which despite having matured for only a few weeks have succeeded during this time in obtaining their distinctive character. 
 
Wines produced from the following grape varieties may bear the “St. Martin’s” logo: 
•	White wines – varieties: Müller Thurgau, Frühroter Veltliner, Moravian Muscatel 
Type characteristics: pleasant, balanced, fresh, fruity, dry wine 
•	Rosé wines – varieties: Blauer Portugieser and St. Laurent 
Type characteristics: pleasant, drinkable, fruity, dry wine 
•	Red wines - varieties: Blauer Portugieser and St. Laurent 
Type characteristics: smooth, velvety, dry wine, broken-down acids 
 
These varieties were selected for the St. Martin’s brand because in our conditions they mature earlier, and thus offer the required high quality of grapes within the appropriate time frame. St. Martin’s wines also feature wines of other varieties as well as cuvees, which are produced from a number of varieties. 
 
“Last year the Moravian Muscatel variety joined the family of St. Martin’s wines, and very quickly gained popularity thanks to its rich, aromatic qualities. The collection of varieties of St. Martin’s wines is thus fully rounded and offers everything consumers can expect from young wines,” comments Pavel Krška, director of the National Viniculture Centre, which together with the Viniculture Fund co-operates on the co-ordination of launching the young St. Martin’s wines onto the market. 
 
However, St. Martin’s wines are far from all wines of the above grape varieties which winemakers are able to produce before 11 November. First of all, St. Martin’s wines undergo a control by an independent commission, which evaluates whether the sensory parameters of the wine correspond to the required characteristics. The St. Martin’s brand may include only Moravian and Bohemian wines which meet all the required criteria. This year the commission shall meet on 25 October and 1 November, and by approx. 2 November the official results of all the wines which shall be able to boast the St. Martin’s Wine 2011 logo shall be known. 
 
Thanks to the superb weather, the main wine harvest this year began in the first week of September. At present approximately 50% of the total quantity of grapes has been harvested. 
 
“This year we are expecting an excellent harvest in terms both of quality and quantity of grapes. According to the first estimates we can state that the harvest could be within the region of 6 t/hectare (approximately 750 thousand hl), which is twice as much as last year and also more than the ten-year average in the Czech Republic. According to the signals so far, 2011 has the potential to become a vintage which will be remembered for many years,” explains Martin Půček, secretary of the Association of Winemakers of the Czech Republic. 
 
The first opening of a bottle of new “St. Martin’s” wine takes place every year on St. Martin’s day, at 11 am on 11 November at ceremonial events in Bohemia and Moravia, in wine cellars and restaurants throughout the country, and ever more frequently also at home. 
 
The “St. Martin’s” brand was registered in 1995, and since 2005 has been owned by the Viniculture Fund. This year, for the sixth time, the Viniculture Fund is organising the promotion of these wines under a single logo, together with the National Viniculture Centre. The “St. Martin’s” brand may be used by all winemakers registered in the Czech Republic who meet the stringent criteria.{fotogalerie foto_aktuality_2244}

St. Martin’s wines to fill shops and restaurants next month

St. Martin’s wines are the first wines of the new vintage. These are refreshing and fruity wines, which despite having matured for only a few weeks have succeeded during this time in obtaining their distinctive character. Winemakers recommend that young wines are consumed by Easter, up to when they retain their pleasant freshness. 
 
“Wine is indisputably a cultured drink, and when this sublime quality is combined with freshness in the form of young St. Martin’s wines, success is guaranteed. St. Martin’s wines offer a natural path to quality Czech gastronomy. During the dozens, if not hundreds of St. Martin’s events, these wines act as a social lubricant, helping to bring guests together. And last but not least, St. Martin’s wines are also capable of captivating consumers and drawing them into the magical world of the countless aromas and tastes of all the Moravian and Bohemian wines,” comments director of the Viniculture Fund, Jaroslav Machovec. 
 
This year, on the basis of a judgement of independent commissions, 365 St. Martin’s wines from 125 winemaking firms shall be launched onto the market, with a total volume of approximately 2 000 000 bottles. The offer of white St. Martin’s wines is most abundantly represented by the Müller Thurgau cultivar, with 96 types of wine, as well as Frühroter Veltliner (23) and Moravian Muscatel (43). Rosé wines are topped by St. Laurent with 80 wines, whilst there is a selection of only 37 St. Laurent red wines. Amongst red wines Blauer Portugieser is best represented (62), whilst the same cultivar offers 17 types of rosé wine. The assortment is supplemented by 7 cuvée wines, which are mixtures of more than one grape cultivar. 
 
An unmistakable identifying feature of St. Martin’s wines, in addition to the logo of St. Martin on horseback on the label, is the uniform shutter on the neck of the bottle. The manufacturers of the shutters are permitted to issue individual producers of St. Martin’s wines with only as many shutters as corresponds to the quantity of St. Martin’s wine produced. The Viniculture Fund, as the owner of the St. Martin’s wine brand, is thus fully informed as to who is launching St. Martin’s wines onto the market, in which quantities and varieties. 
 
St. Martin’s wine on one hand represents a linkage with history and traditions in the form of St. Martin’s feasts and gastronomy, whilst on the other hand in several respects means a modern trend. A state of the art dimension is brought to the consumption of not only St. Martin’s wines by the Sommelier application for smart iPhones. The application is a handy guide to Moravian and Bohemian wines and the optimum combinations of these wines with food. Users shall thus always have advice at hand when serving and choosing wine to go with food, or food to go with wine, including detailed descriptions of the grape varieties cultivated in Moravia and Bohemia. The application shall also contain a reference to all this year’s St. Martin’s wines and from 11 November shall be available for download free of charge in the Appstore. 
 
The first opening of bottles of the new St. Martin’s wines shall take place, as every year, at 11 am on 11 November at ceremonial events in Bohemia and Moravia, in wine cellars and restaurants throughout the country, and ever more frequently also at home. 
 
The largest tasting session of St. Martin’s wines in the country and ceremonial toasting with this year’s St. Martin’s wines shall be held by the Viniculture Fund once again in Brno, from 11 am onwards on 11 November. Visitors shall have the opportunity to taste 100 wines, accompanied by music and other entertainment on stage. Selected wines shall also be available for purchase from winemakers. The wine tasting shall also link up to the St. Martin’s feast, during which visitors shall be able to enjoy specialities prepared to accompany St. Martin’s wines for discount prices in selected restaurants in Brno. On 11 and 12 November St. Martin’s snacks shall also be available directly on Svobody square, together with a varied cultural programme. 
 
In Prague St. Martin’s wines shall dominate Jiřího z Poděbrad square in the Vinohrady district, in connection with traditional roast goose. From 11 to 20 November a Festival of St. Martin’s wines shall also take place in the atrium of the Kinský Palace on the Old Town Square, where wine lovers can enjoy the widest offer of St. Martin’s wines in Prague – 100 different wines. 
 
The “St. Martin’s” brand was registered 1995, and since 2005 has been owned by the Viniculture Fund. This year, for the seventh time, the Viniculture Fund is organising the promotion of these wines under a single logo, together with the National Viniculture Centre. The “St. Martin’s” brand may be used by all winemakers registered in the Czech Republic who meet the stringent criteria.{fotogalerie foto_aktuality_2274}

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Radomil Baloun Winery from Velké Pavlovice once again defends its award in Bergamo

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