Australian winners of Saperavi World Prize received awards from Georgian Ambassador in Canberra (with VIDEO)

On May 18 the Embassy of Georgia to the Commonwealth of Australia organized the award ceremony for the winners of Saperavi World Prize contest.

The Ambassador of Georgia, H.E. George Dolidze presented awards to seven Australian companies - winners of the contest. The event was attended by the representatives of Australia’s governmental institutions, diplomatic corps as well as business and media circles. The Ambassador of Georgia addressed the audience and spoke about the ancient traditions of the Georgian wine-making.



"Thanks everyone, it was a very special moment for myself and Ridgemill Estate, exciting times ahead!" - commented Peter McGlashan, one of Australian awardees, who attended the ceremony.

Results of first Saperavi World Prize are in focus of international mass medias

01.03.2018. The results of first Saperavi World Prize are in the focus of many mass medias internationally. 

The recent media coverage of SapPrize included a television program in Georgia, as well as articles published in Australia, Georgia, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, USA, and other countries. 

Full list of media coverage by countries is here, and screenshots are here.

"We're so excited we can justifiably say we are one of the best places outside of Georgia to grow this variety anywhere in the world, ” - an article in Australian newspaper quoted a participating winemaker Leeanne Puglisi from Ballandean Estate winery.

"Martin Cooper, owner of  Ridgemill Estate [a participating winery] said he was stoked when he heard the news. "We had to pinch ourselves,” he said. "It's pretty incredible to get a gold medal on a world platform,” Mr. Cooper said, as quoted by Australia's newspaper. "We've been growing Saperavi here for six or seven years and it's been doing well in shows but to win on an international stage in the home of Saperavi is pretty special".

"Cirami Estate’s 2015 Saperavi was crowned the ‘Golden Azarpesha’ in the inaugural wine competition, coming in first place against the rest of the world...It’s akin to an American winning a meat-pie making competition judged by Aussies", - reads article in Murray Pioneer.

"Riverland winemakers are well known for their adoption of alternative grape varieties... And now the South Australian region has won endorsement from a most unlikely source — Georgia. The country, at the intersection of Europe and Asia and which claims to be the birthplace of wine, held its inaugural international wine competition for wine made from the native Georgian grape Saperavi", - writes Alexandra Laskie from the Weekly Times.

Saperavi World Prize 2017 announces results, awards Grand Prizes (Press Release)

PRESS RELEASE   (Photo gallery here)

16.02.2018. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze “Azarpeshas” – the grand prizes of Saperavi World Prize 2017 (“SapPrize”) international wine contest – were presented to Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of the winner countries at a special award ceremony on February 15.

The Grand Prize winners are: Saperavi winemakers from Australia - Grand Gold, USA - Grand Silver; Kazakhstan - Grand Bronze. Wines of best-known Georgian variety from all over the world were judged in Georgia for the first time at SapPrize contest organized by us - the wine news publisher Hvino News.

Saperavi World Prize Award Ceremony was held at IArt Gallery in Tbilisi. Officials, diplomats, businesspeople, wine experts, and journalists attended the VIP event. The organizer of SapPrize is wine news resource Hvino News, published daily since 2012 in two languages, with a total traffic of nearly two million page views. SapPrize is a joint project of Hvino.com and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The Grand Gold Prize was awarded to Cirami Estate 2015 Saperavi from Australia. "The Gold Azarpesha" was presented to David Kereselidze, Director of Department of Asia, Africa, Australia and Pacific Rim of Georgian Foreign Ministry. The foreign Ministry will deliver the precious prize to Georgian Embassy in Australia, which will present it to the winner in Canberra.

“An interesting fact is that the winning wine Cirami Estate is produced not by a winery but by a non-profit organization called “Riverland Vine Improvement Committee”, and the wine is called after Richard Cirami, a pioneer in vine selection there”, - commented Alexander Kaffka, head or SapPrize organizing committee, who led the ceremony.

