Cycling in Western Slovenia's wine country

Sun-drenched slopes. Gentle hills sloping into fertile valleys. Terraced vineyards, orchards and olive groves. Every few kilometres, another pretty hilltop hamlet with a stone church, a small square and a different grape variety to try.

From the highest hills, views of the Gulf of Trieste to the south and Alpine peaks in the distant north. The air feels clean: Alpine fresh. The aromas are enticing: Mediterranean.

This is what it’s like to cycle through Slovenia’s key wine region, Primorska, in the country’s far west.

It’s a special place – especially for wine. Rebula (also sometimes called Ribolla here, after its Italian name Ribolla Gialla) and Refošk are the key grape varieties, but a few grapes are as local as the dialects.

Many French varieties, brought to the region in the second half of the 19th century, have found homes here, too. Italian varieties have spread from neighbouring Friuli, just over the national border to the west. It’s a vinous melting pot.

And the best way to explore the region? By bike… well, e-bike – there are a lot of hills.

Since 2025, three of Primorska’s sub-regions – Brda (or Goriška Brda), Vipava and Kras – have been linked by a 93km circular cycling route as part of an EU-funded project called Bike Time.

Serious cyclists could do it all in a day or two, but they would miss out on so much. Instead, base yourself in each of the sub-regions for a couple of days and go on loops from the hotel (this also means you won’t need to transport your luggage).

At a glance: Key areas, travel and bike hire

How to make it happen

• Nearest airports Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, or Trieste in Italy.
• Best time to visit Late spring to early autumn.
• Bike rental Bike Vibe delivers bikes to hotels in all three districts.
• Top tip Many cellars welcome cyclists, but book tastings in advance – the smaller estates sometimes require a reservation.

Key sub-regions

• Goriška Brda (Brda) Slovenia’s best-known wine region, which sits cheek-by-jowl with northeast Italy’s Collio. Known for highquality white and orange wines, particularly those made from Rebula, and red blends made from Bordeaux varieties.
• Vipavska Dolina (Vipava valley) Specialises in light, crisp white wines made from rare grapes Pinela and Zelen
• Kras (Karst) An iron-rich plateau that produces a notable red wine, Teran or Terrano, from the Refošk variety. This is also the region I go to for white and orange versions of Vitovska Grganja.

Day 1: Brda – The kingdom of Rebula

The bike route

Kabaj → Dobrovo → Medana → Gredič → Ceglo → Vipolže → Kaba

Focus on Rebula

The recommendation for your first day in the saddle is to get to know Rebula, the key grape in Brda.

Although it also grows across the border in Italy, Slovenians swear their version is more mineral, more elegant, more itself.

Rebula has been here since Roman times and now comes in a variety of styles, including unoaked, oak-aged, skin-contact, sparkling and passito.

Try them all, but don’t forget to spit – you’ll need your wits about you for some of the descents.

Wineries to visit on this route

The central town, Dobrovo, is home to Slovenia’s largest wine cooperative. Klet Brda brings together 400 growers and nearly 1,000ha of vines (more than half of the region’s roughly 1,900ha).

It’s a good place to get an overview of Brda’s wide range of wines. Try Bagueri’s Sauvignon Blanc for reference, then Bagueri’s or Krasno’s Rebula.

South of Dobrovo, in the border village of Ceglo, is the acclaimed biodynamic winery Movia, Slovenia’s most celebrated producer. A pioneer of natural wines, the charismatic and idiosyncratic Aleš Kristančič has now handed the reins to son Lan.

Highlights of a tasting include a complex Rebula, an orange Pinot Grigio and the unique sparkling wine Puro, which is disgorged in front of you – in an ice bucket filled with water.

Also in Ceglo is organic producer Marjan Simčič – another standard-bearer for Brda wines.

French and local grapes grown on marl-rich schist (opoka) are fermented with native yeasts and boosted with a little bit of skin contact – try the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to see a different side of these grapes before experiencing three different Rebulas.

Where to stay in Brda

A good base for this first part of the adventure is Homestead Kabaj Morel in the village of Šlovrenc, near Dobrovo.

Also known as Kabaj Wine & Dine, the homestead combines a top winery and charismatic French winemaker with an amazing restaurant and comfortable rooms.

Jean Michel Morel crafts wines that he likes to drink, regardless of trends and commercial viability.

Enjoy his skin-contact, low-intervention whites and old-school Bordeaux-style reds with dinner on the restaurant’s terrace. There’s no menu – the dishes are inspired by ingredients gathered in the market that morning.

Day 2: Brda beyond Rebula

The bike route

Kabaj → Biljana → Šmartno → Gonjače → Kojsko → Višnjevik → Kabaj

Wineries to visit

Brda is small but dense with excellent boutique producers. Whatever route you take, you’ll probably come across a good, family-run cellar.

Today’s loop explores the district’s other grape varieties and its underrated bubbles. Among the best sparkling wine producers in Slovenia is the specialist Bjana in the village of Biljana, east of Dobrovo.

Start the day with a sip of Miran and Petra Sirk’s Cuvée Prestige Extra Brut – typically 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, roughly four years on lees. Another good family-run winery in Biljana is Marko Sirk Wines (contact: vina.marko.sirk@gmail.com).

Father Marko and son Miha produce two premium sparkling wines, excellent Sauvignon and Malvasia varietals, and a delicious red blend made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc, among others.

At the Ferdinand winery, a small detour off the road between Gonjače and Kojsko, winemaker Matjaž Četrtič has teamed up with Italian friend Robert Prinčič (owner of Gradis’ciutta in Collio) to create a special fizz, Sinefinis Rebolium.

It’s a blend of Rebula/Ribolla Gialla grapes grown on either side of the border, paying tribute to the Brda and Collio terroirs, which have been divided since the imposition of that border in 1947.

The other white grape to try in this part of the world – perhaps at the end of the day in the quaint medieval village of Šmartno, northeast of Dobrovo – is the underappreciated Sauvignonasse (formerly Tocai Friulano; now simply Friulano in Italy).

It makes a beautiful aperitif, but few producers like its official name; Kabaj calls it Ravan, Zanut calls it Zakaj, others call it Jakot (Tokaj backwards) and Sauvignon Vert.

Whatever the name, it’s a fitting glass with which to conclude your time in Brda.

Day 3: Vipava valley – Indigenous treasures

The bike route

Slap → Planina → Vipava → Slap

Wineries to visit

The beautiful Vipava valley, a broad corridor flanked by mountains and dotted with vineyards, is home to three of Slovenia’s rarest, most delicate whites (which sound more like Marvel heroes): Zelen, Pinela and Klarnica.

A key feature of the terroir here is the strong wind, known as the bora or burja, which can exceed 200km/h.

This is why the old villages have narrow streets, the terracotta roofs are littered with rocks to keep tiles in place and such finicky grapes are able to thrive here and nowhere else.

In the picturesque village of Slap, eighth-generation winemaker Urban Petrič at Vino Petrič is working hard to get more complexity into the typically light, easygoing Zelen and Pinela.

He’s harvesting later, maturing longer and selecting the best southeast-facing, limestonerich sites for planting.

Planina is a bit of a climb, but has two producers worth visiting: Guerila and Štokelj.

The terrace, tasting room and three apartments at biodynamic producer Guerila offer amazing views over the valley. These views are best paired with their benchmark versions of Zelen and Pinela, or a sparkling wine made from both varieties: Castra Brut Nature.

Meanwhile, among the Štokelj wines to try are the still and sparkling Pinelas, and a very serious Merlot-Barbera blend.

Next, head to Vipava, a picturesque town situated at the source of the river of the same name, which consists of nine karst springs. It has a large winery, the former cooperative Vipava 1894, which makes good-value conventional wines.

However, the bistro and wine bar Gustl has better views, a more eclectic wine offer, and some very tasty dishes – such as the Vipava jota, a stew made from turnips fermented in grape marc.

Where to stay

Majerija in Slap, a 300-year-old estate with 10 rooms located under the herb garden and a superb restaurant, is a good base for the next two nights. Owner Matej Tomažič offers traditional cuisine with a contemporary touch and some excellent pairing suggestions.

Day 4: Vipava valley – International interlopers

The bike route

Slap → Branik → Sveti Martin → Dobravlje → Podraga → Orehovica → Slap

Wineries to visit

The medieval Rihemberk castle, overlooking the village of Branik, is one of the best and oldest in the region. It’s a fitting place to begin a day exploring the other face of the valley: the invading varieties.

There’s a lot of good Merlot here, but plantings are in decline. It’s largely being replaced by in-demand white Malvazija Istarska. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rebula and Cabernet Sauvignon are also widespread among the valley’s 2,060ha of vines.

From the castle, head north and then east towards the village of Sveti Martin and the Stegovec family’s Vina Sveti Martin.

As well as offering white and skin-contact Pinela and Rebula, Peter Stegovec can pour a good Barbera and Merlot, among others.

Heading northeast towards Dobravlje, the Tilia Estate in Potoče stands out as a Pinot specialist. Matjaž Lemut even calls his winery ‘the House of Pinots’. It’s one of the few wineries in the valley to offer consistently good Pinot Noir and Gris.

Beyond Vipava, near the eastern end of the valley, there’s a cluster of top-notch wineries.

In the village of Podraga, Mitja Lavrenčič of Sutor has built a good reputation for precise, elegant versions of Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

A little further south, in Orehovica, the Burja Estate’s Primož Lavrenčič offers an excellent Pinot Noir (dubbed Burja Noir) and an exceptional red blend named Reddo that combines the valley’s traditional red grapes: Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkisch), Pokalca (Schioppettino) and Refošk (Refosco).

Biodynamic Pasji Rep has a superb Pinot Noir and Merlot, and one of the best examples of the valley’s traditional white blend, known as Vipaveca.

Pasji Rep’s iteration, Moser, contains Rebula, Welschriesling, Malvazija and Zelen.

Restaurant to know: Gostilna Pri Lojzetu

If you want a culinary crescendo to complete your visit, there’s the fine-dining theatre that is Gostilna Pri Lojzetu in Zemono Manor, near the town of Vipava.

You’ll have to book way in advance to land a table. Chef Tomaž Kavčič is one of the best in Slovenia and the wine list is a carefully curated love letter to Primorska.

Day 5: Karst – Where Teran rules

Karst plateau bike route

Štanjel → Sežana → Dutovlje → Krajna Vas → Gorjansko → Štanjel

Cycling the Kras wine road

It would be easy to concentrate on Brda and Vipava and skip the smaller (525ha of vines), more compact Kras, but Kras has a special terroir.

The Karst plateau, which underlies the region, is a table of limestone with a thin layer of rust-red, iron-rich (terra rossa) soil on top.

Refošk or Refosco is the signature variety, accounting for about 70% of plantings. It’s used to produce a wine called Teran (not to be confused with the Croatian grape of the same name) or Terrano, a dark, robust red with pronounced acidity, flavours of sour cherry and wild berries, and distinctive minerality.

To fully appreciate it, try it with fatty meats such as kraški pršut (Karst prosciutto). The region’s signature white Vitovska Grganja was once just a component in the local blend, but now produces elegant varietals and complex orange wines.

The Kras wine road connects almost 170 cellars across the plateau, along with two of the main settlements, Štanjel and Sežana.

The former – a medieval hilltop village – makes a good base. From there, make your way to the largest town, Sežana, in the region’s centre.

Wineries to visit

The Vinakras cooperative in Sežana, the area’s largest producer, is a good place to try different versions of Teran: from young, fruit-driven styles aged in tanks to full-bodied, oak-aged wines.

The ‘must-try’ is the single-vineyard La Marie Izbrani Teran, which is partially matured in concrete eggs. The La Marie Vitovska is also a good introduction to the variety.

On the way back to Štanjel, stop in the village of Dutovlje for Terans and Vitovskas from biodynamically farmed Renčel or family-run Domacija Lisjak – or continue to Krajna Vas for one of the area’s benchmark producers, Vina Štoka.

While Teran is central to their output, father and son Primož and Tadej Štoka also produce traditional-method sparkling wines that mature in a natural karst cave. Amazingly, these are also made from Teran and Vitovska.

But the ‘must-visit’ winery is Gorjansko-based Vina Čotar, a natural-wine reference in Slovenia. Father and son Branko and Vasja Čotar farm organically and bottle distinctive, terroir-driven whites (Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc) and reds (Teran, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon).

Back in Štanjel, order a well-deserved glass of Vitovska in the castle’s prettily decorated bistro and reflect on your whole experience: Primorska isn’t just a wine and food destination, it’s a feel-good place where ancient grape varieties are kept alive out of love.

Where to stay

Hotel St Daniel is an ‘ecological’ boutique hotel in Štanjel with a range of rooms, suites and apartments, a restaurant that uses only ingredients from certified organic producers, and an outdoor pool.

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No one is sure what to call it, but everyone’s favourite grape in Central Europe can be appetisingly fresh and fruity, or richer, layered and complex – either way, the best wines are utterly delicious.

Today, producers across several countries are showing that it’s both incredibly versatile and well worth another taste – even if it does hide its light under a bewildering array of names.

It grows as Graševina in Croatia; Grašac or Rizling Italijanski in Serbia; Olaszrizling in Hungary; Riesling Italian (often just Riesling) in Romania; Riesling Italico in Italy (mainly in Oltrepò Pavese, Lombardy); Welschriesling in Austria; Laški Rizling or Grašica in Slovenia; Rizling Vlašský in Slovakia and Ryzlink Vlašský in Czechia.

It takes number one spot for vineyard area in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, but perhaps most surprisingly, it covers 3,000ha to 4,000ha in China, where it first arrived when an Austro-Hungarian consul was invited to be a winemaker in 1892 (its Chinese name 贵人香 means ‘noble fragrance’); there’s even some in Brazil.

No one is even sure where the grape originally comes from. One parent is a rare Italian grape called Coccalona Nera – the other remains unknown.

And some names either explicitly reference or imply an Italian connection – Olasz, Laski, Vlašský and Welsch all mean ‘Italian’ in their respective languages.*

So Italy may be the origin, although it wasn’t recorded there until the mid-1800s.

*Editor's note – Welsch/Welsh/Walloon/Vlach/Vlašský etc. are also cognate with the proto-Germanic 'Walhaz' meaning Roman/Romance-language speaker, later 'foreigner' or simply 'Italian'. Welschriesling's presence in the Illyrian border areas of the Roman Empire in contact with Germanic tribes may hint at a possible etymological origin.

A possible homeland

One twist in the unravelling of its origins comes from Serbia, where the grape (under the name Graschaz) appeared in an 1816 book called Soveršen Vinodelac (‘The Perfect Winemaker’) by Prokopije Bolić, the archimandrite, or head monk, of the Rakovac monastery on Fruška Gora mountain.

Even more important was the discovery of the world’s second-oldest grapevine herbarium in Sremski Karlovci grammar school in northern Serbia, and the only one with actual pressed grapes.

In 2017, researcher Dr Milica Rat uncovered some dusty, forgotten boxes with 75 samples of grapevine material, collected in around 1812-1824 on Fruška Gora – including a sample of Graschaz.

This gives Serbia current bragging rights as its most historic origin.

In many guises

The precise origin of the grape variety matters less than the fact that it has been widely adopted around the Danube basin.

It’s easy to grow and can be a generous yielder, which suited the previous, quantity-not-quality era, when it was often consumed daily from litre bottles and in spritzers (Hungarians in particular take spritzers seriously – always Olaszrizling).

But it’s now proving that it has much more to offer, culminating in a DWWA 2023 Best in Show award for Vinarija Vinčić’s Grašac 2020 from Serbia, an unoaked version from 50-year-old vines.

The names that mention ‘Riesling’ or ‘Rizling’ are confusing because the variety is unrelated to Rhine Riesling and doesn’t taste similar to it – typically with a softer, rounder texture, but also appetising freshness.

Young versions can be light and fruity, with bright acidity and notes of lemon, green apple, white flowers, sometimes green herbs, and a mineral, grapefruit pith finish.

Or, it can be profound and complex, with ripe apple, poached pear, lemon zest, pineapple, quince and sometimes honey and marzipan, especially from old vines and low yields.

