Wine Awards Archives

“Star Wine List” celebrates top wine lists in New York

“Star Wine List of the Year” is a celebration of the great wine lists in the world and the teams behind them. There are eight categories for the top wine lists in New York, and the category winners will qualify for the International Final in June 2023. The jury for the very first “Star Wine List of the Year New York” includes four highly respected sommeliers and wine professionals: Veronique Rivest, Best sommelier of Canada and the Americas, Doug Frost MS MW, Rajat Parr and Christy Canterbury MW.

“We are truly excited to come to Vinexpo America and reward the great wine lists of New York for the first time, and we are thrilled to see so many high-caliber entries!” says Krister Bengtsson, Star Wine List’s founder and publisher.

Star Wine List is the guide to great wine bars and wine restaurants, with recommendations made by top sommeliers and wine professionals. Since its start in Sweden in 2017, Star Wine List has grown to cover 36 countries on all continents. On starwinelist.com and the app, wine lovers can find over 2500 recommended wine bars, wine restaurants and wine lists.

The winners will be announced at Vinexpo America on 8 March at 3:30 PM.

For further details: www.starwinelist.com.

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Rioja to host the 2023 World’s Best Vineyards

“The World’s Best Vineyards” list is back in 2023 and will be hosted by Rioja, Spain. Showcasing the best of wine tourism across the globe, the annual “World’s Best Vineyards” list will be revealed at a special live event in July.

As well as its celebrated wineries, charming towns and quaint villages, Rioja is home to Mediterranean forests full of wildlife with high mountain areas to explore and stunning lunar landscapes to discover. The region offers a vast range of fun and memorable outdoor activities for all, including mountain horseback riding, 4×4 driving routes and hot-air ballooning across and over the rolling hills. Known as the gastronomic heartland of Spain, Rioja offers guests delicious culinary experiences from pincho tours to haute cuisine, fine dining and everything in between.

Situated in the north of Spain on the banks of the River Ebro, Rioja is surrounded by the majestic Sierra de Cantabria and Sierra de la Demanda Mountain ranges resulting in a breath-taking and picturesque landscape. It is most well-known for its wide variety of grapes, rich soils, climates, and stunning wineries that never cease to amaze visitors. The region spans 65,000 hectares and is home to more than 600 wineries from world-famous, award-winning destinations with avant-garde architecture to small family-run historical establishments. Preserved generation after generation, each one has something unique to offer guests making it the perfect destination to celebrate this year’s World’s Best Vineyards.

The World’s Best Vineyards annual list highlights the top vineyards to visit globally and aims to promote wine tourism around the world. Each year the list showcases unique vineyards with unrivalled visitor experiences, from modern architectural wonders, UNESCO-protected ancient cellars, and Michelin-starred restaurants to family-run wineries with intimate tours. The Voting Academy consists of over 500 leading wine experts, sommeliers and travel experts and they submit their nominations based on the different criteria that make the best destination vineyard, including quality of the overall experience, ambiance, cuisine, activities, views, staff, and value for money. The results are then collated and converted into the annual World’s Best Vineyards list.

Fernando Ezquerro, President of Denominacion de stats: “It is an honour to host the prestigious World’s Best Vineyards 2023 event and a great opportunity to show the world why Rioja is Spain’s finest wine region. Rioja’s history and traditions have led it to establish itself not only as the leading winemaking region in Spain, but also as the country’s go-to destination for wine tourism, which has had a driving effect on the recovery and diversification of tourism in Spain. Our passion for hospitality and wine making makes Rioja such a special place to visit.”

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Pays d’Oc Hosts the 2023 Rosé Wine Session of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

The 2023 Rosé Wine Session of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is due to take place in Montpellier, in the heart of Pays d’Oc. This year there will be over 50 international judges who will get the opportunity to discover the region’s incredible range of wines, from 8 to 10 March 2023.

