Australia once again the top overseas performer // Casella Family Brands is the best Australian winegrower
At the 25th Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI, overseas producers once again demonstrated that they are amongst the best in the world. Australia took first place with 48 medals (1 Grand Gold, 21 Gold, 26 Silver) amongst the 170 prize-winning wines, followed by South Africa and New Zealand with 38 medals each (South Africa: 1 Grand Gold, 17 Gold, 20 Silver // New Zealand: 26 Gold, 12 Silver) and Chile with 20 medals (9 Gold, 11 Silver). USA came in fourth with 12 medals (7 Gold, 5 Silver). Argentina claimed fifth spot in the unofficial country ranking with 10 medals (6 Gold, 4 Silver).
The most medals were awarded to Marisco Vineyards in New Zealand (23 medals: 18 Gold, 5 Silver). The best Australian grower was Casella Family Brands, which picked up 6 Gold medals and 6 Silver medals. 12 medals also went to the Viña Luis Felipe Edwards estate in Chile (7 Gold, 5 Silver). KWV topped the rankings for South African wines (5 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals).
The most prestigious award, Grand Gold, was bestowed upon two wines: 2017 The Dry Land Collection Longevity Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc by Perdeberg Wines from South Africa and the 2018 Wakefield Taylors Wines Merlot by Wakefield Taylors Wines. The latter was also named Best of Show Australia.
Italy is the unofficial winner of the 25th Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI. The anniversary tasting saw 487 medals (2 Grand Gold, 233 Gold and 252 Silver) go to Italian wines. German winegrowers clinched second place this year with 307 medals (2 Grand Gold, 127 Gold, 178 Silver), thus overtaking their Spanish colleagues – who bagged 283 medals (1 Grand Gold, 125 Gold, 157 Silver) – for the first time. Portugal came in fourth with 132 medals (4 Grand Gold, 67 Gold, 61 Silver), closely followed by France with 122 medals (3 Grand Gold, 60 Gold, 59 Silver).
The Best of Show wines included the 2008 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Brut (Best of Show, Vintage Champagne), the 2012 Barolo DOCG Riserva Vinum Vita Est by Cantina Terre del Barolo (Best of Show, Barolo) and the 2016 Quinta do Portal Reserva Tinto by Quinta do Portal (Best of Show, Duoro).
With 36 medals (14 Gold, 22 Silver), Moldova tops the list of wines from lesser-known countries of origin. Entrants from countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria also stood out on account of their high-quality wines.
Overall, the jury of experts at the 25th Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI awarded 14 Grand Gold medals, 818 Gold medals and 928 Silver medals. Wines from 40 wine-growing countries were tasted blind and judged by the jury over a four-day period, with the 164 experts travelling from 45 countries across five continents.
You can now find the full results from the summer tasting at MEININGER ONLINE.