At the same time, it can also suit sparkling wines (a handful in Central Europe and even in Brazil), as well as some stunning skin-contact wines and the occasional, delicious, botrytis sweet wine.

Like many great grapes, it’s also capable of reflecting terroir; a fact supported by a recent study that found different levels of certain aromatic compounds in grapes from different regions.

Sadly, it’s only slowly regaining consumer recognition, though a competition called GROW du Monde ('GR' from Graševina/Grašac, 'O' from Olaszrizling and 'W' from Welschriesling), founded by three friends from Croatia, Serbia and Hungary, aims to unify its identity and rebuild awareness.

Time for some GROW in your glass?

Gilby’s pick: Six white Welschriesling from across Europe

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Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St Moritz: Not just for winter...

A warm breeze wafts through the dense forest below carrying the scent of stone pines and wildflowers. Meadows burst with colour as butterflies flit among the gentians and edelweiss. Hiking, mountain-biking, river-rafting and horse-riding is the order of the day here.

This is not The Alps that most visitors are familiar with, but one that is increasingly sought – the fresh mountain air and lush scenery a welcome respite from the baking beaches of southern Europe. Hello, summer in St Moritz.

Sure, the ski season is still the main draw. In fact, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel and its legendary founder Casper Badrutt put the year-round holiday-in-the-mountains on the map for tourists back in 1896, when it first opened 130 years ago.

Arguably Switzerland’s showiest winter resort, boasting a visitors’ book packed with famous guests, from regulars such as Alfred Hitchcock, to King Charles and Elizabeth Taylor, hotel bookings are also buoyant in the summer months.

How to get there

The two-hour drive from nearest airport, Milan Malpensa, is worth the trip alone as it skirts majestic Lake Como before climbing the foothills into the Alps proper via the Maloja Pass, with its thrilling hairpin bends.

That said, 80% of the hotel’s guests prefer to fly in by private jet, landing on one of the world’s highest, oldest runways just three miles from Badrutt’s Palace.

With an altitude of 1,850m (6,053 feet), the hotel sits on the edge of St Moritz Lake in the scenic Engadine Valley, a turreted Gothic Revival landmark oozing glamour and old-world charm, yet with plenty of stylish, contemporary accents to broaden its appeal, including a vast state-of-the-art spa with a panoramic view to beat them all.

Inside Badrutt's Palace Hotel

Its lobby, the baronial Grand Hall, dubbed ‘the living room of St Moritz’, plays host to guests who vie for the best seats in front of the huge picture window that perfectly frames the lake and mountains beyond.

There, they sip morning coffee, glug Champagne throughout the day (chosen from 80 different producers), and down cocktails in the evening, before enjoying supper there, or in one of its 10 other restaurants that cleverly balance fine dining with casual.

Badrutt's Palace offers 163 rooms, including 47 suites. The accommodation ranges from elegant, traditional rooms and suites in the historic main building (think antiques, chandeliers and large marble bathrooms) to more contemporary rooms and suites in the Serlas Wing, which opened in 2025. The hotel guests rub shoulders with equally moneyed St Moritz residents, among them the Heineken family, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad and fashion titan Maurizio Gucci.

Dining at Badrutt's Palace

Among the dishes to be enjoyed are:

• Yellowtail sashimi jalapeño at La Coupole from celebrated Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa;
• Truffle and Champagne-laced cheese fondue at coveted mountainside eatery Paradiso;
• Tableside-prepared pressed duck at smart dining spot Le Relais;
• Crisp pizza with shaved fresh truffles at the hotel's hottest tables at Heuboden;
• Wildly popular butter chicken in Le Grand Hall itself from chef Jatinder Kumar.

After dinner

And when you’re done dining, there’s the hotel’s nightclub to slink into, King’s Social, with a menu overseen by top British chef Jason Atherton; and cigars to puff on in the hotel’s storied Renaissance Bar, where mixologist Matteo Oddo is currently shaking up a range of cocktails using a stash of forgotten wines and spirits (mostly ports, whiskies, brandies and vermouths) found behind a false wall in the cellar.

Palace Side-Sledge, anyone? It’s a riff on a Sidecar, made with 1960 vintage Cognac and Grand Marnier, yours for £132.

A treasure-filled wine cellar

And talking of the cellar, a candlelit tour is a popular activity for wine-savvy guests, who are guided around by ebullient head sommelier Cristina Iuculano as she points out its oldest, rarest bottles, including 1900 Château Lafite, and reveals her latest finds, before leading a tasting with canapes to match in the cosy sheepskin-decked Krug Stübli.

Yup, Badrutt’s Palace is a Krug ambassador, with large format bottles among the biggest sellers on the 1900-label list, the shelves groaning with some 35,000 bottles.

'It’s the third largest wine list in Switzerland. Our guests know what they want, and what they’re talking about,' declares Iuculano, who will also organise private excursions to renowned Swiss winemakers, chosen from the 60 or so producers she trumpets on her list.

Summer picnic

Another popular wine-themed activity is the hotel’s summer picnic on Corviglia Mountain, looming above the town.

So, armed with a picnic backpack laden with locally sourced ingredients – ours including coveted local cheese Engadiner Bergkäse, bread from famous baker Eigenbroetler and a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of Iuculano’s favourite Swiss producers, Donatsch, in nearby Bündner Herrschaft (about an hour and half from St Moritz), we hit the meadow on the upper slopes as a Golden Eagle soars high above, trying to forget that it’s our last day.

There are very few places in the wine world capable of producing wines that can age gracefully for nearly a century, and the overshadowed eastern end of Slovenia would not be on most people's radar.

An astonishing tasting last September made quite the statement about adding Štajerska Slovenia (the Slovenian part of Styria) to the list of great wine regions.

The century-old Furmint

Over more than two decades of visiting Eastern Slovenia, I’ve tasted several impressive archive wines such as the fantastic 1971 Furmint and 1983 Pinot Blanc from Puklavec winery.

But the chance to taste a 1927 Šipon (the Slovenian name for Furmint) from Ptujska Klet was simply mind-blowing.

Slovenia was collectivised in the socialist era and almost everything produced before that time has been lost, however at Ptujska Klet some old bottles, going back to 1917, survived.

As co-owner Vit Mandl explained: ‘These wines survived the Second World War thanks to the foresight of Mr Pavel Ornig, son of the Mayor of Ptuj from 1894 to 1918.

‘A passionate wine enthusiast, Ornig was determined to preserve the finest vintages from the approaching turmoil of war.

Mandl concluded: 'He anticipated the coming conflict and, just before the outbreak of World War II, sealed off three rooms within the cellar – and concealed the sealed walls behind large wooden barrels.’

There's not much information about how this wine was made – probably grapes from Haloze and aged in large wooden casks – but analysis shows alcohol was 10.9%, residual sugar 37.8 grams per litre and pH was 3.22.

To taste, it was a vivid deep gold, with stunning aromatics of lemon zest, steel, chamomile, fennel, chestnut honey and quince paste, showing no oxidation or tiredness and astonishingly alive and lingering.

Clearly not a young wine but tasting as though it was 15 to 20 years old, not nearly a century. A real credit to the combination of grapes, soils and climate and to those unknown winemakers.

The continental east

Eastern Slovenia is distinctly continental, with cooler nights than the Mediterranean west.

It lies where the warmth of the Pannonian Plain meets Alpine breezes from the north and vineyards are usually on steep slopes, often on terraces built in the Yugoslavian period to avoid frost pockets on the flatlands.

Wine likely arrived here with the Celts, long before the Romans. Historically, eastern Slovenia was regarded as a cool region, now more moderate, though it is still very much a white region with only 7% of priduction being red.

The area was slower than Western Slovenia to switch focus to quality dry wines (traditionally wines were made with sweetness to balance the sometimes fierce acidity).

But today’s wine scene offers bright, crisp and refreshing wines thanks to that acidity, though with better ripeness, giving great aromatics and fruit too – all perfect for consumers today.

Top white grapes to know

There are officially two regions: Podravje, which includes the large sub-region of Štajerska Slovenia (within this, the districts of Ljutomer-Ormož and Haloze are stunning and notable for wine quality) and the small north-eastern area of Prekmurje; and Posavje (including Bela Krajina, Dolenjska and Bizeljsko-Sremič).

Sauvignon Blanc produces great results here in a distinctive Central European style (closest to Austria's Styria), with more refined aromatics than the New World but more body than is typical in western Europe (names to watch: Verus, M-Vina, Kozinc, Kobal, Pullus, Marof, Domaine Ciringa, Vino Gross, Dveri Pax).

There is also some Pinot Grigio with real flavour, and fresh, zesty Riesling (Protner, Dveri Pax, Frešer, Verus), while the much-derided Laški Rizling (aka Graševina/Welschriesling) deserves another look (try Gaube, Frešer, Gjerkeš, Herga, Roka, Albiana).

Meanwhile, Slovenia is the world's second biggest grower of Furmint (Šipon), first mentioned in writing in 1678 (Hungary was earlier – in 1611) though the tradition here was always dry, not sweet wines.

Good names to try: Verus, Dveri Pax, Vino Gross, Kobal, Statera, Roka, Puklavec, Valcl (a personal project of Uroš Valcl, winemaker at Marof).

The sparkling interest

As part of reinventing Eastern Slovenia, producers have been moving away from traditional products like the sharply acid light red Cviček.

Sparkling wine has been a strong trend, now among the country’s best, capitalising on the cool climate and vibrant acidity.

A nondescript, local, light-bodied red grape called Žametovka or Žametna Črnina has found a new role for fine sparkling, led by producers like Domaine Slapšak, and joined by Kozinc and Albiana.

Slapšak’s vineyards at 500m are among the coolest in southeastern Europe, as the Gorjanci mountains block the Mediterranean's warmth.

Sparkling started here after Champenois François Botton joined the family, and 80% of its super-refined production is based on Žametovka, with the idea to express locality.

In Bizeljsko-Sremič, the family winery of Istenič is dedicated to sparkling wines but has taken a different view about local grapes.

The sadly missed late Miha Istenič was a passionate believer in the rare Rumeni Plavec as the key ingredient in the best sparkling wines, thanks to its relative neutrality, moderate alcohol and notable acidity (gaining him a DWWA gold medal in 2025).

The red grapes worth knowing

On the red front, the discovery that the grape best known as Blaufränkisch (Slovenian name: Modra Frankinja) may originate here has prompted renewed attention.

It's Slovenia's second most planted red grape, but isn't appreciated locally, though efforts are underway to highlight its quality and food-friendly, fresh, elegant reds.

In Bela Krajina, the Šuklje winery, run by a pair of academics and their family, has a special passion for Modra Frankinja and how it can be a ‘sponge for terroir’, according to Guillaume Antalick.

They are working hard on details of precise place, and their main site of Plešivica is Jurassic limestone (they see similarities with Montrachet), and recent selections from their Vrbanjka plot have been seriously impressive.

Other producers of Frankinja to keep an eye on: Marof, Valcl, Kobal, Kozinc, Klet Krško (‘Turn’), Frelih, Roka, Dveri Pax.

Visit Eastern Slovenia

Eastern Slovenia is a stunning place to visit – forests and hills everywhere, with hiking and cycling trails for the active.

A trip to Maribor (named the European Best Wine Capital for 2026 by European Best Destinations) should include a visit to the oldest vine in production in the world (four centuries old), as well as the hilltop castle at Sevnica and the oldest Slovenian town of Ptuj (stop at Kobal’s Vinoteka for a tasting).

Slovenia has a great food culture based on local ingredients: eat at Debeluh in Brežice for contemporary fine dining and Gostilna Repovž for great home-inspired farm-to-table cooking.

Time for Eastern Slovenia to come out into the light.

Easter Slovenian wines – eight to try

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It’s a scene few can rival. Jagged peaks rise like immense shards of ice above the valley, sharpening the light and stretching the shadows.

In their lee, rows of vineyards wrap around fairytale villages whose views fall gently towards the slow waters of the River Rhine.

Graubünden feels like a closely guarded secret, far from city sprawl, yet it lies little more than an hour’s journey from Zürich.

At the warm northern gateway to the canton sits the Bündner Herrschaft, centred on the villages of Maienfeld, Malans, Jenins and Fläsch.

With roughly 400 hectares under vine, it’s compact in scale yet concentrated in rare talent.

The scenery is inseparable from mythology: the region has long been a corridor of commerce and ideas moving along the Rhine, and it was here that Johanna Spyri found inspiration for her tale of the mountain girl, Heidi.

The same luminous slopes that shape ‘Heidiland’ now frame a patchwork of vineyard estates growing 50 different grape varieties.

Viticulture dates back more than a millennium, though the mood today is decidedly contemporary.

Here, Pinot Noir dominates, accounting for more than 70% of production.

Known locally as Blauburgunder, it has become the region’s most articulate voice, capable of remarkable character and graceful ageing.

Altitude plays a defining role: vineyards are typically between 500 and 600 metres above sea level. Here, consistently warm summers meet cool alpine nights, preserving tension and freshness.

‘Burgundy of Switzerland’

A mosaic of schist, gravel and lime-rich soils adds further refinement. The moniker ‘Burgundy of Switzerland’ is often evoked, though the connection is philosophical rather than imitative.

As Mathilde Hug Pédeutour of Weingut Wegelin explains: ‘It’s not the climate that creates the link, but the small winemaking villages and the way we work the parcels, often less than three hectares.’

It brings Burgundian respect for precision and place.

While altitude preserves structure, the Föhn wind brings a unique signature.

Known locally as traubenkocher, or ‘grape cooker’, it funnels warm, dry air down from the Alps, clearing the skies and accelerating ripening.

It dries the bunches, curbs disease, extends harvest windows and intensifies fruit character while leaving the wines with a distinctly mineral backbone.

A contemplative glass

Pinot may be the queen of Herrschaft but its king is Completer. First recorded in Malans in 1321, the name derives from completorium (compline), the monks' final prayer of the day, after which a silent glass of wine was permitted.

By the late 20th century, the variety had all but vanished, its story saved only through a handful of tenacious local growers.

Today it covers approximately 10 hectares and is widely believed to descend from a single surviving vine in Malans.

In the glass, Completer is textured with notes of quince, green apple and mirabelle, with a gentle, savoury edge. Its racy acidity promises long ageing, held together by mountain freshness.

The producers redefining Swiss wine

Modern Graubünden wine owes much to the restless vision of Thomas Donatsch.

A pioneer who challenged convention, he helped redefine Swiss wine through bold experimentation, new plantings such as Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc and an uncompromising pursuit of quality.

Following his death in 2024, the estate continued under his son, Martin, the wines still balancing tradition with forward momentum.

Tastings at the family’s historic Zum Ochsen tavern offer insights into the Herrschaft’s past and future combined.

Elsewhere in Malans, Weingut Fromm reflects a story that stretches across continents.

The family helped shape modern New Zealand wine before returning to Graubünden, bringing global perspective back to alpine roots.

Today Marco Fromm crafts elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from steep village slopes.

Their restored 17th-century guesthouse allows visitors to linger longer.

Weingut Wegelin, meanwhile, marks a younger chapter in the Herrschaft. Since 2019, Rafael and Mathilde Hug have farmed the estate’s 10 hectares biodynamically, focusing on single-vineyard expression.

Their Chardonnays – particularly from the Bothmarhalde site, the canton’s highest at over 700 metres – are precise, personal and quietly progressive.

In Jenins, Christian and Francisca Obrecht, Demeter-certified since 2017, pursue a bold yet harmonious approach aligned closely with terroir.

Their on-site bottle dispenser allows for an efficient snapshot of their craft. The Adank family and Daniel and Martha of Weingut Gantenbein deepen the picture, each offering distinct readings of Pinot shaped by the same narrow valley.

In such a small landscape, nuance is everything.

Walking the Bündner Herrschaft

To appreciate the Bündner Herrschaft fully, it helps to move at walking pace.

Gentle wine trails link the four villages, threading through vines and orchards with constant views of the Rhine’s ‘golden valley’.

Every May, the Weinpromenade (‘wine walk’) transforms this quiet landscape into revelry, with dozens of producers exhibiting their wines along an easy path before the day closes with a communal dinner, music and generous pours.

Food and wine remain inseparable companions. Alter Torkel in Jenins commands sweeping Alpine views while championing a fiercely local wine list.

