The 5th Anniversary Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival took place at the Grand Hotel Sofia, Bulgaria from June 26–29, 2016.
BIWC 2016 hosted the representatives of the global wine connoisseur elite from Greece, Japan, Croatia, USA, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Israel. BIWC 2016 judging panel included qualified masters of wine and internationally recognized wine experts:
Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, BIWC Chairman, Greece
Robin Kick MW, USA
Kenichi Ohashi MW, Japan
Yiannis Karakasis MW, Greece
Saša Špiranec, Croatia
Vili Galabova, Bulgaria
Igor Luković, Serbia
Burcak Desombre, Turkey/France
Alessandro Griccioli, Italy
Ivana Simjanovska, Macedonia
Horia Hasnas, Romania
Djurdja Katic, Serbia
Julia Kostadinova, Bulgaria
Lin Gold, Israel
The wine experts tasted and judged the best wines of the Balkans to discover their unique character, richness in flavor and regional complexity. As a result of two days wine tasting, the Grand Trophy winner of BIWC 2016 got the dessert wine Sigalas Vinsanto 2006, Kir-Yianni, Greece.
The other Trophy winners per categories are:
Trophy for white wine - Domain Marash, Lenea Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Bulgaria
Trophy for red wine - Ktima Pavlidis Emphasis, Tempranillo 2012, Greece
Trophy for rosé - Vinum Rosé 2015, Serbia
Trophy for sparkling wine - Plantaze Montenegrin Val 2012, Montenegro
Trophy for dessert wine - Sigalas Vinsanto, 2006 Santorini, Greece
Stefan Bozhkov, chairman of the commission, together with the members Emanuela Kovac and Emil Maslarski, selected the best wine label design for the second consecutive year.
The Trophy is dedicated to the memory of the Bulgarian artist Kolio Karamfilov, who is the designer of the BIWC Grand Trophy.
Trophy for best label design: Kir Yanni, family labels, Greece
Gold medal - Rossidi, family labels, Bulgaria
Silver Medal - Saga, Vinarija Bjelica, Serbia
Bronze medal - Deuric, family labels, Serbia
The total amount of the awarded gold medals of BIWC 2016 is 41 - 14 for Bulgaria, 9 for Greece, 1 Israel, 2 for Macedonia, 1 for Montenegro, 4 for Romania, 8 for Serbia and 2 for Turkey.
The Balkans International Wine Festival 2016
The Balkans International Wine Competition and Festival 2016 was an unforgettable experience. From the 28th to 29th the Balkan International Wine Festival was open to all wine lovers, wine enthusiasts, and wine connoisseurs. All the participants had an exclusive opportunity to taste the Balkans local grape varieties, which are delicious in taste and rich in history. The experts in the wine industry of Bulgaria, as well as worldwide, gave their specially selected master-classes. The wine market in Japan and Sweden, wine education, wine and advertisement were among the topics, which were covered in lectures. The representatives of the wineries shared their passion for wine, impressions of the event as well as the best examples of their wine collection. “Bulgarian Wine” interviewed some Bulgarian Wineries during the live session on the 28th of May.
Congratulations to all winners! Thanks to all the organizers for such a great event!