Saperavi World Prize 2017 Awards List

Saperavi World Prize 2017 Awards List
 
Producer
Country
Name
Award
Alex Russell Wines
Australia
Saperavi 2015 alejandro Saperavi
GOLD
Alex Russell Wines
Australia
Saperavi 2016 alejandro Saperavi
SILVER
Anderson Winery
Australia
2015 Anderson Saperavi
GOLD
Arba Wine
Kazakhstan
Lagyl Arba Saperavi  2013              
GRAND BRONZE
Arba Wine
Kazakhstan
Lagyl Arba Saperavi Reserva 2013
BRONZE
Ballandean Estate Wines
Australia
Messing About Saperavi Granite Belt GI 2015
GOLD
Bassham Wines
Australia
Saperavi Dry Red 2015
GOLD
Billy Button Wines
Australia
Billy Button The Squid Saperavi 2015
SILVER
Chateau Niagara Winery
USA
Chateau Niagara Kagor 2016
BRONZE
Cirami Estate (Riverland)
Australia
Cirami Estate Saperavi 2015
GRAND GOLD
Fanagoria Estate Winery
Russia
Protected Geographical Indication "Kuban" F Style. Saperavi 2016
BRONZE
G Patritti & Co Pty Ltd
Australia
Patritti, Barossa Valley Saperavi  2015
GOLD
G Patritti & Co Pty Ltd
Australia
Patritti, Barossa Valley Saperavi  2014
SILVER
Gapsted Wines
Australia
Limited Release Sparkling Saperavi NV
GOLD
Gapsted Wines
Australia
Limited Release Saperavi 2015
GOLD
Hugh Hamilton Wines
Australia
'Oddball the Great' Saperavi 2014
GOLD
McGregor Vineyard
USA
Black Russian Red 2010
GRAND SILVER
McGregor Vineyard
USA
Black Russian Red 2011
SILVER
McGregor Vineyard
USA
Black Russian Red 2013 Barrel Reserve
BRONZE
Ridgemill Estate
Australia
2015 Ridgemill estate Saperavi
GOLD
Ridgemill Estate
Australia
2014 Ridgemill estate Saperavi
BRONZE
Symphony Hill Wines
Australia
Symphony Hill Wines Reserve Saperavi 2016
GOLD

Special Nominations

Hans Herzog Estate
New Zealand
Hans Herzog Estate Saperavi 2011
"For Saperavi Pioneering"

Hugh Hamilton Wines
Australia
'Oddball the Great' Saperavi 2014
"For Innovative Design"

SapPrize award ceremony

SapPrize results will be announced at special award ceremony in the middle of February. Our precious grand prizes  - Gold, Silver and Bronze "Azarpesha" Awards - will be handed to Ambassadors of respective countries, who will deliver them to the winners through diplomatic channels. Check back soon for more details.


Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia recently covered SapPrize 2017 tasting

Several mass medias in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia have recently covered SapPrize tasting. Below are the links to the original publications (in Russian language):

Tbilisi Week (Georgia), 22.12.2017.
Иностранные послы решали судьбу золотой «азарпеши» на первом всемирном конкурсе саперави. Read full text here

Drinks+ (Ukraine), 27.12.2017.
Судьба золотой «азарпеши» была решена на всемирном конкурсе саперави.
Read full text here

VinMoldova (Moldova), 18.12.2017.
В Тбилиси состоялась дегустация вин "Всемирного приза саперави". Read full text here.

WinePages (Russia), 29.12.2017.
Первый всемирный конкурс Саперави. Read full text here.

Full list of international media coverage of Saperavi World Prize can be found here and here.

  

Saperavi World Prize 2017 tasting was held in Tbilisi

PRESS RELEASE      (Official photos: Hvino's Album; ICC's Album)

Saperavi World Prize 2017 tasting was held in Tbilisi
Wines of best known Georgian variety from all over the world are judged in Georgia for the first time. 
Saperavi World Prize 2017 tasting was held on December 15th in Tbilisi, on the premises of  International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Georgia).
Saperavi World Prize 2017 is the new international wine contest in Georgia, which brings together the wines from winemakers from around the world who use the Saperavi variety.  Saperavi is a grape variety native to Georgia, which is becoming increasingly popular with winemakers around the world. 
Saperavi World Prize  (“SapPrize”) is conceived to become not only a wine contest of Saperavi wines produced in all continents, but a meeting point of international winemakers and Georgian tradition-keepers, backed by eight millennia-old winemaking history of Georgia – the cradle of wine. Official website of SapPrize is sapprize.hvino.com.
Entry in SapPrize is free – there is no participation fee. The slogan of the contest is “Made globally, awarded in Georgia: Best Saperavi wines produced abroad”, because in 2017 SapPrize is open to winemakers from abroad (outside Georgia) who produce wines from Saperavi variety.
SapPrize will be an annual event. Permanent location of SapPrize is Tbilisi, Georgia.

Participants
Small and large wineries from several continents have submitted wine samples to SapPrize. Wines came from Australia (14 wines), United States (4 wines), Azerbaijan (3 samples), Kazakhstan (2 samples), Russia (2 samples) and one wine each from Armenia and New Zealand.

The Jury included:
Mr. Andro Barnovi (Georgia), Georgian Federation of Artisan Wine
H.E. Lukas Beglinger (Switzerland), Swiss Ambassador to Georgia
H.E. William Lahue (USA), Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia
Mr. Paul Rodzianko (USA), JSC Cradle of Wine
Ms. Ute Seitz (Germany), wine expert
Mr. Berthold Seitz (Germany), wine expert
Mr. Kakha Tchotiasvili (Georgia), Tchotiashvili Family Vineyards

Judging at the first Saperavi World Prize competition

by Ute SEITZ, wine author and wine tourism adviser               

Saperavi is a grapevine variety known mainly in Georgia - where it is the most commonly planted red grapevine variety. Most Georgians are probably not aware of the fact, that their national treasure is planted also in other regions of the wine world.

