Best of Budapest & Hungary

This year the world’s most prestigious sparkling wine competition The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Champinoships (CSWWC) has taken place under special conditions nonetheless the event received more entries than ever before, coming from 30 different countries. Kreinbacher Estate’s Brut Classic 2016 Magnum from Somló, Hungary has been awarded Gold medal and the winery’s other entries have also won two Silver medals.

The Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships is not only the biggest but also one of the most rigorous international wine competitions. Chaired by the founder Tom Stevenson, the jury is made up of judges who are highly regarded specialists with outstanding tasting experience. The goal of the two week long blind tasting procedure is to reward the world’s best sparkling wines. Only gold and silver medals are awarded, and to receive a medal the jury has to reach a unanimous decision. This was the 7th year of the competition and 2020 was a record breaking year with 1073 entries from 30 different countries. 128 gold medals and 237 silvers were awarded for wines representing 19 countries. This was the shortlist from which the jury selected the best sparkling wines according to countries and categories. The Best in Class and Trophy winners were announced on December 7-11, this year, due to the pandemic, online.

Triumphant magnum sparkling wine

Among Hungarian entries Kreinbacher Estate’s sparkling wines were awarded one gold and two silver medals. The gold medalist Brut Classic 2016 Magnum is made by following the traditional method, it was fermented and aged in bottle. It is the 1,5 l format that makes it special, a size widely considered optimal for the evolution of sparkling wines. Kreinbacher’s Brut Classic Magnum was aged for three years. The resulting wine is more dynamic, shows more aromatic complexity and softer perlage. The elegant character of the wine stems from two factors: the fruit typical of its constituent varieties (Furmint and Chardonnay) complemented by the sophisticated tertiary notes of ageing. This latest international recognition is the result of team work and represents an important milestone for the winery. It shows that professionals in the wine trade appreciate the style and quality represented by Kreinbacher. The Estate first entered the competition in 2015 and the awards received so far show a sweeping success for its magnum entries. Out of the five golds won in previous years four were awarded to magnum bottlings and they have also won the Trophy for the best Hungarian sparkling wine three times. Two Kreinbacher sparklings have won silver medals: Prestige Brut and Prestige Brut 2016 Magnum, which is a vintage selection of the best lots of the Estate aged for a prolonged period.

Selecting the best at CSWWC

In 2020 the two week long blind tasting procedure started on October 26 with the founder Tom Stevenson being joined by Essi Avellan Master of Wine and Simon Stockton Champagne Ambassador. This year, due the travel restrictions, Champagne specialist György Márkus, who in previous years participated as reserve judge and last year as judge, could not join the jury. In order to secure a safe and relaxed environment for the judging process the three-strong jury lodged itself in a quiet British mansion where they set about working following multiple tests. The over 1,000 entries were tasted in different categories based on region and style.