Wine Salon of the Czech Republic 2014 open to the general public from 1st March

About the contest

One hundred of the finest Moravian and Czech wines are selected for the Wine Salon by means of the comprehensive three-round evaluation system that is entailed in the judging of the largest and most important of all our wine competitions. In the first rounds of the competition wines are assessed in the wine sub-regions of Velké Pavlovice, Mikulov, Slovácko and Znojmo and also from the region of Bohemia. From the total of 1526 samples received, 761 were chosen to advance to the contest's first nationwide round. The top 200 of these then fought it out to the second national round, in which the 100 best wines were all awarded the title of Wine Salon of the Czech Republic. Also nominated at this stage were the Absolute Champion, the category winners and winner of the best collection of wines in the Wine Salon collection – National Wine Competition 2014. The Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2014 took place under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman.

Tasting exhibition

The hundred best wines are subsequently placed in the year-round tasting exhibition in Wine Salon of the Czech Republic, where visitors can sample them from 1st March until 31st January of the following year. The tasting exhibition in the cellars of Château Valtice is open weekly from Tuesday to Thursday from 9:30 to 17:00 hours, and on Saturday from 10:30 to 18:00 hours and also between June and September on Sundays from 10:30 to 17:00 hours.

Tasting programmes

Lovers of fine wine can make full use of three different programmes during their visits to the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic. Programme A comprises a free tasting during the course of which one may sample any or all of the wines on display (other than sparkling wines and those with higher special attributes). During the tasting a sommelier will be at the disposal of the tasters in order to supply all necessary information on the wines and individual wineries on demand.

Programme B goes under the title "By The Glass" and brings the possibility of a shorter tasting with the use of a modern wine dispenser. In Programme B visitors may select an individual collection of several grape varieties up to the credit limit of their choice.

Programme C comprises a tutored tasting by a sommelier. "From experience we know that the majority of visitors really appreciate the interesting presentation by a sommelier, who is able not just to describe the chosen samples but also is able to offer a "tailor-made" choice of wines to the personal taste of participants which the lay taster appreciates all the more," explains Marek Babisz, senior sommelier at the Wine Salon.

A complete summary of the tasting programmes is to be found on: http://www.vinarskecentrum.cz/en/salon-vin/oteviraci-doba-programy/

Winners 2014

The Absolute Champion and at the same time winner in the category of dry and semi-dry white wines was declared to be Riesling 2011 late harvest from Zámecké vinařství Bzenec. Among red wines the highest rating was received by Merlot 2012 selection of grapes from František Zapletal. In the white-semi-sweet category the jury selected Chardonnay 2012 special selection of grapes from Josef Fridrich. In the sweet-wines category the winner was the Moravian Muscat 2010 special selection of berries from the company ZNOVÍN ZNOJMO, a.s. The victor in the sparkling-wines category was Sekt Volařík 2010 "growers' sekt" from Vinařství Volařík. The prize for the best overall collection of wines went to the company Zámecké vinařství Bzenec, s.r.o.

On-line catalogue

Thanks to the WiFi cover throughout the cellar exhibition the visitors may also make full use of the on-line catalogue. All the relevant information relating to the individual wines can be accessed directly by using smartphones or tablets, or one can make tasting notes and give one's own personal evaluations.

An essential part of the Wine Salon is the learning exhibition on viticulture and also the sale of gift items, wine literature, tasting glasses and sommeliers' paraphernalia.

Press release, source: NVC & Omnimedia