Christian Wolf
I learned from the tastings, that you can produce great wines from those indigenous varieties like Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, they have their own character, their own style and this is a big advantage.
MUNDUS VINI, an international wine competition, has been initiated by the Meininger publishing house, one of the leading European specialist publishers in the wine business, 20 years ago. “We saw a big demand on the part of the German wine merchants to have an international wine competition in Germany. So, we held the first tasting in 2001, starting with more than 3,000 wine samples to be tasted and judged. In the years after, the competition became more and more interesting to wine producers, importers and merchants from all over the world. One big advantage from the beginning, of course, was the Meininger publishing house with its several specialised wine magazines and the power to spread the results through the whole wine business.”
In 2014, at the requests of producers and merchants, the organisers decided to split the competition into two tastings a year: The Spring Tasting in February, just in time before ProWein in Dusseldorf, and the Summer Tasting in August. This format offered the chance to get feedback on the new vintage, just before ProWein at the beginning of the year, but also the chance to have wines tasted and judged, which were not ready to be bottled at the early time of the year. Every single bottle, which is entered to the competition, is presented at the “ProWein presents MUNDUS VINI Tasting Area” to get additional attention to the best wines on the world leading wine trade fair.
Six years ago the organisers started to intensify the marketing of the competition. Along the wide-ranging communication through the Meininger publications, they started their presence on several social platform, producing and sharing videos of the best wines. They have also optimised MUNDUS VINI website to have the best and most versatile communication channel for the best wines, their producers and importers.
“Very important are the wine experts involved in the competition. From the beginning of MUNDUS VINI, we were able to get the best wine experts to Germany. They are greatly responsible for the fair and knowledge-based assessment of the wines. Today, we are inviting judges from more than 50 different countries, so we are not only involving experts from wine producing countries, but also from strong consumer markets.”
Over the last years, wines from Georgia have been performing very well in the MUNDUS VINI competition. This Spring Tasting, 18 wines from Georgia have been awarded a medal. In last year’s Spring Tasting there were 34 wines awarded, however there were more wine producers from Georgia in the competition then. According to Christian, challenging global situation made it difficult for many wineries to participate in this year’s tasting.
“We had a lot of wines from Georgia over the last years in the MUNDUS VINI wine competition, both in the Spring and the Summer Tasting. The quality is very good and the best deserve the MUNDUS VINI medal, whether the Silver, the Gold or the Grand Gold medal. In the Spring Tasting 2021, we awarded 9 Gold and 9 Silver medals to Georgian wines. Their styles are very different. I would especially single out Saperavi and Rkatsiteli – the two grape varieties, which are not produced all over the world and are unique to Georgia. You can get Chardonnay, for instance, from all over the world, but producing wines from indigenous varieties is an advantage on a global wine market.
During the MUNDUS VINI competition, a single table unites wine connoisseurs, sommeliers and journalists from different countries that gather to taste and discuss wines among themselves. We often had cases, where jury members liked Georgian Saperavi upon tasting so much that they requested to know more about it and its producer. All of this contributes to the growth of interest in Georgia and Georgian wine.
Georgian wines (both industrial and from small entrepreneurs) presented at MUNDUS VINI are distinguished by high quality. They carry Georgia’s great history of winemaking. I like the fact that Georgia does not focus on international grape varieties, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, but instead, chooses to put all its efforts in indigenous varieties.
Qvevri wines deserve a special mention. They are a true phenomenon! The quality – very good to excellent! We are actively working on establishing a separate competition for qvevri wines and wines made with similar technologies under the name of MUNDUS VINI.
This competition will serve as an additional platform to make qvevri wines better known to the whole world. Jury members who have more experience and knowledge in evaluating wines made with similar technologies will continue to be represented from around the world.
MUNDUS VINI is a very popular competition in Germany and all over Europe. The winner wines instantly capture the attention of importers and wine buyers. The European market is saturated with French, Spanish and Italian wines, so everyone tries to add new and different wines to their portfolio. We are actively working on promoting wine producers from small and lesser-known countries, so wine connoisseurs and importers have more information about them.
I know that Georgian wine producers are not focused only on trade relations with neighbouring countries and their main target is the world’s prestigious markets. Participation and achievements in MUNDUS VINI allow European consumers to learn more about these wines, their unique, distinctive taste and characteristics.
Soon, we will implement another important novelty at the competition: the MUNDUS VINI award sticker, which will be placed on the wine bottle. We will also add a QR code with the complete information about that particular wine, its producer and the description and evaluation from professionals.
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