The record-breaking edition of GRAND PRIX VINEX drew to a close with the awards ceremony at the Löw-Beer Villa in Brno

The main awards of the prestigious international wine competition GRAND PRIX VINEX 2021 has taken place in Brno. Glass sculptures, carafes, diplomas and the highly valued main prize went to the Champion, category winners, national winners, as well as all the other awarded wine producers. At the invitation of the Governor of the South-Moravia Region the ceremony unfolded at the Löw-Beer Villa in Brno.

This year’s 28th edition of the GRAND PRIX VINEX contest was not unlike last year‘s. Once again it was affected by the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. This, however, did not stop the wines from our domestic and the foreign winemakers being assessed by our specialised panel of jurors in Valtice at the end of April, who evaluated the record number of submitted samples. The results were announced at the beginning of May, though, due to the cancellation of the public tasting planned for the Brno Exhibition Centre, the main-prize winners had to wait until 29th July for the official award-giving ceremony at the Löw-Beer Villa, to which they were invited by the Governor of the South-Moravia Region.

The official announcement took place in a festive atmosphere and included the attendance of many important figures, among whom could be counted Jan Grolich, Governor of the South-Moravia Region, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Pavel Veselý, as well as numerous personalities connected with the competition. In this year’s highly competitive event we saw the same winner as last year with the title of “Champion“ once again awarded to Štěpán Maňák of Žádovice, who, after having triumphed last year with Sauvignon Blanc, showed again what he was worth in the field of red wines with his Merlot Barrique 2018 selection of grapes. For this victory he also received another, this time newer and more grandiose model of the vinotheque from the competition‘s partner company THERMOTECHNIKA BOHEMIA. This year the prize for the best collection returned, after a lengthy pause, to the Czech Republic thanks to a newcomer to the competition – Jaroslav Buriánek of Valtice. For his collection of six wines he won a winery assistant in the form of a high-pressure cleaner from competition partner KÄRCHER. The winery Vinařství Trpělka a Oulehla – Luboš Oulehla from Dolní Kounice will be able to look forward to being able to imbibe wine from their Emergency Wine Box and browse through the specialised magazine „Vinařský obzor“ (The Vintners’ Horizon) thanks to the year‘s subscription handed to them by the Czech Grape and Wine Producers Association for the successful defence of their title of having the highest-rated wine produced by a member of the Association. A further nine winners from the ten competition categories were also announced. All the above received a prestigious glass sculpture, originally the creation of sculptor Bořek Šípek, and now taken on by his student, the designer and wine lover Jiří Matela. For yet more record-breaking feats in the competition we have the six announced awards for national winners, which come conditional on the participation of a minimum 10 samples from a given country. This year apart from the traditional countries – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Hungary – a representative from Italy also took this award. All those present then had the occasion to become acquainted with all the winning wines at the end of the ceremony at a small tasting. As a bonus they were also able to look round this beautiful villa.

About the Competition

GRAND PRIX VINEX is a tradional international wine competition that is organised by the National Wine Centre in conjunction with the BVV Trade Fairs Brnoand the Czech Grape and Wine Producers Associationwith the support of the Wine Fund. The 28th edition took place under the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Toman, the Governor of the South-Moravia Region Jan Grolich and the Mayor of the City of Brno Markéta Vaňková. The competition’s aim is to evaluate the best of those European and world wines that are present on the markets of the central-European region.

A record 1,044 wine samples from 178 wine producers emanating from 12 countries were entered into this year’s competition. The largest number of wines came from the Czech Republic, while Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Italy and other countries were also represented. Wines were assessed by juries of top tasters on the platform of the ELWIS evaluation system, developed by the National Wine Centre which, with its technical facilities and many years‘ experience, guarantees the professional course of the event. Competition partners were THERMOTECHNIKA BOHEMIA, KÄRCHER and the advertising agency Asalonta.

Official website of the competition: www.grand-prix-vinex.cz

Overview of the main awards

CHAMPION

Trophy of the President of the South Moravian Region

Merlot barrique, 2018, selection of grapes, Štěpán Maňák, Žádovice, CZE

BEST COLLECTION

Trophy of the Director of the BVV Trade Fairs Brno
Jaroslav Buriánek, Valtice, CZE

HIGHEST-RATED WINE PRODUCED BY A MEMBER OF THE CZECH GRAPE AND WINE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

Trophy of the Czech Grape and Wine Producers Association

Pinot Noir, 2007, quality varietal wine, Vinařství Trpělka a Oulehla – Luboš Oulehla, Dolní Kounice, CZE

CATEGORY WINNERS

Category A1 – Dry white wines
Pinot Gris, selection of grapes, 2019 – Vican rodinné vinařství (Vican Family Winery) / Farma Pálava, s.r.o. (Farm Pálava), Brno, CZE

Category A2 – Semi-dry white wines
Riesling, 2018, selection of grapes, Vinné sklepy Skalák / Leona Šebestová, Dubňany, CZE

Category A3 – Semi-sweet white wines
Pinot Gris, 2020, late harvest, ANNOVINO VINAŘSTVÍ LEDNICE s.r.o., Lednice, CZE

Category B1 – Dry rosé wines (including blanc de noirs)
Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, 2020, quality varietal wine, Ján Janušík, Limbach, SVK

Category B2 – Other rosé wines (including blanc de noirs)
Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, 2019, quality varietal wine, Ján Janušík, Limbach, SVK

Category C1 – Dry red wines
Merlot barrique, 2018, selection of grapes, Štěpán Maňák, Žádovice, CZE

Category C2 – Other red wines
Burlesque Zinfandel, 2018, Boutinot Wines, USA, importer ADVEAL s.r.o., Prague

Category D – Naturally sweet wines
Tokay aszú 5 puttonyos, 2013, Anna Nagyová – ZLATÝ STRAPEC, Viničky, SVK

Category E1 – Semi-sparkling wines
Rosecco Frizzante, 2020, Perlwein Landwein, Weingut Schulz, Dobermannsdorf, AUT

Category E2 – Sparkling wines
Grandioso extra brut reserva, 2016, quality sparkling wine produced in a specified region, CHÂTEAU VALTICE – Vinné sklepy Valtice, a.s., Valtice, CZE