For something more rustic, Stall 247 in Maienfeld turns a former cow shed into a welcoming bar where regional bottles meet simple plates and easy conversation.

Nearby, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz offers five-star comfort alongside serious cellar selections.

Wine has been a constant thread through Graubünden’s long history, yet only recently has its reputation begun to travel beyond its borders.

Here, mountains and light collide, and the daily negotiation between man and nature leaves a signature that feels distinctly regal yet subtly audacious.

Six wines from the 'Burgundy of Switzerland'

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Caroline Gilby MW, Ana Jackson MW and Igor Luković tasted 128 wines, with 12 Outstanding and 30 Highly recommended

Southeastern European reds: Panel tasting scores

128 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 12

Highly recommended 30

Recommended 63

Commended 23

Fair 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release, still, dry red wines made from 100% indigenous grapes and/or traditional regional grapes, including blends, from specified countries in the southeast of Europe

Scroll down to see the top-scoring wines from our southeastern European reds panel tasting

A sea change in style

With 12 Outstanding wines across five countries, involving seven local grapes, this was a fascinating, diverse and high-scoring tasting.

It also provided a strong signal that the whole region of 10 nations – under the broad umbrella of ‘southeastern Europe’ – is coming of age and offers lots of exciting options for adventurous wine drinkers.

The results gave a clear message that indigenous varieties, once written off as plodding workhorses, can deliver both global quality and wines with real personality and distinct differences that reflect each country.

It should give producers a boost, showing they can have real confidence in native varieties and don’t have to rely on adding Merlot or Cabernet.

Ana Jackson MW was impressed by the high quality across the board.

‘It was great to see the versatility of grapes and to see real freshness in some of the Outstanding wines. And where there is oak, it’s good oak, unlike a few years ago,’ she said.

‘Teran was a highlight among the top-scoring wines, and the Kabola amphora wine (see recommendations) deserves a special mention. The Probus grape was a real discovery, too.’

Igor Luković agreed. ‘I was impressed with the consistency of the wines – fewer mistakes and the traditional, rustic, over-oaked styles are disappearing in favour of far more modern and precise winemaking,’ he said.

‘I expected Teran to shine, and it delivered. But I also admired Prokupac, and I think that Frankovka (or Blaufränkisch) has a great future in southeastern Europe and should be planted more widely.’

The judges agreed that the next challenge is how to promote these unfamiliar wines, though the results showed that this region is a treasure trove of exciting and delicious discoveries.

What to eat with southeastern European reds, by Fiona Beckett

The combination of what are likely be unfamiliar grape varieties with the unfamiliar cuisines of their home countries might sound daunting but could prompt some exciting experiments.

Certainly there’s no lack of quality among these wines, particularly Croatia’s Teran, which is traditionally paired with wild boar, venison and other game, rich fatty meats and Paški sir, a salty sheep’s cheese from the island of Pag.

So it should equally work with more familiar, slow-cooked Greek, Turkish and Lebanese meat dishes and salty Greek cheeses such as feta.

Vranac should work with similar dishes, especially braises and stews, while Prokupac lends itself to roasts and grills, being a particularly good pairing, according to Serbian sommelier Vuk Vuletić, for the local ćevapi (skinless minced-meat sausages), served with an ajvar (red pepper) sauce.

Emboldened by that touch of spice, I would be inclined to try Georgian and other Central Asian dishes, and even Indian roasted or grilled meats. These robust reds would pair well with foods cooked over coals.

See all notes and scores from the southeastern European reds tasting

The judges

Caroline Gilby MW is an awarded author, speaker and consultant with a passion for the wines of the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea. She is DWWA joint Regional Chair across several categories

Ana Jackson MW is head of wine business development for Amathus Drinks and was formerly head buyer at Oddbins for more than 12 years. She is keen to promote less-familiar wine categories and is a DWWA judge for the Southern & Eastern Mediterranean category

Igor Luković is editor in chief at Vino & Fino magazine in Serbia. A wine writer, consultant, judge and events manager, he is a DWWA judge and president of The Balkans International Wine Competition jury

Southeastern European reds panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

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Winemaking in war time

In the early hours of 28 August 2025, in one of Russia’s largest drone and missile attacks of the war, a drone ploughed into the distribution warehouse of Pilot’s Wines in Kyiv. The explosion left a smouldering mess of twisted metal and shattered glass.

Economic losses aside, ‘nearly all sample bottles that had received Decanter and other awards’ were destroyed, which was ‘especially painful’, company representative Olena Sizarova told Decanter.

‘These bottles were… part of our brand’s history. We planned to use them for professional tastings, masterclasses, staff training and presentations. We wanted Ukrainian consumers to taste the very wines that had been recognised by experts.’

The attack was only the latest in a seemingly endless series of blows to the wine industry in Ukraine. Since the war began, wineries have been bombed, occupied or abandoned. Supply chains have been upended and employees have fled or joined the fight against Russia.

Ukraine’s preeminent sparkling wine producer, Artwinery, had to relocate from the eastern city of Bakhmut, which now lies in ruin. At Koblevo winery in the Mykolaiv region, Russian paratroopers reportedly landed in the vineyards.

At nearby Beykush winery on the south coast, Russian troops are only about 8km away on a strip of land across the water, from where they routinely shell Ukrainian towns and villages.

Yet throughout the nearly four years of grinding war, Beykush has not ceased production, and a new wave of small independent wineries like it are radically reshaping the Ukrainian wine scene.

Finding a way ‘out’

The conflict has not only highlighted the resilience of Ukraine’s wine producers, it has also catalysed change and spurred wineries to look abroad, according to Svitlana Tsybak, Beykush’s CEO and head of the Ukrainian Association of Craft Winemakers.

She recently had to deal with the theft of thousands of bottles of Ukrainian wine in the UK from the back of a lorry bound for London City Bond.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion there were tight liquor restrictions. ‘I decided at the time to switch my focus to export markets, which helped us survive,’ said Tsybak. Other wineries did the same.

‘Before the full-scale war, small wineries didn’t export, except for a few bottles here and there, because the domestic market was the main market.’

In the weeks after Russia invaded, Tsybak, whose husband is a former sommelier serving in Ukraine’s armed forces, frantically set out to find new overseas buyers and promote an industry facing an existential threat.

That year, Beykush was short of staff and couldn’t bottle its latest vintage because of a lack of glass. But the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), judged in London, were approaching, which Tsybak felt was an unmissable opportunity to showcase Ukraine’s top wines.

Amid the chaos and clogged borders, Tsybak couldn’t ship wines that were already registered for export from Ukraine and the window for awards entries was about to close.

With the help of a friend, she managed to get samples out of the country to Hungary and from there an acquaintance from the UK carried them back in two suitcases and delivered them to the Decanter warehouse.

The effort paid off. Beykush’s 2019 Reserve Chardonnay won a gold medal at the awards that year.

A Ukrainian wine list

Two years later, in the spring of 2024, Polish Master of Wine Wojciech Bońkowski set off for western Ukraine with wine exporter and former global marketing director for New Zealand Winegrowers Chris Yorke (currently CEO of Wines of Austria), whom Bońkowski credits with the boom in New Zealand wine exports.

Bońkowski and Yorke held a two-day tasting involving winemakers from across Ukraine. ‘One idea that emerged was that a competition is a very useful tool to select the best wines and showcase the country,’ Bońkowski said. He is also the regional chair of Central and Eastern Europe at DWWA. He envisioned 24 leading Ukrainian wines that could serve as a ‘presentable shortlist of wine to show in any country’.

At a tasting in Warsaw that July, Bońkowski and five other MWs came up with the list, which included sparkling, orange and late-harvest wines, capturing the rich array of styles, varietals and terroir in a region with an ancient winemaking tradition.

Booming small-scale wineries

Meanwhile, Tsybak pointed to the rising number of small-scale wineries as evidence of green shoots in Ukraine’s wine sector.

‘New family-owned wineries are opening every year, and about twenty opened last year. They’re small wineries, producing a few thousand bottles a year,’ she explained.

Her association now represents nearly 80 small-scale wineries and their exports are steadily growing. But the bigger picture is complex. The loss of the Russian market meant a dramatic decline in overall exports – from about $38m in 2017 to only around $9m in 2022, according to Ukraine’s state customs service. Bulk wine from big producers accounted for much of that.

According to Tsybak, boutique wineries entering new markets are now driving the rebound in foreign sales. Still, international consumers are yet to fully appreciate Ukraine’s wine heritage, she added. ‘I participated in many wine events in many countries, and you usually get the same question: Ukraine produces wine?’

And yet Ukrainian wine is truly Old World. The country was a thoroughfare for successive waves of invaders and settlers who have left their imprint on Ukrainian wine – ancient Greeks, Romanians, Ottomans and others.

The industry’s modern history, however, has been fraught. During Soviet times, Ukraine was a major producer, but under the stifling weight of a command economy wineries prioritised volume, churning out sugary bulk wine. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev’s campaign to curb alcoholism dealt a devastating blow to Ukraine’s wineries. Vast areas of vineyards were uprooted.

Before the Kremlin’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukraine was still reeling from the loss of its most historic wine-growing region, Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. With Crimea no longer under Ukrainian control, the country effectively lost around half of its vineyards overnight.

The much-needed aid

Today, Ukraine lags behind other regional wine producers like Georgia and Moldova, where viticultural revolutions are well under way.

In both those countries, a crisis helped precipitate change when, in 2006, Russia, their main export market, suddenly embargoed their wine, ostensibly over quality concerns. The real reason was widely believed to be retaliation for the two post-Soviet states shifting westwards.

Foreign aid has been considered key to Georgia and Moldova’s success, helping their industries innovate and open new markets. In Moldova especially, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ‘completely revolutionised the industry’, said Wojciech.

USAID also assisted Ukrainian wine producers in recent years, worked with Wines of Ukraine to promote the country’s products abroad and ‘financed their going to wine fairs, business missions and so forth’, he said. But Trump’s funding cuts ended that, depriving Ukrainian winemakers of much-needed support as they continue to grapple with the hardships of a war.

The end of war may seem a long way off, but that day will eventually come, and Sizarova of Pilot’s Wines believes that Ukrainian wine could become a ‘confident, respected player on shelves and wine lists worldwide’ backed by ‘a growing wine-tourism culture’.

Wojciech agrees. Peace will bring increased investment and rising local consumer affluence, greater EU integration and, he said – pointing to a Ukrainian bakery franchise next to the coffee shop in Warsaw where we met – a massive expansion of potential markets.

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Swiss grape geneticist and author José Vouillamoz was in London in November to host a tasting during which he explained the origins of Syrah, how it arrived in his home country and why it works so well there.

The six exceptional bottles he opened could convert even the most stalwart Rhône-lover.

The origins of Syrah

To start with, we went back, all the way back – to the origins of the Syrah grape.

Vouillamoz says the first known document that mentions the variety comes from the Rhône Valley and dates to 1781.

But where does Syrah come from originally? He dispelled a number of common myths (it’s from Syracuse in Sicily, or Shiraz in Iran…) by explaining the grape’s genetic parentage.

It originated from a spontaneous crossing of Mondeuse Blanche (from Savoie) and Dureza (from the Ardèche). This makes Syrah a child of the Northern Rhône, and, as it happens, ‘a great-grandchild of Pinot,’ says Vouillamoz.

Dureza is likely named after its tough skin (dur means ‘hard’ or ‘tough’ in French). Though nearly extinct today, it has been recently replanted and vinified pure by a handful of inquisitive Rhône vignerons such as Yves Cuilleron and Pascal Jamet.

‘It’s extremely spicy,’ says Vouillamoz, ‘so we understand where the spice of Syrah comes from’.

Mondeuse Blanche has also nearly disappeared; perhaps because it rarely makes exciting wines by itself. But thanks to this variety, we get to enjoy not only Syrah but also Viognier, with whom it also shares a parent-offspring relationship.

From France to Switzerland

Syrah was introduced to Switzerland by an agricultural engineer named Dr Henry Wuilloud (1884-1963).

He visited Maison Jaboulet Vercherre in Tain l’Hermitage in 1921, and took cuttings back with him to his viticultural research station in the Valais.

His first vintage was 1925, which means Switzerland has now been making Syrah for exactly 100 years. (To provide a global perspective, this is not quite as long as Australia or South Africa, but around the same length of time as California, and much longer than New Zealand.)

The Valais is located in the southwest of the country and it’s the largest of the country’s six wine regions.

Today there are 215ha of Syrah in Switzerland, and the Valais is home to 80% of it. Despite its 100-year history, most Syrah vineyards are fairly recent; in 1991, there were only 19ha.

The average age of Swiss Syrah vines today is 23 years, and only 1% of plantings are over 50 years old.

Cool conditions

There are several reasons why Syrah thrives in the Valais. It’s sunny, windy and dry, with just 650mm of rain on average per year.

Soils are varied, but there are large outcrops of granite, schist and gneiss – Syrah-friendly soils also found in Côte-Rôtie and Saint-Joseph.

Alexandre Delétraz of Cave des Amandiers says: ‘We have perfect conditions for Syrah.’

He points to the high elevation vineyards (450m to 650m), which provide fresh conditions that favour high-toned floral and spice aromas. Days are warm but nights are cold – an important factor in producing aromatic wines.

Gilles Besse of Domaine Jean-René Germanier also underlines the long gap between véraison and harvest, typically 60 to 65 days.

He says this relatively extended period produces wines with elegance, ripe tannins and moderate alcohol.

‘We can wait until it’s ripe,’ he says. ‘In November, you still have green leaves, the vineyards are still working.’

Perfume and spice

The Valais is a cool climate extension of the Northern Rhône – and that’s exactly how their Syrahs taste: perfumed, spicy, weightless, graceful.

An appealing aromatic marker of Swiss Syrah is the prevalence of peppercorns, whether black, white or pink.

They don’t have the grip and heft of Cornas, nor the structure and might of Hermitage; they bring to mind Côte-Rôtie in a cool vintage.

The wines we tasted were far from uniform in style though; there is a range of different expressions, all from light to medium in body.

My only gripes are commercial. Firstly, the wines are quite expensive; those we tasted were the same price as decent Côte-Rôtie.

Given their quality, that’s not unreasonable. But it might feel like a barrier for those who haven’t tried the wines before.

Secondly, the Swiss only export 1% of their wines, making them hard to find – but all the wines we tasted are available somewhere in UK retail.

The best option of course is to visit Switzerland – which, on the back of this eye-opening tasting, is something I intend to as soon as possible.

After getting to know the Southern and Northern Rhône, the Eastern Rhône feels like a tantalising new frontier.

Matt’s pick of Swiss Syrah

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As a young wine buyer, I cut my teeth sourcing from vast state wine factories in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgarian Cabernet or Slovenian Lutomer Laški Rizling, anyone?), and ever since, I’ve been fascinated with the region’s wines.

I’ve witnessed a complete revolution in winemaking since the collapse of the Iron Curtain, leading to today’s diversity of exciting and delicious wines – and luckily for readers, they’re increasingly available in export markets.

Across the extensive region, each country has emerged from its volume-production past in a different way, and wine is such a great lens through which to follow these stories – it brings together the stunning landscapes, climate, grapes and people who shape it.

An enviable backstory

Central and Eastern European countries aren’t just recent upstarts but have deep, authentic roots and multi-millennial wine histories.

Recent research shows that the Balkan peninsula and Central and Eastern Europe were important mixing grounds on the route of grapevines travelling west after domestication in the Caucasus and Near East around 11,000 years ago, which may explain the incredible diversity here.

Wines from the region have enjoyed a noble history – reaching royal tables (Hungary’s Tokaji was adored by Louis XIV) and international shows (wines from Serbia’s Negotin region were showcased at the Royal Albert Hall in 1874).

Flavour map

History is important for context, but it matters more how the wines taste today.

For anyone interested in new wine experiences, Central and Eastern Europe represents a fascinating mosaic of flavours, whether from small producers rediscovering their family roots, passionate newcomers, or big names reinventing themselves from quantity to quality.

Each country’s local grapes have been key stories – with tales of workhorse grapes transforming into sleek thoroughbreds, or forgotten varieties rescued from extinction.

