Another great result Wines from nearly 40 countries poured in to MUNDUS VINI and showcased how wine quality is improving internationally.
T
his year there were 4,257 wines presented to the international jury of the 17th Great International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI. In September, the 150-strong jury came together in the Saalbau in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, the wine capital of the Rhineland Palatinate, to blind taste wines from nearly 40 countries. The impressive results are a testament to the way that wine quality has been rising internationally: there were 33 Grand Gold awards, 768 Gold and 858 Silver. As
well, more than 50 special awards were presented.
So what do the results show? Firstly, that Italy isn’t just the largest producer in the world, but is also producing some of the best wines. When it came to medals, Italy came on top with 380 awards, followed by Germany with 356 medals, and Spain at 271. Portugal and France were awarded 145 and 123 respectively, while Australia shone from the New World, with 72 medals. South Africa attracted 41, and Chile 37. But
MEET THE TASTING DIRECTOR Christian Wolf studied international wine business at Geisenheim University, and has worked with Professor Ulrich Fischer at the Neustadt Wine Campus, as well as in other companies. Why do you think MUNDUS VINI is growing so fast? It’s partly the spring tasting we introduced, which takes place for the third time next year. People want to enter their wines, because if they do well, they will appear in the Tasting Zone at ProWein, which gives them a chance to be seen by buyers and professionals from all over the world. How do you choose tasters? We have had a lot of the same tasters since the beginning of MUNDUS VINI, and after every competition we check how good their tasting was, through double tastings of the same wines. Many people send us their CVs and, of course, we get people through recommendations. Everyone has their tasting checked. How is MUNDUS VINI different from other competitions? We hear a lot that this is the only competition that gives so much feedback about the wines, with the aroma wheel and the descriptions of taste and smell, and where it was especially good or bad. Producers not only get feedback in the sense of ‘Hey! You got a medal!’ but also on what they can do better. Another big difference is that we have the competence to taste the big Champagnes, which is why the famous Champagne houses send their wines. No other competition in the world gets these really top Champagnes. That’s one thing that is unique to us – the trust of those producers.
58
what was really striking was how well emerging wine countries did, with Russia achieving 5 medals, Morocco 4, Turkey an impressive 8, and Thailand 2.
SPECIAL AWARDS The Grand Gold medals represent the pinnacle of wine excellence; the jury must rate the wines at 95 points and above before it can receive one. The majority of this year’s Grand Gold awards went to France and Italy. In recognition of the outstanding quality of the wines being submitted, more than 50 special prizes were also awarded this year. The ‘Producer of the Year’ goes to Casella Family Brands from Australia, who are internationally best known for their Yellow Tail brand. The ‘European Producer of the Year’ is Sogrape Vinhos from Portugal. The ‘German Producer of the Year’ is DIVINO Nordheim Thüngersheim from Franconia. Two other awards go to Reidemeister & Ulrichs and Wein & Vinos; Reidemeister & Ulrichs won 10 Gold and 12 Silver medals, and is therefore ‘Importer of the Year’, while Berlin-based online retailer Wein & Vinos – which specializes in Spanish wines – received 8 Gold and 7 Silver medals, and is therefore the ‘Mail Order Company of the Year’.
LOOKING AHEAD In order to offer the maximum opportunity to producers from both the northern and southern hemispheres, with their differing harvest dates, the Great International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI has both a summer and a winter edition. Altogether, 8,432 wines were tasted by our international experts this year. The logistics are immense, but both tastings went off smoothly, ensuring that every wine entered was given the maximum opportunity to shine.