Four Masters of Wine in the international jury to determine the winner of the prestigious Best Cellar of the Balkans Award for 2019
The winners of the BIWCF race this year will be featured at some of the most important international exhibitions such as Interwine China 2019 in Guangzhou from June 3-5, this year and Prowein 2020 in the German city of Düsseldorf, as well as a special event dedicated only to Balkan wines – Balkan Wine Market in Chicago, USA.
Good wine is a growing part of urban culture, which is why in 2019 the Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival (BIWCF) opens its doors for the eighth consecutive time, but with a new outdoor location, in the very the heart of Sofia – in front of the National Palace of Culture. The next edition of the first ever wine forum in the Balkans will once again focus the attention of the world wine community on this interesting and distinctive region between June 5 and 9, when over 800 wines from more than 200 wine cellars will play a major role .
During the traditional competition (June 5-7), a prestigious international jury will select the best wines in the Balkans, and the weekend (June 7-9) will be dedicated to the meeting between wine and contemporary urban culture. The beautiful tents of Sofia and the guests of the city will be able to taste wines from over 100 cellars, from all Balkan countries, to take part in master classes, to paint with wine or to enjoy a rich artistic program including live music, stand up comedians, a festival bookstore and a shop, as well as many other surprises.
The BIWC 2019 honors will be awarded by an international jury and its composition is one of the strongest so far. The wines in the Contest will be judged by four holders of the Master of Wine (MW) title, the most prestigious among wine experts. The jury will be chaired by the first MW of the Balkans, Konstantinos Lazarakis, and the members include Count John Humberto Salvi MW (UK / France), named one of the best specialists in Bordeaux wines in the world, Beverly Tabron MW (UK), Rod Smith MW (UK / France), Darrell Joseph (USA), Igor Lukovich (Serbia) and last but not least the strong Bulgarian part of the jury, represented by Divine Divine Yassen Zahariev, Divino Divine Vili Galubova, Tsveta Tanovska and Katya Yoncheva Publishers catalog for Bulgarian wines.
Wines awarded in the competition section of BIWCF will also receive a significant international presence. The prizewinners in the competition this year will be presented at some of the most important international exhibitions such as Interwine China 2019 in Guangzhou from June 3-5, this year and Prowein 2020 in the German city of Düsseldorf, as well as a special event dedicated only to Balkan wines – the Balkans Wine Market in Chicago, USA.
For the third year, one of the participants will grab the prestigious “Best Cellar in the Balkans for 2019” award – this will be the Balkan Cellar with the most medals from the 8th edition of BIWCF 2019. However, for the first time, the “Best of Show ”for any country that has a representative in the competition – it will be the wine that has received the highest rating from that country. All trophies and double gold medal winners will be included in numerous performances by the next edition of BIWCF in 2020.
The wineries will be honored at a special official ceremony at the Hilton Hotel on June 7, known as the Balkan Wine Oscars. Entries for the cellars continue until 10 May on the BIWCF website – www.balkanswine.eu.
The Balkan International Wine Competition and Festival 2019 is held with the support of Sofia Municipality and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as with the media partnership of Standard, Exporter.bg, Hit-bg.com, WineBG.info, Your Business magazine, ExpoWorld.bg , Girls From The City, ApolloWine.com, The Wine Inside, Sommelier.bg, Agro TV, News.bg, Sportal, Woman.bg, Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria, “I Read” and more.
Galina Niforu, founder and director of the Balkan International Wine Competition and Festival (BIWCF) before exporter.bg:
Why not be the Old World with a new broadcast?
There is no other wine region in the world where more local wine varieties can be found! Isn’t this a real treasure trove? There are over 500 local varieties in the Balkans to be made available to wine lovers worldwide. This was said a while ago in an interview with exporter.bg Galina Niforu, founder and director of the Balkan International Wine Competition and Festival (BIWCF).
Joining the international markets together, the Balkans are ranked 5th in the world as producers and exporters of wine after France, Italy, Spain and the USA. “This is not known enough,” she noted in the interview.
He stressed that we should be proud of the ancient varieties, traditions and achievements of the region in wine-making. “Why not be the Old World with a new broadcast?” Galina Niforu asked.
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