Selecting a favourite is difficult, as I have real soft spots for Hárslevelű, Teran, Rara Neagră and, of course, the great Central and Eastern European red grape Blaufränkisch/Kékfrankos (recently covered in a panel tasting: read the results in the Decanter August issue, or on Decanter Premium online).

But I’ve opted for Kadarka/Gamza (see my recommendation further down) for this feature, in which my trade colleagues, fellow writers and I each highlight a grape variety that we’re especially passionate about, to help you dive into the world of Central and Eastern European wines – all available to try in the UK.

Ten grapes & wines to try

Dimyat

Recommended by Dimitar Nikolov – Apollo Wine managing partner & DWWA judge

Dimyat, one of Bulgaria’s most authentic white grapes, has always fascinated me.

Mainly grown along the Black Sea coast, it captures the sea’s freshness – citrus zest, white flowers and a delicate saline note that makes it instantly evocative in the glass.

I admire Dimyat for its clarity and honesty: it’s a wine that doesn’t pretend, yet delivers elegance and charm.

If you enjoy the crystalline lift of Muscadet or Albariño, Dimyat will feel like a discovery – familiar, but with a softer, more Mediterranean accent. It’s my go-to with oysters, grilled fish or summer salads.

The Byala Single Vineyard Dimyat 2024 (£20 The Beerhive) from Odessos Winery (below), based in Varna, northeast Bulgaria, and the Natura Chardonnay & Dimyat 2023 (£16 Camber Wines) from Korten Winery – near Stara Zagora in the country’s centre – are excellent examples that show just how graceful this historic grape variety can be today.

Fetească Albă

Recommended by Ana Jackson MW – Amathus Drinks head of wine business development & DWWA judge

Fetească Albă (‘white maiden’) is an ancient variety, potentially domesticated from wild vines, grown in Romania, Moldova, Hungary (where it’s called Leányka) and Ukraine.

It’s often mentioned alongside Fetească Regală (‘royal maiden’), a cross of Fetească Albă and Frâncușa, indigenous to Romania.

The two Feteascăs are frequently blended together or with international grapes – top Romanian producer Davino, for instance, makes excellent, well-priced blends with Fetească Albă – though varietal wines are also made.

With naturally small yields, Albă is less aromatic than Regală, offering a broader, more persistent palate with modest alcohol.

It produces characterful whites that are delicately floral and mineral, with a rounded palate and fresh acidity. Increasingly, it’s also being used to craft high-quality sparkling wines.

Try Waitrose, Loved&Found Fetească Albă Brut 2024 (£9.25), a fresh and youthful Charmat sparkling from Moldova with pear and floral notes, layered fruit, a subtle touch of ginger spice and a soft, lingering finish.

A delightful crowdpleaser with real character – at a great price!

Furmint

Recommended by Andrew Johnson – managing director, WoodWinters Agencies

If I were to recommend one grape variety from Central and Eastern Europe, Furmint, from its home in Hungary, would be the clear winner.

Still hugely underrated, this grape in many ways mirrors Chenin Blanc in that it can produce both dry and sweet wines.

It can benefit from being aged in oak, but can also be extremely expressive and refreshing without.

There’s a wonderful density to these wines, often thrilling acidity, full of electric verve, as well as incredible layering.

The flavour profile is often complex, so expect anything from a citrus core to streaks of stone fruit and a hint of spice.

Balassa, Furmint, Tokaji, Hungary 2023 from The Wine Society is an amazing example – and a steal at £13.50.

Malvazija Istarska

Recommended by Saša Spiranec – wine writer & DWWA judge

Malvazija Istarska (otherwise known as Malvasia Istriana) has the rare quality of being universally appealing while remaining anything but ordinary.

Its moderate to low acidity and core of stone fruit give it immediate charm, while its salinity, depth and almost Alsace-like concentration and texture mean it’s capable of making a serious, long-lived wine.

Though it shares its name with the broad family of Mediterranean Malvasias, which stretch from Greece to Madeira, it isn’t directly related to them.

Instead, it’s a unique Istrian variety, grown mainly in Croatia and Slovenia, with a small presence in Italy’s Friuli.

A fabulous introduction is Kozlović, Malvazija, Istria, Croatia 2023 (£17.64-£21.80 Fintry Wines, Noble Green, Theatre of Wine, Vinvm, Wine Poole).

Olaszrizling

Recommended by Zsuzsa Toronyi – managing director of wine communication and organiser of The Ultimate CEE Wine Fair & DWWA judge

I’d like to put Olaszrizling – arguably the most widely enjoyed grape in Central and Eastern Europe – on your radar.

Despite the name, it isn’t related to Germany’s Riesling. Instead, it goes under many identities: Welschriesling, Olaszrizling, Graševina, Grašac, Rizling Vlašský and more.

Recently, a new initiative named GROW (taking the initials of these names) has been formed to bring these grape identities together under a single regional banner.

Typically fresh, light and easy to drink, Olaszrizling shows notes of lemon, stone fruit, almond and a hint of spice – yet it also has the remarkable ability to produce layered wines that meet international standards.

These range from crisp dry whites to Austria’s botrytis-influenced sweet styles, with medals and trophies across categories at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

I felt privileged to spotlight the grape while sitting on Badacsony Hill in Hungary, Olaszrizling in hand, enjoying the September sun and looking over vineyards that roll down to lake Balaton.

Try the 2023 Zelna Olaszrizling (£11.95 The Wine Society) from Balaton, or explore the exceptional Vinčić, Grašac, Fruška Gora, Srem, Serbia 2020 (£160-£170 Hic, Niko), which won Best in Show at DWWA 2023.

Rebula

Recommended by Robert Gorjak – Belvin Wine School founder, author & DWWA judge

Rebula (aka Ribolla Gialla) is an ancient white variety grown in Slovenia’s Primorska region and in Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy.

Historically, the first known mentions of its presence date from the 14th and 13th centuries respectively, in contractual records.

Three decades ago it seemed to be on the brink of extinction, yet today Rebula is the most widely planted variety in Brda, with practically every winery producing at least two – often more – distinctive styles of this versatile yet aromatically restrained grape.

Yields must be carefully controlled and Rebula shows its true character when grown on the poor marly soils locally known as opoka.

Edi Simčič, Rebula, Brda 2022 (£24.55-£29.99 Hic, The Whisky Exchange, Vino Fandango, Vinvm) is a quintessential illustration: restrained yet complex, with subtle notes of oak ageing cleverly adding nuance to its aroma profile.

Dry and saline, it reveals its full character more on the palate than on the nose – a faithful partner at the table.

Kadarka/Gamza

Recommended by Caroline Gilby MW – awarded author & DWWA joint Regional Chair across several categories

Two names for one variety, mainly grown in Hungary and Bulgaria. I love it for its joyful wines, which I can share with wine nerds or family and friends alike.

It was once Hungary’s most important red and a signature for northern Bulgaria, but it struggled in the face of the fashion for big, bold, tannic reds.

It’s a sort of Central and Eastern European Pinot Noir in style – thin-skinned berries, pale appearance with light tannins, refreshing acidity and typically raspberry and strawberry fruit, often with a distinctly spicy twist.

It’s also tricky to grow – its Bulgarian name, Gamza, means ‘capricious’ – so growers often switched to more reliable grapes.

Luckily Kadarka/ Gamza is coming back into favour for its deliciously drinkable, juicy reds, never heavy, and perfect for today’s tastes in food – anything spicy, mushrooms, lentils, peppers, or served chilled with nibbles.

Try the Thomas Gamza, Danube Plain, Bulgaria 2023 (£23.75 Vine & Bine) from Burgozone (below), or Sebestyén’s Kadarka, Szekszárd, Hungary 2023 (£22 Forest Wines).

Mavrud

Recommended by Dilyan Kolev – The Jolly Merchants director & DWWA judge

I would like to spotlight Mavrud, an ancient grape that originates from and still thrives in the Thracian Valley of Bulgaria – a source of national pride celebrated on 26 October with International Mavrud Day.

It’s a grape that wears a suit and a pair of sneakers – capable of creating a broad spectrum of wine styles: elegant and zippy sparkling wines, the occasional still blanc de noir, juicy rosés, modern, harmonious and well-balanced reds, and even dessert wines!

Unique in character, it boasts notes of black cherries, forest fruits and dried herbs, often alongside spices and lush dark chocolate – always with plenty of complexity.

A very good reference is Katarzyna Estate’s Cheval de Katarzyna 2022 (£14.90 Danube Wines).

Prokupac

Recommended by Igor Luković – Vino & Fino magazine editor in chief & DWWA judge

Once on the brink of extinction, Prokupac has staged a remarkable comeback in just a decade.

Serbia’s most important indigenous red, it’s so ancient that knowledge of its parentage remains incomplete.

Typical wines show moderate colour and a medium to full body, with cherry, plum, cranberry and blackberry lifted by spicy, peppery notes.

Tannins can be sharp in youth but soften with age, best when the wine is matured in large, used oak. The finest examples are built to age.

Neglected during the socialist era and only used to make rustic rosés, Prokupac survived thanks to small winemakers in Zupa, Toplica and Sumadija.

Limestone soils give deeper colour, body and dark berries, while clay and cooler sites yield lighter, silkier wines leaning to red fruit. Versatility is part of its charm – with blanc de noirs and sparklings now added to the mix.

Try Doja, Breg Prokupac, Toplica 2020 (£42 Hic) for an opulent style, or Matalj, Bukovski, Negotin 2020 (£24.99 Latitude), a spicy, elegant blend with Kadarka and Začinak, typical of the Negotin region.

Vranec

Recommended by Will Hill – managing and buying director, Novel Wines & DWWA judge

Vranec (Vra’-netz) deserves far greater recognition among red wine lovers.

Native to the Balkans, particularly North Macedonia (which lies at a similar latitude to Tuscany, Bordeaux and Napa), it produces intensely coloured, full-bodied wines with ripe black cherry, plum and blackberry notes, always balanced by its good acidity and firm tannins – a trademark of how it earns its name, which means ‘strong, black, powerful horse’, or ‘black stallion’.

Distinctive spicy and peppery undertones, often with dark chocolate or liquorice hints, make Vranec both aromatic and complex.

And while most examples we find in the UK are younger, Vranec can age beautifully, developing mature meaty and leathery flavours that would delight any lover of more classic aged reds.

Vranec also embodies regional heritage and a unique taste of place, and is celebrated across many countries.

For producers, it provides adaptability to warm climates and reliable yields, supporting sustainable viticulture in its homeland.

Vranec truly is a compelling, underappreciated red with both depth and authenticity.

Try it for yourself with a great example from the renowned Tikveš Winery in North Macedonia: the Luda Mara Vranec, Tikveš 2022 (£17.20 Shelved Wine).

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Speaking to Decanter from Kyiv, where she travelled to immediately after being informed of the crime last Monday (13 October), Ukrainian Wine Company CEO Svitlana Tsybak said she was shocked not only at the theft but the reaction by the Met police.

‘They asked the driver if he had been harmed. When he said no, they decided not to come to the site,’ Tsybak explained.

‘We called the police again when the driver arrived at the London City Bond (LCB) warehouse and asked them to at least come and issue an official document confirming the crime – something we urgently need for the insurance company.

‘They didn’t come and instead sent me an email apologising and offering mental health support.’

‘Come on, I’m from Ukraine! My husband is on the front line; we live in constant stress. My mental health is strong enough to handle this situation. But they still need to do their job and at least record the crime properly.’

Thieves ‘knew what they were looking for’

Of 12 pallets of wine on board the lorry, five were stolen, equivalent to about 3,000 bottles, Ukrainian wine ambassador and UK-based wine educator Sera Karamshuk told Decanter.

‘The thieves knew what they were looking for,’ she said. ‘They were very specific. They took all of the sparkling wines from three different producers.’

Karamshuk said the thieves took all the sparkling wine from Grande Vallee and Chateau Chizay, as well as the entire shipment of Kolonist wines – both sparkling and still.

‘We know how it happened as it was all caught on CCTV,’ she added. ‘They had a mini van, so they were prepared to take a substantial amount. They parked up and loaded straight from the lorry to the van.’

‘What we suspect, based on the preparation, is that this is not the first time these thieves have targeted wine deliveries,’ Karamshuk said. ‘Which makes it worse that the crime is not being investigated – especially as there is CCTV.

Huge loss

‘Any theft is awful, but this is fine wine from boutique producers, made while their country is under attack. So it really hurts.’

Karamshuk explained that the driver of the lorry, who had travelled from Ukraine, had arrived at night so stopped to rest in a CCTV-monitored carpark near London on his way from Dover to LCB’s Burton warehouse, awaiting his Monday morning delivery slot.

After discovering the Ukrainian wine theft, the driver called Tsybak and then, when the police said they would not attend the scene of the crime, continued to LCB who checked the paperwork to confirm what wine had been stolen.

The wine, including new releases, had been destined for restaurants, independent retailers and the Ukrainian Wine Company’s online shop.

‘This is a huge loss for our company,’ Tsybak told Decanter. ‘We had planned this shipment for a long time and were counting on it for Christmas sales, too.

‘3,000 bottles… gone’

‘What happened is beyond words. Around 3,000 bottles… gone. I can’t even describe the shock I felt when I received the news.

‘Now, the situation is even more complicated,’ Tsybak added. ‘The producers no longer have these wines in stock to reorder and, while we have credit, we don’t have any goods to sell to repay our wineries.

‘Of course, we will pay them, but for a young and small company like ours, this is a very serious loss.

‘Moreover, it’s deeply emotional. I know how difficult and dangerous it is to produce wine in Ukraine. And then to have it simply stolen…’

Tsybak and Karamshuk have urged members of the wine trade and the public to contact them, either through the Ukrainian Wine Company’s website or its social channel @uawines_uk, if they have any suspicions of the stolen wine being circulated.

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Swiss wine is one of the wine world’s greatest hidden secrets.

This discreet and exclusive country only has about 15,000ha planted to vineyards, according to the national wine body Swiss Wine Promotion, producing around 0.4% of the global total.

Despite the country’s tiny size, there is incredible diversity in its soils, landscapes and grape varieties, creating notable differences among its wines. Its highest vineyard sites are perched above 1,100m.

See Robin Kick MW’s selection of Switzerland’s finest red and white wines

Vertiginous variety

Chiselled into steep hillsides, they provide sun-kissed, well-drained patches of land perfect for grape growing. Lakeside vineyards are bathed in gentle breezes, offering unique microclimates.

The country’s vineyards are spread across six wine regions.

Valais is the largest and is home to the highest concentration of the country’s indigenous grape varieties.

Vaud, the second largest, encompasses most of the vineyards along Lake Geneva’s shores.

The other regions are: Geneva, known for its experimental spirit; Ticino, the heart of Swiss Merlot; Three Lakes, which includes lake Neuchâtel, is a top area for Pinot Noir; and finally Deutschschweiz, a region that encompasses several German-speaking cantons, including Graubünden, Zurich, Schaffhausen and Thurgau.

Great grape diversity

Swiss Wine Promotion notes 168 grape varieties currently registered by the national Federal Statistical Office for use in the canton-based AOC system, although fewer than 100 are planted on an area of at least 2ha.

Many varieties are indigenous, and at more than 3,400ha Chasselas (called Fendant in Valais) is its most planted white grape.

Though it can be shy when young, exceptional versions from top terroirs are capable of ageing for many years, revealing notable complexity.

Chasselas is the variety to pair with sumptuous cheese fondues, but its food-friendly style makes it capable of accompanying many other dishes, such as lake fish and seafood.

Over the past 15 years or so, Petite Arvine has been winning over aficionados’ hearts and palates with its crisp acidity, peachy core and saline finish.

But there are so many other varieties worth seeking out: Räuschling, Humagne Blanche and Amigne, as well as Heida (aka Païen or Savagnin) to name a few.

Beguiling reds

Reds can be beguiling, too. Cornalin, whose origins are not entirely defined but are thought to lie in neighbouring Aosta in northern Italy, has taken on its own deep, vinous personality in Valais.

Well-known international varieties such as Pinot Noir, Syrah and Merlot can also produce world-class results.