So, Mr. Alexander Kaffka, the head behind the website Hvino News, and his team had the idea to organize the Saperavi World Prize competition. Hvino News is a website which usually informs the world on regular base about Georgian wine news in English and Russian.

Saperavi wine producers from all over the world were informed about the competition and sent their samples to Tbilisi.

The date for tasting and judging the wines was set on December 15th. The jury met at ICC – International Chamber of Commerce, which kindly provided rooms, at 10:30 hours. While bottles, covered with brown paper bags, were opened jury members had time to accommodate and get to know each other.

Tasting started at 11 o’clock. Jury members sat along a big, dark wooden table, where all the wrapped and numbered bottles were standing in a line. Everybody had a name sign, a pile of scoring sheets in front of them, three wine glasses, bread and water to neutralize and rinse the mouth.

Australia's leading agricultural weekly covered SapPrize

The Weekly Times (Australia) recently covered Saperavi World Prize in article entitled "Ancient Georgian wine grape taking off Down Under" authored by Alexandra Laskie.

Published since 1869, The Weekly Times is Australia’s biggest, and most comprehensive rural news service across print and online, known far and wide as "the voice of the country" and "the Bible of the Bush".

Read full text here

Azerbaijan's news agency covered SapPrize

On October 27 the Azerbaijan's leading news agency News.Az published information on Saperavi World Prize: "Azerbaijan presents its wines for participation in Saperavi World Prize". Read full text here.

Georgian Wine Club partners with SapPrize, publishes article

24.10.2017. Georgian Wine Club, country's leading professional organization, has published article on SapPrize in Georgian language. Read original text here.

We are pleased to inform that Georgian Wine Club has become an official partner of Saperavi World Prize.

Saperavi World Prize 2017 – Why is it good for Georgia?

Saperavi World Prize 2017 – Why is it good for Georgia?

Soon Tbilisi will host  “Saperavi World Prize” – the first Georgian wine contest for foreign winemakers. Saperavi wines produced around the globe (even in far-away Australia and News Zealand) are being shipped to Georgia, where they are to be judged by country’s best winemaking experts.

Caucasian Business Week is among official media partners of Saperavi World Prize (“SapPrize”). We have received questions from readers about this new event, and contacted the organizers for answers.  Inge Olsson of Georgian wine news is manager of Saperavi World Prize. He kindly agreed to answer our questions.

– These Saperavi wines are produced abroad. Why are they important for Georgia?
– Saperavi is the most famous Georgian variety. In Georgia it’s a legend, but in many countries it is not known. If we want Georgia to sell its products at global market, we must use all opportunities to promote everything Georgian, and of course Saperavi. The winemakers who produce Saperavi wines in USA or New Zealand are doing a very good job for Georgia. And Georgia must not only show its appreciation, but stimulate a wider use of Saperavi in the world.

The words “Saperavi” and “Georgia” must be heard often, to become familiar to international consumers. In result, more people will buy Georgian products. So, Georgian producers will gain direct benefits.

World's Best Sommelier talks about "Saperavi World Prize"

04.10.2017. Gerard Basset is probably the world's most distinguished wine expert - he is currently the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA, OIV MSc in Wine Management, and World's Best Sommelier!

In addition, Mr. Basset is Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), President of the Court of Master Sommeliers (Europe), and President of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.

We are thankful to Gerard for his encouraging words about Saperavi World Prize:
“Georgian wines are loved and admired by many Sommeliers and wine lovers around the world. 
It is really wonderful that there is now a special event for Saperavi a grape so strongly associated with Georgia and its wines. 
I would like to wish great success to this very exciting event.”

DHL, can you feel our pain?

14.09.2017. Can you imagine the impact, which broke this bottle of wine? Despite the foamy box and foam inside?

This is a wine sample we received today, sent from overseas to Saperavi World Prize by DHL.

DHL, can you feel our pain? What the heck you are doing with your parcels?

First package of Australian Saperavi wine samples arrived to SapPrize

04.09.2017. Today the first package of Australian Saperavi wine samples safely arrived to Tbilisi by DHL. It is from G. Patritti & Company in Dover Gardens, South Australia - a very long way to Tbilisi.

Welcome to Georgia!


British Masters of Wine talk about the Saperavi World Prize

28.08.2017. Rosemary George MW and Rod Smith MW are internationally renowned wine experts and Masters of Wine. In 2016 they visited Georgia and familiarized themselves with Georgia's rich wine traditions and range of products. Afterwards, Hvino News has published interviews with them (see here and here).

Today, we are happy to post opinions about our Saperavi World Prize by these Masters of Wine.

We are thankful for their encouraging remarks:

Saperavi World Prize entries are on the way to Georgia

22.08.2017. Today we started to register the wines for submission to SapPrize. Participating companies are requested to fill in and return the official Registration Form.

The registered entries are shipped to Georgia.

The Registration Forms are listing all wines which each company submits to the competition, with name and vintage year. Besides the wines for competition, the wineries can send additional bottles to be served at the reception, during the awards announcement ceremony.

We wish best of luck to all contestants!