For the past 30 years, Pays d’Oc winegrowers have been instrumental in the success of varietal wines and the reputation of this Protected Geographical Indication. To express their creative spirit, they can draw on a vast array of 58 grape varieties and 120,000 hectares of vineyards set between the sea and the mountains, soaking up the multiple influences of a temperate Mediterranean climate. A significant 30% of Pays d’Oc production is now rosé, equating to nearly 300 million bottles of wine annually. This is France’s leading IGP rosé producer region, focusing primarily on the Grenache noir, Cinsault and Syrah grape varieties.

The Pays d’Oc wine region embraces four departments in Languedoc-Roussillon which is part of the broader Occitanie region: Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard and six localities in southern Lozère. Forming an arch along the Mediterranean, it stretches from the Spanish border to the Rhone delta. Its 120,000 hectares of vineyards are home to myriad landscapes and contrasting weather patterns. The land is shaped in terraces facing the Mediterranean and combines mountains, high-level plateaux, mountain foothills, mid-level plateaux and coastal plains. The climate in Pays d’Oc is Mediterranean, with Atlantic influences to the West and continental influences to the East. Four prevailing winds sweep across the region – the Mistral, Tramontane, Marin and Autan. These weather conditions ensure the vines stay healthy and the fruit ripens naturally. A mosaic of soils – clay-limestone, limestone, gneiss, schist and gravel at the foot of the hills – instils Pays d’Oc wines with their inimitable character.

Varietal Wines

92% of the IGP Pays d’Oc range of wines are single varietals, which means they come from just one grape variety. Varietal wine is the cornerstone of the designation and production specifications feature a whopping 58 different grapes to choose from. The range embraces both world famous ‘star’ grapes like Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Viognier, but also lesser known varieties, some of which have a distinct Mediterranean accent, like Grenache, Rolle, Syrah and Carignan. This extensive array of varieties promotes an endless range of aromatic characters. In terms of output, IGP Pays d’Oc production volumes are consistent from year to year, with each vintage producing between 5.5 and 6 million hectolitres of wine across all three colours.

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2023 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles [Rosé Wine Session] Montpellier

I’m thrilled to be participating in as a judge in the upcoming Concours Mondial de Bruxelles [Rosé Wine Session] in Montpellier, France!

In 2022, over 1,200 wines from 23 countries were entered in the rosé-only session designed for still, sparkling, semi-sparkling and fortified rosé wines.

I’m looking forward to this year’s entries!

Pays d’Oc is the official host of the 2023 Rosé Wine Session.

For 30 years, Pays d’Oc winegrowers have helped ensure the success of varietal wines and awareness of this Protected Geographical Indication, championing its ethics and values. Their creative mindset is expressed through 58 different grape varieties and 120,000 hectares of vineyards set between the mountains and the sea which soak in the many influences of the temperate Mediterranean climate. From the Camargue to the Pyrenees, the sun-drenched wine routes that were once trodden by the Greeks and the Romans 26 centuries ago, are now home to 20,000 Pays d’Oc winegrowers, who farm both independently and as part of co-operatives. With annual production of over 2 million hectolitres of rosé wines, IGP Pays d’Oc is France’s leading GI producer region of rosé.

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Wine Enthusiast Magazine Announces Top 100

Wine Enthusiast’s reviewers blind-tasted over 20,000 wines and scored with a good portion receiving high scores to find the top 100 of 2022!

The Enthusiast 100 puts the best of those discoveries front and center, calling out a savory, brambly Australian Pinot Noir from Giant Steps as the No. 1 wine of the year and a Barolo with scents of pressed roses and pine forest from G. B. Burlotto as No. 2.

Wines with high scores and lower prices got special attention because affordability is an exciting proposition for everyone and can mean wider access. Look for 22 wines at $25 and under, including a racy Spanish Albariño from Rias Baixas and a bone-dry, violet-scented Italian Lambrusco.

These 100 offerings were the most exciting wines of 2022, selected because they were compelling and delicious, had outstanding quality-to-price ratios and are broadly available for purchase. Wines were from 17 countries were represented, from Austria to Canada, Lebanon to South Africa.

The Enthusiast 100 hopes to lure you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown so that you open yourself to new varieties, styles and appellations.

Here they are: https://www.winemag.com/toplists/100-best-wines-2022/

Source: Wine Enthusiast

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