Less constrained by the traditions that define many of its neighbours, Switzerland approaches wine with pragmatism and a spirit of innovation.

Agroscope, the country’s trailblazing research institute, has introduced pioneering grape crossings over the years, such as Gamaret, Garanoir, Diolinoir and Doral, alongside resilient Piwi varieties such as Divico – crafted with ecological sustainability in mind.

While less than 2% of Swiss wine leaves the country, its rare gems are increasingly making their way onto international shelves – especially in the UK, US and Asia – while also garnering more attention thanks to the accolades they’ve received from competitions such as the Decanter World Wine Awards.

There has never been a better moment to discover the singular charm of Switzerland’s wines.

Breath of mountain air: 18 Swiss wines to try

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Marking its 11th edition, the Salon of Decanter medal winners once again brought together wine lovers, producers and trade professionals in Slovenia to celebrate winemaking excellence. Held just an hour outside Ljubljana at the Brdo Congress Centre, the event welcomed hundreds of guests for a day of tasting Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) winners and meeting the producers behind the bottles.

This year’s Salon featured more than 50 winemakers, showcasing nearly 150 award-winning wines from Slovenia, Serbia, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the first time, Argentina.

A real wine revolution has taken place in Slovenia in the recent years reflected in the country’s strong results at this year’s awards. For the first time ever, Slovenia received the highest accolade, Best in Show, for a dry wine – awarded to Vinakoper, Capris Orange Rumeni Muškat, Slovenska Istra, Primorska 2015.

In total, Slovenian producers claimed 211 medals, including 13 Golds, two of which fall in the Value category (wines under £15 at the time of judging).

While Slovenia is best known for its fresh, aromatic whites, this year’s results also highlighted the strength of its reds, which earned four Gold medals. Sparkling wines also proved their high level of quality with three Golds.

The DWWA 2025 top-medal winners available to taste on the day included:

• Vinakoper, Capris Orange Rumeni Muškat, Slovenska Istra, Primorska, Slovenia 2015 (Best in Show, 97 points)
• De Baguer, Single Vineyard Merlot, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2019 (Gold, 96 points)
• Dveri Pax, DP Brut, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje, Slovenia 2014 (Gold, 96 points)
• Puklavec Family Wines, Jeruzalem Ormož Pinot Blanc Spätlese, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje, Slovenia 1983 (Gold, 96 points)
• Bjana, Rosé Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia NV (Gold, 95 points)
• Vinakoper, Capo d’Istria 1072, Slovenska Istra, Primorska, Slovenia 2022 (Gold, 96 points) 
• Despotika, Krunski Dokaz, Oplenac, Šumadija-Great Morava, Serbia 2017 (Gold, 95 points)
• Edvard Wines, Edvard XXI, Maribor, Podravje, Slovenia 2021 (Gold, 95 points)
• Istenič, Cuvée Natura Extra Brut, Bizeljsko-Sremič, Posavje, Slovenia 2020 (Gold, 95 points)
• Klet Brda, A Plus Special Selection, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2019 (Gold, 95 points)
• Klet Brda, Quercus Beli Pinot, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2024 (Value Gold, 95 points)
• Rouna, Zelen, Vipavska Dolina, Primorska, Slovenia 2023 (Gold, 95 points)
• Tarpoš, Prokupac, Oplenac, Šumadija-Great Morava, Serbia 2023 (Gold, 95 points)
• Vinarija Jovac, Stella Noir, Jagodina, Šumadija-Great Morava, Serbia 2021 (Gold, 95 points)
• Vinarija Zvonko Bogdan, Merlot, Not applicable, Subotica-Horgoš, Serbia 2023 (Gold, 95 points)
• Vina Kotolenko, Renski Rizling, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje, Slovenia 2023 (Gold, 95 points)

More Silver and Bronze medals were also available to try.

The day began with a press conference featuring Decanter representatives, DWWA judges, Salon organisers and winemakers, followed by an awards ceremony where all exhibiting winemakers received their DWWA certificates on stage.

Commenting on the quality of Slovenian wines, DWWA Regional Chair for the Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Croatia & Slovenia, Dr Caroline Gilby MW noted: ‘Slovenia is moving away from large volumes and semi-dry styles towards quality dry wines. I am impressed by the emphasis on a sense of origin.’

DWWA Co-Chair, Beth Willard added: ‘There is great excitement building around winemaking in Slovenia and the Balkans and the annual Salon is a great opportunity to share this excitement with the world. ‘Events like this salon are a great opportunity to introduce these unique styles to a wider audience and show the diversity, tradition and innovation that are at the heart of Slovenian winemaking.’

Special thanks to Robert Gorjak and Belvin Wine School. Visit Belvin for more information.

Search all DWWA 2025 award-winning wines 

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Caroline Gilby MW, Stefan Neumann MS and Wieteke Teppema tasted 87 wines, with 6 Outstanding and 36 Highly recommended

Blaufränkisch: Panel tasting scores

87 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 6

Highly recommended 38

Recommended 30

Commended 13

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release still, dry red wines made in Europe from Blaufränkisch (single variety or blended, but Blaufränkisch must be 50% or more of the blend)

Scroll down to see the top-scoring wines from our Blaufränkisch panel tasting

Terroir transmitter

This great central European red grape often goes under the radar thanks to its multiple names.

Austria has led the way in showcasing Blaufränkisch, but Hungary, where it’s called Kékfrankos, is by far the biggest grower (6,983ha, compared to Austria’s 2,550ha, according to the countries’ most recent annual reports to July 2024) and is catching up rapidly.

These two nations provided most of the entries for this tasting, along with a handful from Germany (as Lemberger), Slovakia (Frankovka) and Romania.

Blaufränkisch is increasingly showing its mettle as an exciting, food-friendly grape capable of producing delicious, ageworthy wines that can reflect place.

Wieteke Teppema explained: ‘It has the capacity to show transparency of terroir, it can get lovely minerality and not every indigenous variety can do this. Blaufränkisch is edging into a territory where it can be considered a top variety.’

Stefan Neumann MS was ‘impressed that it can be a fantastic solo player with site-specific expression’. For him, ‘a standout was the Eger and Balaton flight, where oak is so well managed – a tricky thing with Blaufränkisch to allow the fruit to shine’.

Neumann also noted Austria’s Neusiedlersee and Leithaberg regions as offering ‘the right poise of elegance and not trying to over-extract’, adding: ‘Some of the best wines had age but hadn’t lost fruit.’

A fine dancing partner

The judges were also impressed by the role of Kékfrankos in blends (it’s the key grape in Hungary’s PDO Bikavér, of which there are five examples among the Highly recommendeds here).

Teppema enjoyed ‘the combination of international grapes with Kékfrankos – a lovely complement to the structure and mid-palate in those blends’.

Compared to Sangiovese/Brunello in Tuscany, Neumann found that the wines typically showed: ‘Red and sour cherry, black fruit, with a floral perfume and, in some higher crus, a meaty iodine character.’

Teppema summed up: ‘From a UK on-trade perspective, there’s a lot I’d be happy to list and share with guests.

What to eat with Blaufränkisch, by Fiona Beckett

The striking thing about many of the top-scoring wines in this tasting is that they’re from older vintages, so we’re looking for dishes that pair well with mature wines.

That generally means simple roast meats rather than spicy casseroles, although the more robust, earthy, structured and oak-influenced style of Kékfrankos would work well with a classic goulash.

Otherwise, think well-aged beef, venison, even wild boar, or roast duck or goose – especially with red cabbage – making them, perhaps, wines that would work better in autumn than high summer.

Yet there are lighter styles of Blaufränkisch and Kékfrankos that would work with summery foods: cold meats such as salami and smoked ham, grilled sausages (it’s hard not to think of barbecuing at this time of year), kebabs and koftas.

Both Blaufränkisch and Kékfrankos can handle a bit of spice. More traditional, full-blooded Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) blends are probably best saved – and maybe incorporated in – hearty winter stews or robust dishes such as beef short rib and braised ox cheek.

See all notes and scores from the Blaufränkisch panel tasting

Blaufränkisch panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Caroline Gilby MW is an awarded author, speaker and consultant with a passion for the wines of the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea. She is a DWWA joint Regional Chair in multiple categories

Stefan Neumann MS is a Master Sommelier who runs his own wine consultancy, having spent many years working in the world of Michelin-starred restaurants. Born close to Austria’s Wachau region, he is the DWWA Regional Chair for Austria and Switzerland

Wieteke Teppema is director of wine for Brown’s Hotel in London. A wine buyer and competition judge, including for the DWWA, her career spans top Michelin-starred restaurants and specialist wine importers

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After two decades of passionate leadership, renowned winemaker Caroline Frey has announced her decision to withdraw from directing the family’s prestigious French properties.

Frey will refocus on her Swiss vineyard holdings and has helped to ensure a seamless transition at the family’s French wine estates, with her sister, Delphine, taking on greater management responsibilities.

The announcement comes after a recent health challenge that prompted deep reflection on her work-life balance and priorities.

In an emotional statement shared with the industry, Frey explained: ‘After 20 years of passionate commitment to Château La Lagune, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, La Chapelle Hermitage, and Château Corton C., life recently forced me to take a sudden and difficult pause.’

An emotional reorientation

‘This challenging time led me to reflect deeply on my choices, my balance, and my priorities. Today, with much emotion, I have decided to refocus on my Swiss vineyards, and to step back – without ever truly stepping away – from the beloved estates I have carried for so long.’

Frey’s decision follows a period of illness that, while resolved without lasting effects, carries a risk of recurrence if she does not reduce her pace.

She emphasised that this is not a farewell but a reorientation, allowing her to nurture her passion in Switzerland with the same dedication that has defined her career.

The Frey family’s strength underpins this transition. Caroline highlighted the enduring role of her father, Jean-Jacques Frey, founder of the family group, whose vision and commitment form the bedrock of their success.

‘His presence today is more precious than ever,’ she noted.

Stepping into the spotlight is Caroline’s sister, Delphine Frey, who has been increasingly involved in the estates’ management alongside their father. Delphine’s role, initially focused on communication, has expanded to oversee strategic direction and operations.

In her own words: ‘I am truly delighted today to take care of these family estates and to carry on what my sister has built with passion. These are estates rich with history, supported by outstanding teams who bring remarkable energy and momentum. Exciting projects lie ahead!’

Ensuring continuity with experienced teams

The experienced teams at each estate, long collaborators with Caroline, are well-equipped to maintain continuity during this period.

A new head winemaker is expected to be announced by the end of August or early September, with the selection guided by a commitment to excellence and respect for the terroirs.

‘There will be no rupture – only a carefully considered continuity, in both spirit and quality,’ said Caroline.

Caroline Frey’s legacy in French wine is profound. Since the family acquired Paul Jaboulet Aîné in 2006, she has spearheaded a shift to biodynamic farming across the properties, earning accolades for sustainable practices and exceptional quality.

Château La Lagune, purchased in 2004, achieved organic certification under her guidance, while Château Corton C. in Burgundy and the Rhône holdings, including the creation of Domaine de la Chapelle in 2023, have seen renewed prestige.

Her honours include the Insigne de Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2017 and the Amorim Biodiversity Award in 2021.

As Frey turns her attention to Switzerland, the French estates remain in capable family hands, promising ongoing innovation and fidelity to their storied terroirs.

This chapter, as Caroline poetically puts it, ‘is not an end, but a continuation. A story written differently, yet always with love, dedication, and respect.’

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There he worked for Vinhos Justino Henriques for seven years, before moving into the hospitality industry, first as a wine waiter in five-star hotels and then as a sommelier. In 2013, Rustem moved to the UK and has worked at top establishments including Gidleigh Park in Devon. He is currently head sommelier at five-star hotel Cliveden House.

Rustem Mingaleev profile image credit: AJG

My first memorable wine experience

It has to be working at the Vinhos Justino Henriques winery, on the island of Madeira. I had the great fortune to be part of the team during a period of significant transformation. We established the winery from scratch, setting up equipment such as presses, barrels, stainless steel tanks with temperature control systems and a bottling line. I learned a lot during this time. My initial sources of information were Oz Clarke’s Wine Atlas, and Decanter and Wine Spectator magazines, which we had in our office. I remember spending my breaks reading them every day.

My go-to everyday wines

I’m a big fan of Pierre Gimonnet Champagne. Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs is my go-to everyday wine.

My favourite supermarket buy

Dry Hungarian Furmint.

My most embarrassing moment at work

The most embarrassing occasions occur when I serve a rare, expensive wine, only to find it is faulty. I once had to pour a £3,000 bottle of Montrachet Grand Cru from a renowned producer down the sink because it was oxidised.

Pet hate

When my peers lose their enthusiasm and passion for the hospitality industry. It’s an environment that is fast-paced and ever-changing, for sure, but I find this keeps things exciting.

My desert island food and wine pairing

Without doubt, fresh oysters with zero-dosage Champagne.

Best food and wine match at my restaurant

At Cliveden House we’re currently offering a dream pairing: roast breast of duck, endive salad with cranberries and mandarin matched with Domaine Rossignol-Trapet’s Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2020.

My fallback quick after-work meal and wine match

A selection of cheeses (goat, Camembert and Brie) with a glass of Sancerre.

Most proud of on my list

Apart from the Bordeaux first growths, we have verticals of Coulée de Serrant from Nicolas Joly, Sassicaia, Magma from Frank Cornelissen, and Barca Velha.

The wine on my list that never fails to surprise guests

Cervaro della Sala from Antinori. Many guests haven’t tasted a premium Italian white wine before. This was one of the first Italian whites to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing in barriques – it’s a complex wine, with great ageing potential.

Wines I’d avoid ordering from a restaurant wine list if I was dining out

High-alcohol reds or overly aromatic whites.

Don’t underestimate the importance of…

Serving temperature. If a wine is served at the wrong temperature, it can significantly affect one’s enjoyment of it, whatever the grape variety or style.

Wine style I’m most excited about

Dry Furmint from Tokaji in Hungary. I had an opportunity to taste a range of Furmints from different plots and vintages at Szepsy. It was amazing.

Wine region that offers the greatest value for money right now

Portuguese wines have always offered a good price-value ratio and are really underappreciated.

My favourite wine region to visit

Tuscany. The combination of nature, art history, food and wine makes it very special. Florence is one of my favourite destinations and I always try to get to restaurant Il Palagio, in the Four Seasons hotel.

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Switzerland’s Canton of Vaud – about the same size as the Rhône department in France or Gloucestershire in the UK – has it all for the eclectic traveller. Montreux, home of the world’s most famous jazz festival; Lausanne, the global Olympic Capital; Vallée de Joux, the cradle of Swiss watchmaking, oozy Vacherin de Mont d’Or cheese, Swiss Riviera glamour…

And let’s not forget about the wine. Vaud is Switzerland’s second-largest wine-growing region, producing a quarter of the country’s wine from its six sub-regions. One of these is not only in the heart of the action, but its dramatic beauty, between Alps and lake, catapults it to the top of the Vaudois travel bucket list.

The Lavaux – the largest contiguous wine region in Switzerland – comprises about 800ha of vineyard terraces on the south-facing mountain slopes above Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) which stretch for 30km from the eastern outskirts of Lausanne to the Château de Chillon, just beyond Montreux.

The region was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2007, to recognise and protect its significance as a centuries-long living cultural landscape – stone terraces that still stand today can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries owned the land.

Today there are more than 10,000 of these terraces – some so narrow they only protect a single row of vines. If laid end to end, they would stretch more than 400km.

Villages and vines

While 14 villages comprise the Lavaux appellation, Dézaley and Calamin are the two designated grand crus. Dézaley – where the monks began their terraces – is one of Switzerland’s most famous vineyards, rising from Lac Léman at gradients of up to 100% (a 45° slope).

In addition to providing a breathtaking backdrop for photos, the lake plays a key role in the vineyard too. While not the Med, the Swiss Riviera enjoys a mild climate and the lake moderates temperatures further, as well as reflecting sunlight back on to the vines. This, combined with the heat retained by the stone walls, means the grapes enjoy an even ripening throughout the growing season.

Chasselas represents about 60% of all plantings here, and more than 90% of white grapes. Most wineries have one or more reds from Pinot Noir, Gamay or the twin crossings of Gamay and Reichensteiner called Gamaret and Garanoir, but Chasselas is undoubtedly the star.

