The Champion of the 27th International Wine Competition GRAND PRIX VINEX is a wine from the Slovácko wine sub-region – Sauvignon Blanc 2019 late harvest from the Štěpán Maňák Winery
The expert evaluation of this year‘s 27th edition of the international wine competition GRAND PRIX VINEX took place on the 8th and 9th June 2020 in the National Wine Centre in Valtice. The aim of this contest is to judge and appreciate at a high professional level the finest European and world wines that are available on the central-European market.
This year the competition was attended by a record number of 728 samples from 114 entrants emanating from 9 wine-producing countries. Naturally most of the entrants were from the Czech Republic, although wines from Slovakia, Austria, Germany, France, the South African Republic, Italy, Hungary and Macedonia were also present.
The wines were evaluated by an international committee of highly qualified tasters with the aid of the ELWIS computer evaluating system, developed by the National Wine Centre. Other than the judges from the Czech Republic the juries also included tasters from the USA and Australia.
The best wines were awarded scores as follows: 84 points for a silver medal, 87 points for a gold medal and 90 points for a great-gold medal. That these limits are even more rigorous than those recommended by the national standards for wine competitions underlines the prestige attached to the receipt of an award at this contest. “Our goal is to make the evaluation at GRAND PRIX VINEX the benchmark of quality and professionality in wine contests in the Czech Republic. The competition not only meets but actually exceeds the National standards set for wine contests in the Czech Republic,“ said Pavel Krška, the competition’s director. The president of the competition, Professor Josef Balík, added: “With its technical base and many years of experience the National Wine Centre is the guarantee of the professional course of the whole event.“
The greatest success of this year’s tournament turned out to be Sauvignon Blanc 2019 late harvest from the Štěpán Maňák Winery of Žádovice. “The award of Champion at Grand Prix Vinex 2020 has thrilled us all, especially since this is a competition where Moravian wines meet with foreign wines of excellent quality“, explained the company’s owner Štěpán Maňák. The winery’s oenologist Karel Novotný added the characteristics of the victorious wine: “The grapes used in the making of the Champion come from the village of Žádovice, where they grow on loess soils on the south-facing slopes of the vineyard known as Fěruňk and specifically from three different clones. The wine has a light greenish hue, on the nose we find a combination of gooseberry, jostaberries and crushed blackcurrant leaves. The palate expresses itself by a freshness of juicy acidity supplemented by subtle residual sugar.“
Furthermore, the category winners were also assessed, followed by the best collection (this important title was successfully retained by the company Adveal, on this occasion, however, with its collection of South-African wines from the Flagstone Winery), the best-rated wine from a member of the Czech Winemakers‘ Association and the national winners coming from those countries that had entered at least 10 wines. The producer of the wine with the title of “Champion” receives a professional refrigerated vinotheque from the competition’s partner, the company THERMOTECHNIKA BOHEMIA, and the producer of the best overall collection wins a high-pressure cleaner from the KÄRCHER firm.
The Winners of GRAND PRIX VINEX 2020
CHAMPION
Prize of the Governor of the South-Moravian Region
Sample No. 78 – Sauvignon Blanc, 2019, late harvest, Štěpán Maňák, Žádovice, CZ
BEST COLLECTION
Prize of the Director of Brno Trade Fair, a.s.
ADVEAL s.r.o., Prague 4, CZ / Flagstone Winery, Cape Town, South Africa
CATEGORY WINNERS
Category A1 – Dry white wines
Sample No. 78 – Sauvignon Blanc, 2019, late harvest, Štěpán Maňák, Žádovice, CZ
Category A2 – Semi-dry white wines
Sample No. 226 – DAVINUS Riesling, 2017, late harvest, DAVINUS s.r.o., Prague 5, CZ
Category A3 – Semi-sweet white wines
Sample No. 371 – Pinot Gris, 2017, special selection of grapes, CHÂTEAU VALTICE – Vinné sklepy Valtice, a.s., Valtice, CZ
Category B2 – Rosé wines and similar (incl. blancs de noirs and clarets)
Sample No. 484 – Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2019, late harvest, VINICE – HNÁNICE s.r.o., CZ
Category C1 – Dry red wines
Sample No. 585 – Zweigelt Grande Reserve, Qualitätswein, 2017, Winery Philipp, Weikersdorf, AT
Category C2 – Other red wines
Sample No. 654 – Lemberger trocken, im Barrique gereift -Edenkobener Kirchberg, 2017, Qualitätswein, Weingut Werner Anselmann, Edesheim, DE
Category D – Naturally sweet wines
Sample No. 682 – Welschriesling, 2018, special selection of berries, Ing. Pavel Krška – PALAVIA VINUM, Pavlov, CZ
Category E1 – Carbonated wines
Sample No. 714 – Rosecco, 2019, Perlwein, Weingut Schulz, Dobermannsdorf, AT
Category E2 – Sparkling wines (sekt)
Sample No. 728 – Chateau Bzenec Brut, 2016, natural sparkling wine s.o., CHATEAU BZENEC, spol. s r.o., Bzenec, CZ
NATIONAL WINNERS
National winner – Czech Republic
Sample No. 682 – Welschriesling, 2018, special selection of berries, Ing. Pavel Krška – PALAVIA VINUM, Pavlov, CZ
National winner – Slovak Republic
Sample No. 695 – Tokay selection 6 puttonyos, Tokay Selection, 2009, Anna Nagyová Zlatý Strapec, Viničky, SK
National winner – Republic of Austria
Sample No. 585 – Zweigelt Grande Reserve, Qualitätswein, 2017, Winery Philipp, Weikersdorf, AT
National winner – Federal Republic of Germany
Sample No. 686 – Gewürztraminer, 2019, Spätlese, Weingut Werner Anselmann, Edesheim, DE
BEST RATED WINE FROM A MEMBER OF THE UNION OF WINEMAKERS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Prize of the Union of Winemakers of the Czech Republic
Sample No. 371 – Pinot Gris, 2017, special selection of grapes, CHÂTEAU VALTICE – Vinné sklepy Valtice, a.s., Valtice, CZ
We are preparing a complete list of results which will be unveiled on Thursday, 11.6.2020
About the competition
GRAND PRIX VINEX is a traditional international wine competition which the National Wine Centre organises in conjunction with the joint-stock company Brno Trade Fair a.s. and the Union of Winemakers of the Czech Republic and with the support of the Wine Fund. The patronage of the 27th edition of the international wine competition GRAND PRIX VINEX was taken over by the Minister of Agriculture, Miroslav Toman, the Governor of the South Moravia Region, Bohumil Šimek, and the Mayor of the City of Brno, Markéta Vaňková.
Unfortunately, due to the measures currently in force as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, there will be no presentation to the general public this year – the open public tasting of the competing wines in Brno. It will therefore be possible to become acquainted with the results of the competition, including the awarded individual medals and other prizes, on the website, in the new interactive section. Furthermore the results will be published in the competition’s electronic catalogue.
The official website of the competition: www.grand-prix-vinex.cz
Press release. For further information:
Ing. Pavel Krška, National Wine Centre, o.p.s. (competition director)
E-mail: pavel.krska@vinarskecentrum.cz
Tel: +420 519 352 072, +420 721 414 575
Daniel Kříž, Omnimedia Public Relations, s.r.o.
E-mail: d.kriz@omnimedia.cz
Tel: +420 221 419 220, +420 728 602 304
