On 4 September more than 200 wine aficionados joined together in Ljubljana, Slovenia for the sixth edition of the Salon of Decanter Award Winners, hosted by wine writer, founder of Slovenia’s first wine school, Belvin, and DWWA judge Robert Gorjak.
More than 100 DWWA award-winning wines were available to taste from 42 producers. Wines of France and Italy were represented, but it was the wines of Central and Eastern Europe that took centre stage with award-winning wines highlighted from Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Attendees start with Frelih’s 2013 Rosé Brut from Dolenjska, Posavje, Slovenia which won a Bronze medal at DWWA 2019
Organiser Robert Gorjak commented on the event,
“The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are a hidden gem for a curious wine lover who wishes to walk the path untrodden. There is plethora of great local varieties such as Blaufränkisch, Furmint, Malvasia Istarska, Plavac Mali, Prokupac, Ribolla Gialla, Vranac and many more. They produce several amazing wines with a clear fingerprint of the origin and the taste which cannot be reproduced anywhere else. At the 6th International Salon of Decanter Award Winners we were very fortunate to collect them all at one place and show them to professionals and to the general public. It was a feast for the senses!”
More than 100 wines from Central and Eastern Europe were available to sample
The event included two well-attended masterclasses led by Igor Luković, a DWWA judge based in Belgrade, Serbia, and Beth Willard, DWWA Regional Chair for North, Central & Eastern Europe.
In the first masterclass, titled “Pearls from the Balkans – Surprise or Reality,” Igor revealed the wealth of both local and international varieties, exemplifying the rise in the quality of wines from the Balkans.
Masterclasses were well attended with up to 40 guests in each class
Beth Willard, buyer for Direct Wines, led the second masterclass which included five Platinum and six Gold medal winners. In this class, Beth used her expertise to explain and highlight how certain wines perform in international markets.
Robert Gorjak and Beth Willard leading “The Best in Show” masterclass
Producers in attendance with award-winning wines from the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards were presented their certificates on stage by Decanter’s Michela Nassiz, Beth Willard and Robert Gorjak.
Gašper awarded a certificate for their DWWA 2019 Platinum medal win for the 2017 Cabernet Franc from Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia
In total more than 70 certificates were awarded, including four Platinum awards for:
Simčič, Leonardo, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2013
Gašper, Cabernet Franc, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2017
Vino Gross, Iglič Furmint, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje, Slovenia 2016
Colosi, Secca del Capo, Salina, Sicily, Italy 2018
See all DWWA 2019 award-winners here
Beth Willard and Robert Gorjak announcing medal winners from DWWA 2019
At this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards, four wines from Slovenia received Platinum medals and four received Gold medals – a great feat for the wines of Slovenia. To put in perspective, overall only 2.9% of wines tasted at the 2019 DWWA were awarded a Gold medal, and only 0.9% were awarded a Platinum medal.
The Salon of Decanter Award Winners’ continued success highlights the rise in knowledge, quality and prestige of wines from Central and Eastern Europe and a growing interest and market for the wines of these regions.
The Salon of Decanter Award Winners is organised by Belvin, Solvenia’s leading wine school
The 7th Salon of Decanter Award Winners is scheduled to take place on 23 June 2020.
Follow @DWWASlovenia on Facebook for more information
All photos taken by Peter Irman