It’s a grape that can show many sides to its personality, depending on the individual terroir (in Lavaux, soils range from marl, sandstone, clay, moraine and more), and how it is handled, both in the vineyard and winery.

Resulting wines can be anything from simple, fruity quaffers to more complex, weighty styles, and through the gamut of leesy, creamy barrel-fermented and aged examples. On the palate, expect moderate alcohol, bright acidity, flinty notes and pithy apricot and citrus blossom flavours that develop truffle and nougat tones with age.

Exploring the terraces

Walking is the best way to experience Lavaux’s historic terraces, vertiginous slopes and jaw-dropping scenery of vines, Alps and lake. The Lavaux World Heritage Association has two guided walking tours to book between May and October – a 3km, 2.5-hour ‘heritage hike’ on Saturday mornings and a shorter, more relaxed stroll on Sundays (from CHF20/£18 per person).

The Montreux Riviera tourist office, meanwhile, has mapped out a 2km walk between Epesses and Chexbres along which you can scan QR codes on panels along the way to get anecdotes, history and details on wines available from each vineyard you pass. Or to plan your own path, it has 40 walking, hiking, running and cycling routes across the Riviera region; the best one for the Lavaux vineyard terraces is Route 113, a 11.3km trail from St-Saphorin to Lutry.

If that feels too much exertion, soak up the majestic vistas from one of the two wheeled trains that cross the terraces. The green and yellow Lavaux Express runs two loops: one around Lutry and Grandvaux; the other encompassing the vineyards of Cully, Epesses and Dézaley (CHF17). The white Lavaux Panoramic, meanwhile, runs between Chexbres, St-Saphorin and Chardonne (CHF16). There are also several tours available to book on each train, including themed and seasonal excursions incorporating winery visits and tastings.

Between the many photo opportunities, find time for a few winery visits. This is a patchwork region of small growers, some of whom only work a handful of vines each, passed down through the generations. While it is advisable to book ahead, you’ll feel more like you’re dropping to sit on a friend’s patio for a drink and a chat than being given a slick spiel.

Winery visits

Opposite Grandvaux train station is Domaine Croix Dupleix, run by third-generation winemaker Maude Vogel. While she works with 14 varieties, her passion is showcasing the different Lavaux terroirs through 10 Chasselas cuvées – the pinnacle being the Argile Dézaley Grand Cru.

Louis Bovard in Cully is synonymous with Chasselas – not least in being a perennial medallist at the Decanter World Wine Awards; the Ilex cuvée from Calamin Grand Cru is delicious. Louis-Philippe Bovard, the 10th generation custodian of the family name and estate, is so determined to raise the variety’s profile as serious and ageworthy, he created the World Conservatory of Chasselas, researching 19 variants of the grape.

La Maison Massy is now run by fourth-generation brothers Gregory and Benjamin. Try their Clos du Boux, from a 1.7ha walled vineyard next to the grand 1630-built Massy residence of the same name at the top of Epesses village. Or the Chemin de Fer cuvée, from vines grown right next to the train line at the bottom of the Grand Cru Dézaley slope, making harvest time even more precarious than usual.

Also in Epesses village is Blaise Duboux. This 5ha estate has been in the Duboux family for more than 500 years, with Blaise the 17th generation winemaker. The wines are certified organic, but farmed biodynamically, the Les Murets, from a parcel in Villette, is savoury and complex.

Not far from Chexbres station is Domaine Bovy, a family estate since 1779, but dating from the 16th century. Before a tasting on the veranda (the St-Saphorin Vielles Vignes is the pick of the five Chasselas), visit the cellar to see the oak foudres which, since the 1940s, have been painted with images of the Bovy family and tableaux of Lavaux life.

Lavaux wine festivals

While a visit to Lavaux is memorable at any time of year, try to coincide your trip with one of the region’s many wine festivals.

On the first Saturday of May each year (3 May 2025), some two dozen winemakers in Epesses and Calamin join together to showcase the new vintage at Epesses Nouveau. And on the last Saturday (31 May 2025), Chardonne holds its annual Wine Market, where you can taste and buy wine from producers across Lavaux.

As part of Vaud Open Cellars, which sees more than 250 winemakers across the canton welcome visitors for tours and tastings over the Pentecost weekend each year, 89 wineries from Lavaux are participating in 2025 (7-8 June). The two-day tickets (CHF40 each) include a tasting glass, free transport across the entire canton as well as a CHF20 discount off one six-bottle purchase.

But the event not to miss is the annual three-day Lutry Harvest Festival, held on the last weekend of September (26-28 September 2025). Running since 1947, it is one of the biggest events in French-speaking Switzerland, celebrating the rich winemaking heritage of the Lavaux region in a colourful procession of floats, costumes, music and of course cellar-door tastings and street bars.

My perfect day Lavaux

Morning

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the terrace at Les Trois Couronnes then head to Vevey train station. Take the 30-minute scenic journey to Grandvaux, changing at Puidoux, and visit winemaker Maude Vogel at her family domaine, Les Croix Dupleix, opposite the station, for a late-morning tasting on the patio. Head to Maison Lavaux in time for its 1pm opening for an audio tour on the history and living cultural landscape of Lavaux’s UNESCO World Heritage listed vineyards.

Lunch and afternoon

Minutes away is Tout un Monde, for its inventive lunch menu, inspired by a global cuisine each month. Take your time wandering back the 5.5km through the vineyards, including the grands crus of Calamin and Dézaley, along Route de la Corniche – there are plenty of photo opportunities of the beautiful terraces stretching down to Lac Léman. You could stop at Le Deck for refreshments and more amazing views or continue to Domaine Bovy for a tour of the family’s historic cellars and a wine tasting on the picturesque verandah. Chexbres station is just up the road for your return train to Vevey.

Evening

After all that sightseeing, unwind in the spa at Les Trois Couronnes before sprucing up and splashing out for the gastronomic tasting menu and wine pairings at Emotions par Guy Ravet in the swish Grand Hotel du Lac, a five-minute stroll away.

Your Vaud address book

Accommodation

Hotel des Trois Couronnes, Vevey

A grande dame of the Swiss Riviera since 1842, this luxurious spa hotel offers 71 rooms, half of which face the lake and Alps, and panoramic terrace dining from two restaurants, one serving Mediterranean-Alpine fusion and the other Japanese Kaiseki.

Le Baron Tavernier, Chexbres

A salt-water spa hotel at the centre of the Lavaux vineyards, with incredible views down the terraces to Lac Léman and the mountains beyond from the 25 rooms and panoramic restaurant-bar The Deck – a favourite local hangout.

Hotel des Voyageurs Boutique, Lausanne

Central but in a quiet pedestrian zone, this family-run hotel is a convenient base both to explore the city and escape to the vineyards. As its name suggests, Restaurant-Brasserie Le Vaudois, four-minutes’ walk away, has an extensive range of local wines.

Restaurants

Ze Fork, Vevey

On the promenade, overlooking the lake’s 8m fork totem. Local beef is the specialty but there are lots of fish and veggie options, à la carte or in the five-course tasting menu. Good cocktails and Swiss wine list too. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 9am-12am.

Tout un Monde, Grandvaux

Set in a 13th century church, with vineyard and lake views. There’s a Lavaux-only wine list, a classic å la carte and inventive tasting menu, plus a monthly-changing lunch menu inspired by a different global cuisine. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11.30am-11pm.

Deli Social, Lausanne

Stylish, communal lunch counter, shop and experimental space. Enjoy excellent coffee and a weekly changing menu of homemade pastries, sandwiches and small plates, with a focus on local, seasonal and sustainable products. Open daily, 8/9/10am-3/4/5pm.

Things to do

Maison Lavaux, Grandvaux

Wine geeks, art lovers and children will all get something from this audio tour of the living cultural landscape of Lavaux’s UNESCO World Heritage listed vineyards, spanning the ice age to present day. The vast animated mural is amazing. Open Wednesday-Sunday, 1-5pm from CHF10 per person.

Train up to Rochers-de-Naye

A picturesque 55-minute cogwheel train ride ascending 1,600m from Montreux to the Rochers-de-Naye summit at 2,042m. Spectacular views of the Swiss and French Alps, plus alpine gardens, hiking trails and eateries. Runs year round; trains depart hourly. CHF72.80 return per person.

Walking tours

Book a guided tour of Montreux and Vevey through the Montreux Riviera tourism office to find out about famous residents Charlie Chaplin and Freddie Mercury, and explore Chillon Castle. In Lausanne, follow the tourist office’s Panoramic Stroll to take in the city’s highlights.

How to get there

SwissAir flies to Geneva from hundreds of cities worldwide. From there, you can take a direct 70-minute train to Vevey. Lausanne is closer, for those wanting a city, rather than a Riviera break, or you could stay in the heart of the Lavaux vineyards – Grandvaux, Chexbres, Cully or Puidoux being the villages with the best amenities. Switzerland Tourism’s Swiss Travel Pass entitles you to unlimited travel by train, bus or boat for 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 consecutive days (from £233 per person).

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For time well spent beyond the bustling banks of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), head to the Vallée de Joux – birthplace of Swiss horology – a pretty 50km drive or two-hour train journey from Lausanne in the canton of Vaud.

Numerous luxury watchmakers call the valley home, including Audemars Piguet, which opened the Hôtel des Horlogers next to its headquarters in the village of Le Brassus in June 2022.

The hotel’s architects designed it to be entirely wheelchair accessible, sustainable and low energy, using locally sourced natural and biodegradable materials. Ultra-modern interconnecting ramps, boxed in with glass, follow the valley’s topography, zigzagging down the slope and allowing each of the 38 rooms and 12 suites to have unencumbered views of wild flower meadows and Risoud forest.

Connected with the valley

You feel part of the valley inside, too, with driftwood hanging from the reception ceiling, wall hangings depicting outlines and contours of Jura mountain peaks, and huge lamps in the Bar des Horlogers, Brasserie Le Gogant and private dining room La Table des Horlogers representing the undersides of mushrooms.

Your immersion in the local landscape and terroir extends to the menu, too. Here, chef Emmanuel Renaut (whose Flocons de Sel restaurant in Megève, across the French border in Haute-Savoie, holds three Michelin stars) works only with regional farmers, supplementing this with homegrown produce from the kitchen gardens as well as foraging for herbs, flowers, mushrooms and other edible plants.

Foraged botanicals and extracts also make their way into teas and treatments in the bijou spa, which offers two treatment rooms plus a sauna, hammam and sensory shower. Guests can take home their own valley botanicals too: wooden pencils in each room have a tip filled with thyme seeds, ready to plant.

Getting out and about

While the hotel has a small but high-tech fitness room, for those wanting to get a sweat on outside, there are myriad walking, hiking and biking trails in the Swiss Jura Mountains, or water sports on nearby Lac de Joux. In winter, the hotel is ski in-ski out and can arrange your equipment hire.

If you love cheese, make sure you visit the village of Les Charbonnières, just a few train stops away (or a 15-minute drive) – home to the Vacherin Mont-d’Or museum, dedicated to this famous AOP-designated soft cow’s milk cheese packaged in a round spruce box.

Even better, time your trip to coincide with the annual Désalpes in mid September, when the cows – adorned with bells and floral hats – are brought down in procession from their alpine pastures, before 6,000 festival visitors jostle to taste the first cheese of the new season.

The Canton of Vaud has six wine regions, and Hôtel des Horlogers is an easy 30km drive from the largest – La Côte – and a convenient stop on the way to or from Geneva airport. Home to half the Vaud’s vineyards, it’s a picturesque region of castles and rolling hillside slopes above Lac Léman, concentrated between the charming lakeside towns of Nyon and Morges.

In the mainly family-run wineries, the white grape Chasselas (aka Fendant) is king – a perfect match for Vacherin Mont-d’Or – with key La Côte subregions to look out for on labels including Mont-sur-Rolle, Féchy and Vufflens-le-Château.

Sustainable principles

As with its food (and with an eye on food miles), the hotel champions Swiss wines, with an emphasis on those from local Vaudois vineyards. The bar, too, is stocked entirely with Swiss spirits, including a syrup distilled from buds of local Risoud fir trees that is used instead of cassis in its signature Kir Sapin cocktail. (You can enjoy one free if you reuse your towels or decline the turn-down service.)

Further in keeping with its sustainability credentials, water is sourced from a spring in the valley and bottled in Le Brassus, and the hotel is paper and plastic free. Which means you order everything digitally via tablets – from your cocktails, to your dinner, and even the kind of pillow you want: such as hard, soft or infused with lavender.

For a hotel owned by a luxury watchmaker, you’d be hard-pressed to make that connection. There’s a small library at the entrance and some bookshelf seating-stairs with various tomes on modern and historic timekeeping, but nothing that shouts Audemars Piguet. It’s clearly a conscious (and welcome) decision, but there’s no escaping the fact that this connection is what draws most guests to the Hôtel des Horlogers.

Birthplace of Swiss horology

If you are an AP fan, then you’ll know you need to book well in advance to visit the Audemars Piguet museum and atelier (a few doors down from the hotel and designed by the same architect), as you will a visit to Blancpain, which also has its HQ in Le Brassus.

If you have – or want – more time on your hands (or wrist), in nearby Le Sentier, you can visit the Jaeger-LeCoultre atelier and the interactive Vallée de Joux watch museum, which details the history of this birthplace of Swiss horology.

Rates per night, including breakfast, start from £320 (Valley Guest Room) to £1,022 for the Forest Suite Romantic Lovers package, which includes two hour-long massages and two of the hotel’s signature cocktails.

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Putin celebrated his 50th birthday at the state-owned Cricova Winery, which is located 9 miles north of Moldova’s capital, Chișinău.

Moldova’s former president gave Putin a collection of wines during the visit. They were added to an exhibition of famous former visitors, along with a picture of the Russian leader.

However, they have now been banished. After Russia invaded Ukraine, ‘we got lots of questions that we could not answer about why he was still here,’ winery director Sorin Maslo told The New York Times.

The bottles have not yet been destroyed. Instead, they have been moved to a dark, sealed-off area of the winery so that ‘nobody has to deal with him,’ Maslo added.

Cricova’s display features pictures of famous visitors such as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, former German chancellor Angela Merkel and former US Secretary of State John Kerry. Other famous faces include Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

Putin’s snub also reflects the strained relationship between Moldova and Russia. Moldova was a major supplier of wine to Russia until 2013. Moscow then imposed an embargo on Moldovan wine after the country signalled its ambition to join the EU.

Last year, Kremlin officials threatened Moldova with a ‘military scenario’ in the breakaway Transnistria region, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

In October, Moldovan voters approved a change to the country’s constitution, which moves Moldova out of Moscow’s sphere of influence and aligns it more closely with the EU.

Removing Putin’s wines from the display is a symbolic gesture from Moldova. Cricova is the country’s second-largest wine cellar, with 75 miles of labyrinthine roadways under the winery. Half of the roadways in this underground ‘wine city’ are used for wine storage.

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I once attended a festival in Mád in the heart of Tokaj in northern Hungary. It was dark, the streets empty, the houses shuttered. But if you happened upon the right address, you were suddenly thrust into a disco-themed cheese tasting or a lively pop concert in one of the village’s wineries. It was, dare I say it, wonderfully mad.

Tokaj: we all know the region’s name, its history and the superlative quality of its wines, but how many of us have recently explored its lesser-known paths and hidden corners?

Yes, there’s a limited market for sweet wines, and Tokaji wines aren’t cheap (quite rightly, due to the heavy manual labour involved). And there has been a strong marketing focus on dry wines since they made their debut in the early 2000s.

But the selection that follows reminds us that Tokaj is still one of the greatest regions for sweet wines that can both elevate and surprise.

Scroll down for notes and scores of 18 superb sweet Tokaji wines

Sublime stars

The stars of the show are the sublime Aszú wines, which feature strongly in my selection. Produced using shrivelled, botrytis-affected berries, with sweetness levels indicated via the quantity of botrytised berries added (historically measured in ‘puttonyos’ – wooden baskets), these sweet wines of Tokaj are so heavily dependent on harvest conditions that it’s worth examining a few of the vintages.

