Absolute Champion of the Czech Republic is a red wine for the very first time

On 8th December in Valtice representatives of the National Wine Centre, the Union of Winemakers of the Czech Republic and the evaluating committee unveiled the absolute champion of the Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2016 – the largest and most important wine competition in the Czech Republic.

The Champion of the Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2016 succeeded in competition with 1423 Moravian and Czech wines coming from the 215 winemakers who entered their wines in the contest. It first underwent a nominational round at the National Wine Competition – Mikulov Wine sub-region before moving on to the first round and then to the second and final round of the Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2016, which was held on Tuesday 8th December in Valtice. Facing two hundred other competition finalists the jury rated it the absolute winner. At the same time the champion became the victor in the dry and semi-dry red wines category.

“The victorious Merlot is a wine with a beautiful dark garnet hue. Thanks to its having matured in barriques it has on the nose tones of vanilla, dark fruits, wood, along with a light touch of coffee. On the palate the wine is well balanced, nicely rounded with marked tannins,“ was how the competition oenologist, Marek Babisz, rated this year’s champion wine, adding: “I am pleased to say this year’s champion was in fact a red wine which, I hope, will help draw much merited attention to the excellence of Moravian red wines.“

The complete make-up of the Wine Salon will be announced during the course of January. The celebratory proclamation and opening of the new edition of the Wine Salon tasting exhibition will take place on the 29th and 30th January 2016.

“This year we in the Wine Salon have welcomed again over 20 % more visitors than in the previous year and expect that during 2016 the number of people attending our various tasting programmes in the Wine Salon exhibition will exceed 20,000,“ said Pavel Krška, director of the National Wine Centre, regarding the Wine Salon.

During the course of January the exhibition will be closed whilst the preparations for the new edition will be underway.

The Wine Salon – National Wine Competition 2016 again took place under the auspices of the president of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman and the Minister of Agriculture Marian Jurečka.

The system of the Wine Salon – National Wine Competition

The whole wine evaluation system takes place in several stages. The five preliminary competitions under title National Wine Competition are held in the individual wine sub-regions of Moravia (Velké Pavlovice, Mikulov, Slovácko, Znojmo) and in the Czech (Bohemia) wine region, from where wines can be nominated to the first nationwide round of the contest.

Participants in the first nationwide round of the competition come from the individual nominational rounds in the four Moravian wine sub-regions and from the Bohemian wine region. This leads directly to the title of Wine Salon, which is why it already goes under the name of the Wine Salon – National Wine Competition. These wines are judged during the month of November and 200 wines from here pass on into the 2nd and final round in December. This final round is decisive in choosing the winner (Champion) of the entire contest, the winners in individual categories, the best overall collection of wines and the gold medal of the Wine Salon for the 100 best wines. The remaining wines of the two hundred finalists receive a silver medal of the Wine Salon assuming they have attained a minimum of 83 points in the judging.

Composition of wines in the Wine Salon of the Czech Republic 2016

 The 100 best wines in the competition are presented in the permanent tasting exhibition of the Wine Salon in the chateau at Valtice:

80 wines in total in categories A (dry and semi-dry white wines) and E (dry and semi-dry red wines) 3 highest-rated wines from the Bohemian wine region

• 14 highest-rated wines from the Moravian wine region / Znojmo sub-region
• 21 highest-rated wines from the Moravian wine region / Mikulov sub-region
• 22 highest-rated wines from the Moravian wine region / Velké Pavlovice sub-region
• 20 highest-rated wines from the Moravian wine region / Slovácko sub-region

7 highest-rated wines in category C (sweet wines)

1 highest-rated wine in category D (rosé and blancs des noirs wines)

2 highest-rated wines in category G (sparkling wines from denominated areas)

The tasting exhibition is open all year with the exception of the month of January. More on www.salonvin.cz

Press release. For further information:

Pavel Krška, National Wine Centre
E-mail: pavel.krska@vinarskecentrum.cz
Tel: +420 519 352 072, +420 721 414 575