Despite the difficulties of the pandemy and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the first year of the Wine Travel Awards (WTA) has been so far successful and the organizers are delighted to announce the winners.
There were nominees from all over the world and among the winners of the Wine Travel Awards first edition we congratulate the representatives from Georgia:
The Visiting Card of the Country nomination – Must visit category – #124 Château Mukhrani
Enogastronomic Events nomination – Magnet of the region – #152 The Shumi Winery
The WTA winners will be officially revealed and awarded at the Wine Travel Awards Ceremony which will take place in the “Industry Briefing Room” at the London Wine Fair on June 8th, 2022, at 12.30-14.30.
In the framework of the event, the Drinks+ and Wine Travel Awards teams organize a walk-around tasting of wines produced by the WTA nominees and partners from all over the world. Château Mukhrani and The Shumi Winery will have the opportunity to be presented at the Ceremony walk-around tasting, which will also be supported by the UK Sommelier Association. Among the walk-around tasting participants, there are international nominees as well as the nominees from Ukrainian wine business – 46 Parallel Wine Group, Fathers Wine, Beykush Winery, Shabo Winery, Stakhovsky Wines, Chateau Kurin, Prince Trubetskoi Winery, the Honey Badger brand of nastoyanka and nalyvka (spirits). Some of them are under occupation or were destroyed.
Federica Zanghirella, Vice President, Course Director, UK Sommelier Association said: “We will be more than happy to attend the event and promote the Ukrainian producers during these difficult times for the country”.
Initially, WTA aimed to help the wine tourism industry find a response to the pandemic due to the promotion of their community members, raising awareness and building bridges between different operators of the industry. However, it also turned out to be a response to the current large-scale war in Ukraine that Russia has been cruelly waging since 24 February – in the middle of the WTA project.
Despite this, we keep meeting our commitments and today will gladly highlight names of the WTA 2021-2022 winners, among which there is even a Ukrainian nominee. Thanks to the efficiency and dedication of the jury, this year’s winners were selected 10 days earlier than it was planned. They all are featured in the WTA Guide – an exclusive PR catalog that is ready to be firstly distributed at ProWein in May, then at the London Wine Fair, the Balkans International Wine Competition and Bordeaux Wine Week in June.
Also, the Wines of Ukraine stand will be featured with the support of the UK Sommelier Association and in partnership with the Public Union “Association of Gardeners, Viticulture and Winemakers of Ukraine” Ukrsadvynprom and LWF.
The winners of Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 are:
1.The Visiting Card of the Country
According to the evaluation of Stéphane Badet, a lecturer at ISVV – Institute of Vine and Wine Science and at EPL Bordeaux, specialist in wine economy, management, marketing and tourism, the winners of the following two categories become:
Must visit – #124 Château Mukhrani (Georgia)
Brand – the visiting card of the country – #33 Vinaria Purcari (Moldova)
Judging the next two categories, Saverio Savio, a leader of projects funded by the European Union and aimed at the development of integration processes in the region, awarded a victory to:
Progressive approach – #160 Frank John winery (Germany)
Authentic location – #143 Villa dei Misteri: the wine of Ancient Pompeii (Italy)
Einat Klein, a journalist, photographer, historian, professional traveller, guide to the Middle East and Africa, wine expert and wine producer (Israel), decided in favor of:
Objet d’Art – #164 Museo d’Impresa Mastroberardino Atripalda (Italy)
2.Education in Enotourism
Executive Editor at Pix, previously Editor-in-Chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, Felicity Carter judged the public voting winners from the second nomination and as a result awarded:
Unique program – #15 “Master Class”, the first sommelier school in Ukraine (Ukraine)
Cultural mission – #136 GuideMASTER Wine Tour Guide Program (Armenia)
3.Enogastronomic Events
Robert Joseph, a British wine expert, consultant, producer, an editorial consultant for Meininger’s Wine Business International, a wine journalist of London Sunday Telegraph, named the next WTA winner:
Magnet of the region – #152 The Shumi Winery (Georgia)
Based on the judgment of Per Karlsson, a co-founder and wine writer of BKWine Magazine and BKWine Wine Tours, one of the world’s leading wine tour operators, among the announced winners there are:
Effective event – #170 London Wine Fair (UK)
Event of the year – #150 Yerevan Wine Days (Armenia)
4.Ambassador
Thanks to the expertise of Olga Bussinello,a private entrepreneur, brand consultant, legal consultant for food and wine companies, the winners of the Ambassador nomination were defined:
Ambassador of the year – #133 Wine Paths (France)
Creative strategy – #97 Vinuri de Comrat (Moldova)
5.Wine & Food Influencer
The winner of the next category was announced by Fiona Morrison, MW, Managing Director of Thienpont Wine, an international wine merchant and négociant who runs three Bordeaux estates:
Author of the year – #34 Alder Yarrow (USA)
Dr. Ricardo Nunez, Head of the international group of companies Vinos de La Luz, which unites wineries in Spain, Italy, Argentina and the United States, awarded:
Research of the year – #159 Wine consumption study (Armenia)
Expert opinion – #38 Alder Yarrow (USA)
On the base of the decision of Philippe Massol, General Director of the unique and pioneering project – La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, another winner is:
The brightest journey – #83 AdVINEtures (Canada)
6.Wine Guide
The category judged by Maximilian Tafel, an enologist by profession, studied International Wine Business at Geisenheim University and the University of Giessen:
Guide of the year – #147 Vini Armenian Wine Guide (Armenia)
Gergely Szolnoki, Professor of Market Research at Geisenheim University and honorary professor of Wine and Beverage Management & Marketing at the University of West Attica, decided on the following winners:
Unique route – #45 Tanisha Townsend (France)
Educational tour of the year – #109 WineStatistics (Romania)
The WTA team already prepared the ground for WTA 2022-2023. Join and receive a year-long advertising campaign: you’ll be highlighted in the WTA Discovery area https://winetravelawards.com/ on our official website right away – and be automatically included in the WTA campaign next year, too!
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