Six wines here come from the 2017 vintage and four from 2021. Both were outstanding Aszú years, offering great structure and elegance, as well as hallmark luscious tropical fruit. 2016 was another very good year, producing classical wines with fabulous intensity, and 2013 was also outstanding; I’ve included a beautifully aged wine from this vintage.

Given the impressive longevity of these wines, it’s worth seeking them out for cellaring.

When it comes to the sweet édes Szamorodni (which means ‘as it comes’; the dry version is called száraz) wines, producers seem to have reached new heights. A blend of both botrytised and healthy grapes, Szamorodni is a somewhat more immediate and (slightly!) less concentrated wine.

Change for good

In 2014, the authorities discarded the three and four puttonyos categories of Aszú; perhaps better-quality édes Szamorodni wines have filled that gap. Generally at a lower price point, they’re a fantastic introduction into the region but still have the capacity to age gracefully.

Within the selection, there are also a couple of delightful late-harvest wines with lighter-bodied, refreshing profiles. These wines show great versatility, equally adept at partnering cheese, dessert or an aromatic Thai curry.

There isn’t any Eszencia (syrupy nectars made using only aszú berries) in this list – there are hefty costs involved in sampling these rarities! But some of the producers featured here also make the best examples of this unique wine.

Winemakers in the region are keenly focused on expressing the personality of Tokaj’s volcanic terroir, whether in the form of a late-harvest or Aszú wine. Newer and established producers alike appear to be setting an unparalleled quality level: we might be heading into a new golden age of sweet Tokaji wines.

See notes and scores for 18 sumptuous sweet Tokaji wines

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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Salon of Decanter medal winners in Slovenia — an annual event that celebrates winemaking excellence in the region. On 3rd September, winemakers, consumers and trade gathered in the Brdo Congress Centre, just an hour outside Ljubljana for an exciting one day event.

The event featured more than 150 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2024 winning wines from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Italy.

Following the first awards celebration to date in Croatia with Vinistra, this year’s DWWA results support the excitement building around wines from the Balkans.

Slovenia saw its first Platinum medal awarded since 2022 to Bjana for its Cuvée Prestige Extra Brut 2019, as well as five Gold medals (including a Value Gold) and a record 100 Silver, underlying an overall increase in quality.

A consistent top performer, Croatia received 12 Gold, 138 Silver and 217 Bronze medals while Serbia won four Gold, 45 Silver and 68 Bronze medals. Winners from North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were also present.

The Gold medal-winning wines from Slovenia available to taste on the day included:

• Gasper Wines, Cabernet Franc, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2021
• Klet Brda Dobrovo, Quercus Pinot Grigio, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2023 (Value Gold)
• Klet Brda Dobrovo, Single Vineyard Motnik, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2017
• M-Enostavno Dobra Vina, Extrem, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2021

For the Salon’s 10th anniversary, there was a special highlight: a premium bar showcasing all Platinum winners (97 points) Slovenia has claimed at DWWA over the years. Attendees had the unique opportunity to taste this top-tier selection, underscoring Slovenia’s growing prominence in the global wine scene.

Among others, the line-up included DWWA 2007 winners Jakoncic, Carolina 2004 from Goriska Brda, Primorska and Pra-VinO, Sipon Ice Wine Prestige 2004 from Ljutomer-Ormoz, Poreklom, as well as DWWA 2008 winner Čurin-Prapotnik, Laski Rizling Icewine Prestige, Podravje 2005.

More Platinum-awarded wines available to taste at the premium bar included:

• Jurij Brumec, Laški Rizling Suhi Jagodni Izbor, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2006 (DWWA 2009) 
• Bracko, Laški Rizling, Ledeno Vino, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2008 (DWWA 2010) 
• Marof, Breg Chardonnay, Prekmurje, Podravje 2008 (DWWA 2010)
• Dveri – Pax, Sipon – Slamnato Vino, Radgona-Kapela, Podravje 2009 (DWWA 2011) 
• Sutor, Chardonnay, Vipava, Primorska 2008 (DWWA 2011) 
• Otmar Šturm, Rumeni Muškat – Ice Wine, Bela Krajina, Posavje 2007 (DWWA 2012) 
• Marjan Simčič, Leonardo, Goriska Brda, Primorska 2006 (DWWA 2013) 
• Kristančič Dušan, Pavó Rdeče, Brda, Primorska 2009 (DWWA 2013)
• Dveri-Pax, Šipon Slamno Vino, Štajerska, Podravje 2012 (DWWA 2014) 
• Pullus, Dry Sauvignon, Haloze, Podravje 2013 (DWWA 2014) 
• Pullus, Sauvignon G, Haloze, Podravje 2013 (DWWA 2014) 
• Zlati Grič, Modri Pinot, Štajerska, Podravje 2012 (DWWA 2014) 
• Bjana, Brut Rosé, Brda, Primorska NV (DWWA 2015)
• Gross, Furmint, Štajerska, Podravje 2013 (DWWA 2015)
• Ptujska klet, Pullus, Laški Rizling, Štajerska, Podravje 2012 (DWWA 2015)
• Bjana, Brut Zero, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2010 (DWWA 2016)
• Bjana, Rosé Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska NV (DWWA 2017)
• Bužinel, Ledano vino iz Medane, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2009 (DWWA 2017)
• Domačija Ražman, Malvazija Antiqua, Slovenska Istra, Primorska 2015 (DWWA 2018)
• Gross, Colles, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2015 (DWWA 2018)
• Vinska Klet Brda, Bagueri Ribolla Gialla, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2013 (DWWA 2018)
• Gašper, Cabernet Franc, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2017 (DWWA 2019)
• Simčič, Leonardo, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2013 (DWWA 2019)
• Ščurek, Rebula Up, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2013 (DWWA 2019)
• Bjana, Cuvée Prestige Extra Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2015 (DWWA 2020)
• Marc, Pinela, Vipavska Dolina, Primorska 2019 (DWWA 2020)
• Ščurek, Up Rebula, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2016 (DWWA 2020)
• Krapež, Malvazija, Vipavska Dolina, Primorska 2018 (DWWA 2020)
• Ščurek, Zero Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2019 (DWWA 2022)

The annual Salon in Slovenia offers wine lovers the chance to discover DWWA-awarded wines in a walk-around tasting, as well as participate in a variety of masterclasses and workshops led by DWWA Co-Chair Beth Willard and long-time judge Igor Luković.

More DWWA judges were also present at the event, including Richard Baudains, Regional Chair for Veneto, and Simon Woolf, Joint Regional Chair for the Balkans, Caucasus & Eurasia.

There is great excitement building around winemaking in the Balkans and the small nation of Slovenia, with its vastly varied landscapes, produces some superb wines. Whites from international varieties predominate, but also wines made from lesser-known indigenous varieties. Fresh sparklers are also worth seeking out.

Special thanks to Robert Gorjak and Belvin Wine School. Visit Belvin for more information.

Search all DWWA 2024 award-winning wines 

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A new record was announced by Switzerland-based merchant ARVI after it sold the 27-litre bottle of Bibi Graetz Colore 2016 for 100,000 Swiss francs (£87,104). 

It’s the most expensive bottle of Italian wine ever sold, said the retailer on its Instagram account.

No details were given about the buyer of the wine, which contains the equivalent of 36 standard 75cl bottles.

Bibi Graetz founded his eponymous winery in 2000, in Fiesole near to Florence in Tuscany, and has since risen to become one of Italy’s most celebrated cult producers. 

The label of this large-format bottle of Colore is intended to depict the emotions of the 2016 vintage, said ARVI, a leading merchant for fine and rare wines in Switzerland.

It added the bottle label was created by Graetz himself, who grew up in a house of collectors and artists, to mark the winery’s decision to join La Place de Bordeaux global distribution system.

It said the 27-litre bottle’s case is also made from the wood of the barrique used to age the wine, with a stainless steel lid featuring Bibi Graetz’s signature.

Colore is a flagship wine for Bibi Graetz and Decanter’s regional editor for Italy, James Button, gave 98 points to Colore 2021 after tasting it in the UK last year, coinciding with its release via Bordeaux négociants.

‘Colore 2021 is incredibly energetic, with ripe red and black fruit aromas and a balsamic waft leading to a fleshy palate showcasing sweet and sapid raspberry, cherry and pomegranate,’ he wrote. It is sourced from old Sangiovese vines across several specific sites in Tuscany.

Testamatta, another key wine in the Bibi Graetz range, is produced from vines aged between 35 and 50 years.

Last year, the winery also released three limited-edition ‘Balocchi di Colore’ wines – showcasing the Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino varieties that have contributed to Colore since the wine was first created.

In June 2024, UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd announced an exclusive partnership with Bibi Graetz, and subsequently offered the producer’s first Cabernet Franc wine. Only 1,200 bottles of 2021-vintage Balocchi No.7, Cabernet Franc – from Olmo in Fiesole – have been made, said the merchant.

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Wine producers and military colleagues paid tribute to Captain Arsen Fedosenko, who was working as a photographer for the Ukrainian armed forces’ strategic communications department.

He was wounded in the Kharkiv region in June, and died in hospital one day later, said Wines of Ukraine, which represents several producers in the country.

A funeral service was held in Kyiv on 13 June, as reported by Canada’s CBC News, with a selection of his photos also on display.

Fedosenko joined the Ukrainian army as a correspondent in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began on 24 February, and used his photography skills to document life on the frontline. 

However, he had been a photographer for more than two decades. He became closely connected to Ukraine’s wine sector, earning plaudits for his work charting the country’s winemakers and vineyards.

‘I want the world to fall in love with Ukrainian wine through art photography,’ said Fedosenko in his nominee profile on the Wine Travel Awards website.

Wines of Ukraine, which is headed by Svitlana Tsybak of Beykush Winery, described Fedosenko as a talented photographer, designer and artist, as well as a passionate wine enthusiast and aspiring winemaker. 

‘He took hundreds of wonderful photos of the vineyards, wineries and winemakers, and was planning to publish a photo book about Ukrainian craft winemaking,’ the group said. 

‘Arsen visited over 30 wineries located throughout Ukraine and laid his own vineyard in 2019. His works were exhibited in Ukraine and abroad.

‘He also created labels and logos for several wineries, [and] hosted wine tastings and wine lectures, promoting Ukrainian wines. His creative impact in the development of Ukrainian winemaking can’t be overestimated.’

Fedosenko had a wife and two sons, the group said. ‘The Wines of Ukraine team, along with Arsen‘s family, friends and colleagues and all Ukrainian winemakers, will keep his memory alive.’

Fedosenko was the 82nd media worker killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion back in 2022, said the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation. Ten of those people died ‘while performing editorial assignments’, it said.

IMI cited a Telegram post by the Ukrainian armed forces’ strategic communications department that paid tribute to Fedosenko’s character and dedication.

Military casualty figures for Ukraine and Russia are difficult to confirm. In February 2024, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

A May 2024 report from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said there had been 32,989 civilian casualties since 24 February 2022, including 11,126 people killed and 21,863 people injured.

Arsen Fedosenko’s photography appears in Decanter’s recent sponsored guide to the wines of Ukraine, created in partnership with Beykush Winery, Big Wines, SHABO and Vinos de La Luz.

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In an effort to extend hope and valuable viticultural knowledge, winemakers and wine industry professionals from war-torn Ukraine visited the bucolic Napa Valley, offering a moment of respite from the full-scale Russian invasion of their home country, which began in February of 2022. The event was centred around lessons in regenerative wine growing but included site visits, cultural exchanges and broader lessons about wine growing, various fermentation lessons and best practices.

Violet Grgich, president and CEO of Grgich Hills Estate, whose father, Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich, who famously came to Napa Valley from Croatia, hosted the Ukrainian delegation. ‘We are deeply honoured to share our expertise in regenerative practices with our Ukrainian colleagues,’ said Grgich. ‘This programme is a testament to our belief that agriculture bridges cultures and supports communities through the most challenging times.’

Ukraine has recently become a darling in the wine world, a world in awe of the country’s undeniable resilience. Fittingly, lessons on vineyard resilience and climate change were part of the programme in Napa. Exploring Napa’s unfortunate experience with wildfire recovery in the vineyards, bio-diversity, and climate impacts were all part of their learning.

DWWA results out 19 June!Be the first to know: Subscribe to the DWWA newsletter

One of the Ukrainian winemakers, Pavlo Magalias, is a veteran of the Ukrainian military and has recovered several spent warheads from his Olbio Nuvo vineyards, which became part of the frontlines during Russia’s initial invasion.

‘We have learned a lot about the science of regenerative farming this week,’ said Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery. ‘It has opened our eyes to new ways of working with our grapes and making the soil healthy while also having a positive impact on the environment. We are very grateful for that and for the friendships that we have made in Napa Valley. We are especially grateful to Violet Grgich and Ivo Jeramaz [winemaker for Grgich Hills Estate] for hosting us.’

In addition to their time at Grgich, Napa’s guests visited with Ames Morison in the vineyards at Medlock Ames in Healdsburg.

The technical viticultural and oenological curriculum included:

• Climate impact and vineyard resilience
• Principles of regenerative viticulture
• The oldest regenerative organic Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in Napa – how to work with old vines
• Review pruning procedures and impact on vineyard yields
• Vineyard diversity, pest mitigation and new vineyard care
• Vineyard recovery after fires
• Napa’s AVAs and their similarity to Ukrainian viticultural areas
• Natural winemaking using wild yeast fermentation techniques

Grgich Hills Estate winemaker Ivo Jeramaz reflected on his own experience in Croatia during the 1990s. ‘We are heartbroken for them. We know what it means, it’s similar. Obviously, Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, same as us and the Serbs.’

‘This collaboration is a powerful stride towards healing and growth for Ukrainian vintners,’ said Heidi Kühn, founder and CEO of Roots of Peace. ‘We are planting seeds of hope and economic stability for war-torn communities by imparting sustainable and peace-centric agricultural practices.’

Related articles

• Ukraine wine harvest 2023: Sipping resilience
• The release of the Ukrainian ‘Grad Cru’
• Ukraine’s defiant winemakers look to EU and exports

Understanding Ukraine’s wine industry

Stretching some 1,500km from the Czech Republic and Austria to Serbia, passing through Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania along the way, the Carpathian mountains are Europe’s third-longest mountain chain after the Urals and the Scandinavian mountains. These majestic and mysterious mountains have arguably played as significant a factor in the development of the region’s history and culture as Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube, and the encroachment and retreat of empires Roman, Ottoman and Habsburg, not to mention the more recent impact of the Soviet era. They also have a remarkably long winemaking tradition, dating back several thousand years.

The Carpathian foothills experience a relatively mild climate with plenty of both rain and hot, sunny days, while also possessing a diversity of volcanic soils, and today they represent a versatile paradise for wine lovers, where the ancient art of winemaking is grandly celebrated. In this wine haven, the old ‘New World’ of varieties such as Furmint, Welschriesling, Kadarka, Kékfrankos and other discoveries await, along with rich historic cultures, breathtaking landscapes and the broadly undiscovered wine scenes of central Europe. With only a small percentage of the local wine leaving its respective countries, there’s a vast tapestry of labels waiting to be explored.

For wine enthusiasts, an excellent way to discover this expansive area is by visiting one or more of the region’s regular wine festivals. Many of the countries through which the Carpathians pass saw their wine industries suffer during the communist era, and today, as they work to rebuild and expand, there’s a palpable enthusiasm and desire to share the local traditions with the wider world.

Slovakia, Romania, Poland and Hungary would all make great places to start, each home to millennia-old winemaking cultures that are keenly re-emerging after shrugging off the communist cloak and each hosting a number of annual festivals, a selection of which are presented here.

Slovakia

Chute Malých Karpát 2024

Event date: 9 November

Set among sprawling vineyards and charming traditional villages in a particularly picturesque part of southwestern Slovakia, the Taste of the Small Carpathians festival is a wine lover’s paradise, boasting a distinctive ambience and offering an excellent opportunity to get under the skin of Slovakian winemaking traditions.

