Press release WINE System AG

Sensory Fireworks at the Interface Between Climate, Tradition and Hightech: The Results of the 5th PAR^® Wine Award International
PAR^®-Jury tasted 98 wines from 15 countries spreading from Romania through to Israel

Frasdorf, February 2020 – The climatic gamut of the represented wine countries, spreading from the Ukraine and Czechia in the North and Syria and Israel in the South of the catchment area, hints what an abundance the members of the jury had to face approaching their tasting desks during the 5th PAR® Wine Award International that took place on the 15th and 16th of February 2020. The diversity of styles and traditions gives us an idea of excitement that accompanied four specially qualified teams of three getting down to work. In total, 98 wines from 15 different countries located in Eastern Europe as well as the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea area have been put to the sensory test this year. All in all, 5 Top Gold, 33 Gold, 40 Silver and 13 Compliments have been awarded during the contest. Nominees from Slovenia, northern Macedonia, Greece, Georgia and Ukraine obtained top ratings. The celebration of the whole oenological range of the tasting will be held during the award ceremony and moderated tasting at the ProWein 2020 in Düsseldorf. Complete ranking information, including PAR analysis and details on wines and winemakers, is available at par-wineaward.com .

Top Ratings: The overall winner of the contest, and, at the same time, a small sensation, is the 1983 Riesling from the Slovenian region Podravje-Ljutomer-Ormoz achieving 98 PAR® points. This rare piece traditionally made in a wooden barrel has been submitted by the Puklavec Family Wines. The second Top Gold rating in the category of whites was awarded 96 points to a Vidiano matured in a clay amphorae with relatively high oxygen injection: the 2017 „Takimi“ coming from the Agelakis Winery in Crete, Greece.
Puklavec Family Wines could report a further top rating success in the category of red wines with its 2017 „Instinct“, a traditionally matured in the wooden barrel Cabernet Sauvignon produced in the mountains of northern Macedonia. This product received 96 points and the only Top Gold medal in the category of reds.
The only Top Gold medal in the category of sparkling wines went to the „Artwine Brut Rose“, a blend of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, traditionally made in accordance with the Champenoise method submitted by Artwinery from the Ukrainian region Donetsk.
Top Gold in the category of Qvevri was awarded to Spekali Winery from the Georgian region Kakheti achieving 96 points with its 2018 „Spekali“ – Cuvée of the white varieties Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane Kakhuri, traditionally made in the amphorae.
The overall winner in the category of „Rosé wine“ is the 94 points modern steel tank 2019 blend of Mavroudi and Agioragitiko submitted by the Estate Theodorakakos from the Peloponnese region of Greece. Likewise, Greece is representing the number one in the category of „Dessert Wines“. Thus, 94 points went to 2018 Iliou Dwron „present of the sun“ produced by the Tsoukalas Winery in Rhodes – a blend of Athiri, Malagouzia and Sauvignon blanc, reductively made in the steel tank.

The Head of Tasting Martin Darting concludes: „We, as the jury of the PAR® Wine Award International, consider this event to be a highlight due to the mere fact of its catchment area. And yes, we weren’t disappointed this year again. The wines covered a broad spectrum, especially in terms of the vinification and understanding of terroir. In 2020, too, the tasting was strongly influenced by the stylistic contrasts between various variations of the traditional winemaking on the one hand, and very contemporarily vinified contestants on the other. Both „camps“ delivered absolute top-class wines. Some great traditionally produced terroir wines were represented during the award, among them, the 1983 „Riesling“ from Slovenia, as well as, the products made according to all the rules of the contemporary cellar art touching the quality level of grand Chiantis, Bordeaux or Gran Reservas. The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – Syrah from the Turkish winegrowing estate Urlice belongs to the latter one.
Also, this year contest evidently demonstrated that climate change has checked in to stay in our wine glass. High alcohol content and partly low minerality input among the products coming from the regions being hit by the heatwave and weather extremes were apparent. However, it was interesting to observe the way the winemakers faced this challenge: in a traditional manner, with the courage to otherness or with more technically oriented solutions to keep the taste profile as good as one is used to. Another striking aspect was the fact that obviously more and more wine-growers are inspired by the Georgian Qvevri maturation method applying it with the remarkable success!“

Background information:

Established 1999, WINE System AG, with its extensive and informative wine database, builds a solid footing for the PAR rating system developed by Martin Darting. Likewise, the company proved itself to be a high-performance partner for winegrowers, retail and expert audience in the fields of wine and sensors. As a joint developer of this innovative and transparent assessment system for the sensorially measurable products like wine, bread, olive oil, cheese and many others, WINE System AG, under the leadership of Martin Darting an Brigitte Wüstinger, organises highly prestigious contests. The portfolio includes events like, for instance, international organic wine award, PAR Wine Award International and International PIWI Wine Award. The database that contains more than 35.000 listed wines became a global information tool highly appreciated among experts. www.winesystem.de

Assessment with PAR®: Thanks to the transparency of the internationally recognized sensory testing system PAR, each submitted organic wine receives replicable and objective documentation of its sensory and oenological characteristics respectively its authenticity, origin, and style. The PAR®: training enables the qualified jury consisting of „PAR® certified Masters“, for the most part, oenologists, sommeliers verified by the CCI and appropriately qualified wine experts, to assess each wine neutrally, excluding personal preferences or preconceived opinions regarding “good taste.” In the context of contemporary oenology, new international styles, likewise the traditionally made wines, experience appreciation and acceptance. Besides marketing benefits brought by this competition, many wine-growers appreciate the revealing analyses underlying the PAR®-assessment. They show which exact criteria have led to matching results and provide a valuable manual for quality management of wines. This method promises an objective evaluation using the PAR® 100 points rating system based on transparent documentation. www.par-system.de