The town of Svätý Jur, whose wine-related history dates back to the beginning of the 13th century, sets the stage for this celebration of the local region’s exceptional wines and cuisine. The vineyards, which are the most extensive in the Small Carpathian wine region, reaching right up to the town’s fortifications, reflect a terroir that’s particularly well suited to Riesling, imparting a distinctive mineral character to the wines.

In the Small Carpathians wine region, the slopes of the foothills, predominantly composed of granite and other volcanic rocks mixed with areas of sandy soil, provide an ideal environment for nurturing resilient vines. With most of the slopes facing in a southerly direction, the often terraced vineyards are regularly bathed in sunlight, ensuring regular ripening. While white wines tend to dominate, the region also produces some characterful cool-climate reds.

The brainchild of nine local producers, the festival’s set-up enables visitors to explore wineries via a shuttle bus, engaging directly with winemakers and savouring local wine, food and art, with immersive programmes that range from musical performances to cellar tours. Start by exploring the wine towns and villages of Svätý Jur, Modra, Pezinok, Šenkvice, Dol’any and Suchá nad Parnou.

Today, at least 38 wineries participate in the festival, each showcasing something of its own, whether it’s a distinctive grape variety, a modern winemaking technique or a traditional family recipe. Viajur winery, situated in Svätý Jur’s historic and recently rebuilt Pálffy manor house, is a must-visit, especially if you are in search of local history and culture. The winery masterfully revives the Habsburg culture, echoing the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with its outstanding architecture and an impressive art collection. Terra Parna winery, in Suchá nad Parnou, is another highlight, offering a fusion of tradition and modernity, the newly built winery nestled among 3.5ha of vineyards.

The festival also provides a platform for local artisans to showcase their work – from traditional crafts to contemporary art – while local chefs are on hand to serve up a delectable array of dishes that complement the region’s wines with aplomb.

Accommodation: The Pálffy manor house, parts of which are thought to date back as far as the 13th century, has a number of well-appointed rooms.

Dining: The manor house also has two dining options: the Arte restaurant, which offers a choice of two tasting menus; and the elegant Habsburgs Lounge, where you can sample Austro-Hungarian cuisine surrounded by portraits of members of the Habsburg dynasty.

Nearest airport: Bratislava – the festival is roughly 30 minutes by car from the airport.

Romania

Rovinhud Wine Show

Event date: 15-17 November

This Romanian wine fair is held in Timișoara, a pretty little boulevard city rich in heritage. Indeed, it was one of three cities given the title of European Capital of Culture in 2023. Advocating inclusion and equality, while supporting a humanitarian foundation, this is more than just another wine event. The charity behind the scenes is Ceva de Spus, an organisation committed to championing the rights of disabled children and young adults living in impoverished conditions, which remains a persistent problem in Romania. In 2023, the event raised €57,500.

Held over three days, the Rovinhud show features at least 100 wineries from across the country, providing an excellent opportunity to explore Romania’s diverse wine scene. Apart from great wines, the fair also features masterclasses presented by internationally recognised wine experts. Past speakers at the event have included Jancis Robinson MW OBE, Julia Harding MW, Caroline Gilby MW, Yiannis Karakasis MW, Elizabeth Gabay MW, Dr José Vouillamoz and Rod Smith MW, to name but a few.

Among the wineries to look out for at the festival are Balla Geza for its championing of indigenous grapes and smart use of oak; Agape, which represents the modern face of Romanian winemaking, masterfully blending art and terroir; father and son outfit Crama Aramic for easy-drinking wines; Nachbil for something deliciously unique and organically farmed; and Cramele Recas, Romania’s largest and most prominent wine exporter, for consistently outstanding quality.

Accommodation: Atlas Hotel Timișoara, a boutique hotel located within walking distance of the festival.

Dining: The aptly named Restaurant Merlot, located in the historic Neptune Palace near Decebal bridge offers a calm and relaxing atmosphere, serving high-end European and fusion cuisines.

Nearest airport: Timișoara – the venue is a 15-minute car ride from the airport; public transport links are available.

Poland

Warsaw Wine Experience

Event date: 17-18 November

Email: er@winicjatywa.pl

Forget vodka! Poland is home to more than 400 wineries producing an impressive total of two million bottles a year. The country’s increasingly diverse wine landscape stretches across all 16 of its administrative regions. And despite the cooler climate, Polish vineyards, including those along the Baltic sea coast near Szczecin, are thriving. From a small start – in the 2009-2010 season, just 21 vineyards declared their intent to release wine – the value of the country’s wine market is growing by roughly 10% per year.

From innovative PIWI vines (hybrid varieties resistant to threats such as parasites, fungi or frost) to ingenious varieties such as Solaris, Rondo and Regent, and on to the more familiar Riesling and Merlot, Poland’s vinous offerings cover a broad spectrum of styles and may soon rival the diversity of cool-climate peers such as England and Belgium. And, with lower land prices and production costs than Western counterparts, larger wineries offer very competitive prices.

The annual Warsaw Wine Experience offers visitors a deep dive into the world of Polish and international wine. The event, which took place for the first time in 2019 and is held each October in the heart of Poland’s vibrant capital city Warsaw, is about much more than just wine tasting, offering a comprehensive wine education experience through a mix of seminars, workshops and masterclasses. However, there’s plenty of wine tasting to be done as well, with more than 150 exhibitors showing a mix of local wines and bottles from as far away as China and beyond.

Accommodation: The elegant and sophisticated Nobu hotel hosted the Warsaw event in 2023. It’s conveniently located in the heart of the city’s residential district, which is graced with gorgeous pre-war buildings as well as stores, food halls and galleries.

Dining: The award-winning Restauracja Future & Wine, located 12 minutes’ walk from the event, combines elements of Polish and wider European cuisine.

Nearest airport: Warsaw Chopin – the wine festival is a 10-minute car ride away.

Hungary

Budapest Borfesztivál

Event date: 12-15 September

Hungary’s wine offering is a rich tapestry, ranging from the luscious Tokaji Aszú to the rich reds of Eger and Villány via a vast collection of unusual grape varieties, including Furmint, Kadarka and Kékfrankos – just three of 97 white and 40 red varieties officially grown for wine in the country.

varieties officially grown for wine in the country. The Budapest Wine Festival is the perfect occasion for English-speakers to capture the essence of Hungary’s wines. The festival, now in its 33rd edition, began in 1992 with just a few hundred attendees but currently attracts more than 10,000 wine and food enthusiasts. It’s one of Central Europe’s most beautiful outdoor wine events, where attendees are invited to taste award-winning Hungarian and international wines. Special guests from lesser-known regions (such as South America in 2023) add variety to the wine offerings.

Beyond wine (bor in Hungarian, hence the name), the festival offers attendees a culinary adventure in the Chef Market Gourmet Food Court, which features everything from street food to Michelin-starred restaurant pop-ups and local specialities. There is also a range of concerts, cultural programmes and interactive workshops.

Accommodation: Baltazár Boutique Hotel, or Buda Castle Fashion Hotel, each a 10-minute walk from the festival.

Dining: Michelin one-star Borkonyha Winekitchen, whose award-winning wine list features a mix of Hungary’s best-known and more obscure offerings, as well as international classics, with numerous by-the-glass options. Tasting menu and premium wine pairing available. Or N28, a must for foodies and wine lovers – owned by two winemakers, this consistently well-reviewed restaurant is a hidden gem in the middle of downtown Pest, right in the city centre.

Nearest airport: Liszt Ferenc – the festival is a roughly 45-minute car journey from the airport.

Related articles

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• Vienna restaurants and wine bars
• Istria for wine lovers

February 2024 marks the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And though media attention has shifted largely to the Middle East in recent months, the fighting continues, with a colossal impact on the country and its inhabitants.

Amid these geopolitical challenges, Ukrainian winemakers – internationally led by Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery – are showing resilience and innovation, despite the area planted to vineyards falling from 41,800ha in 2022 to 36,600ha today (source: OIV; Wines of Ukraine).

Scroll down to see O’Connor’s selection of wines from the Black Sea Region

The country’s leading producers remain undeterred, and even in the throes of war have been travelling abroad to show their wines to an international audience – one that is overwhelmingly keen to show its support, and at the same time to discover a new and intriguing wine region. In October last year, a group of 11 producers came together to present the first UK trade tasting of Ukrainian wines, held at private members’ club 67 Pall Mall in London, where about 60 wines of varying styles were shown.

The history

When we say ‘new’, of course, we mean new to the wine lover – not in terms of the nation’s heritage. Ukraine’s winemaking roots go all the way back to the 4th century BC and beyond, originating in Crimea. However, it was in the 11th century that wine cultivation kicked off in the northern regions around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Fast-forward to the 18th and 19th centuries, and wine production soared under the control of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Poland. The modernisation of techniques and the introduction of new grape varieties marked this era.

In recent times, Ukraine, with 2,500km² of vineyards, was a major supplier of wine to the USSR, especially of Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (Soviet Sparkling Wine). The 1985-1988 anti-alcohol campaign instigated by then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to the destruction of a significant number of vineyards. However, since 2000, Ukrainian winemakers have rebounded, reaching a deeper understanding of how best to adapt vine-growing to the terroir and climate.

Ukrainian grape varieties you’ve probably never heard of

In Ukraine, the focus is primarily on international grape varieties, such as Aligoté, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Traminer for whites; and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Saperavi for reds. Some wineries are experimenting with varieties such as Albariño, Blaufränkisch, Pinotage, Tempranillo, Timorasso and Zweigelt.

As winemaking expands to northern and central-western regions, frost- or fungus-resistant varieties such as Johanniter, Solaris and Jupiter are on the rise, while notable examples of local varieties also gaining traction are…

• Citron Magarach A white grape variety from Yalta’s Magarach research institute, producing wines with a light straw to amber colour, pronounced citrus tones, and a full, round palate with low acidity. Its frost resistance makes it popular in northern Ukraine.

• Sukholymanske White Created in the second half of the 20th century, this white grape variety yields wines with a light golden colour, fruity aromas of pear and white flowers, and a harmonious taste with notes of melon and white plum, accompanied by a pleasant sourness in the aftertaste.

• Telti-Kuruk An indigenous white grape exclusive to Ukraine, having survived the phylloxera epidemic. Known as ‘fox tail’, thanks to the shape of its bunches, it offers fresh, mineral wines with floral and fruity notes of white acacia and quince. It has similarities to the Hungarian variety Juhfark (‘sheep’s tail’), and it is said Telti-Kuruk was planted back in the 16th century, when the territory belonged to the Turks.

• Odesa Black (Alibernet) This is a challenging but rewarding red grape first created in 1948, a crossing between Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon. It produces dark, intense red wines with mint and blackberry aromas and velvety jam notes.

Around the wine regions

The climate in Ukraine varies from temperate to Mediterranean, with southern Crimea (the peninsula occupied by Russia since its 2014 invasion) basking in fruity ripeness. There are ‘officially’ six wine regions in Ukraine, delineated since Soviet times, but these are now deemed outdated by the producers. The promotional body Ukrainian Wine Company UK prefers to categorise the country’s land under vine as follows: the Black Sea region (including Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson), Bessarabia, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea.

The Black Sea region – Odesa (or Odessa), Mykolaiv and Kherson – has 2,500 years of winemaking history. With a blend of continental and maritime climates, this area produces robust reds and traditional sparkling wines. Key varieties include whites Sukholymanske and Telti-Kuruk and a range of international grapes.

Bessarabia, within the Odesa region, champions ancient winemaking traditions, applied to diverse varieties including Citron Magarach, Sukholymanske and Odesa Black. The region’s expansive steppes endure humid winters and hot, dry summers, with soils including the renowned Ukrainian black, fertile chernozem soils and mineral-rich loamy grounds.

Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), bordering Hungary and Slovakia to the west, transitions from white to red wines. The Carpathian mountains create a unique microclimate for vine cultivation, with white varieties Traminer, Furmint, Chersegi (Cserszegi Fűszeres in Hungary) and red Blaufränkisch (also known by synonyms including Blauer Limberger, Kékfrankos, Lemberger or Modra Frankinja) all thriving. The region previously attracted tourists from around the world, with its vineyards, wineries, geothermal spas and ancient castles.

Zaporizhzhia, the smallest wine region with less than 5,000ha of vineyards, holds historical significance. With its shores washed by the Sea of Azov (above the Black Sea), this area enjoys a temperate continental climate with saline and humus-rich chernozem soils. Notable for resort towns, thermal springs and salt mining, it was also the location of the Zaporozhian Sich stronghold, the principal centre of Ukrainian Cossacks. As Decanter was going to press, 70% of he Zaporizhzhia region, including the majority of vineyards, remained under occupation, with the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive maintaining its position.

Crimea, though impacted by the 2014 invasion, remains one of Ukraine’s oldest winemaking regions. The climate is conducive to viticulture, with soils ranging from marl to chernozem.

In defiance

Most of the new wineries that have sprung up in Ukraine in the last five years are located in cool-climate areas. These developing, and ‘unofficial’ wine regions – (west to east) Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv – produce high-acidity and aromatic white wines and very bright rosés. Some winemakers are trying their hand at producing amber and sparkling wines, too.

Experimentation is widespread, even while the winemakers navigate the unprecedented challenges caused by war. Wines are emerging produced by varied approaches, ranging from ancient Georgian techniques such as qvevri, to the most modern methods. And, with the country in the spotlight, even if for tragic reasons, the world is taking notice.

The international exposure has become a lifeline for Ukrainian winemakers, with heightened interest coming from new and returning customers. The stories they have to tell resonate with resilience and hope, offering a glimpse into the promising future of Ukrainian wines. Ukraine’s indomitable spirit is bottled, and waiting to be shared with the world.

Five key Ukrainian producers to know

Beykush

This family-owned winery spans 14ha and is located just 2km from the occupied area. In Chernomorka village, on the Beykush peninsula by the Black Sea, it embraces French, Italian and Georgian clones alongside the rare Telti-Kuruk grape. From traditional- method sparkling to amphora-aged wines, its experimentation captures the essence of this special terroir.

Bolgrad

Established in 1998 by the Markushevskiy and Maslenkov families, Bolgrad Winery embodies three generations of winemaking expertise. Thanks to their proximity to the Black Sea, the vineyards benefit from a microclimate that imbues the wines with salinity and freshness. With more than 600ha under vine, Bolgrad produces about 6 million bottles annually.

Kolonist

Founded in 2005 in Bessarabia (the south of the Odesa region), Kolonist Winery, owned by the Plachkov family, has a range that runs from classic aged whites to indigenous specialities such as Odesa Black and Sukholymanske white. Co-owner Hryhoriy Plachkov’s military service experience is reflected in the winery’s tenacity.

Shabo

Founded in 1822 by Swiss settlers, southwest of Odesa, Shabo is now operated by a Georgian winemaking family. Despite the war’s challenges, especially around Odesa, and disrupted work shifts due to air raid sirens, Shabo continues to craft wines from its modern winery near the Black Sea – its cellars of almost 5,000m² are among the largest in Ukraine, and can hold more than 13 million bottles. The team works with international varieties, but also varieties originating from the wider region, such as Saperavi, and specifically from Ukraine, including Telti-Kuruk.

TM Villa Tinta or Vinhol Oksamitnoe

A family estate winery since 1998 with 500ha of vines planted, situated in the historic winemaking district of Bolgrad, which is in southern Ukraine, in the Odesa region near the Black Sea and the border with Romania. The sub-tropical climate is tempered by lake Yalpuh. It works with a wide range of grapes including Sukholymanske and Odesa.

Taste of Ukraine: O’Connor’s selection from the Black Sea Region

Wines were tasted non-blind

Related articles

• Ukraine wine harvest 2023: Sipping resilience
• The release of the Ukrainian ‘Grad Cru’
• Ukraine’s defiant winemakers look to EU and exports

Best of Hungary, a fine food and wine importer, wholesaler and retailer in the UK, is a family business based in West Wales that works directly with artisan food producers and boutique wineries.

The award-winning retailer has the largest Hungarian wine portfolio in the UK, and is also a purveyor of fine foods including Hungarian truffles, caviar, honey, paprika and more. 

Run by mother and son team, owners Monika and Zoltan have put together a mixed-case selection of DWWA-awarded wines from their homeland, including 96-point sparkling wine, bold reds and outstanding sweet wines from Tokaj. 

Discover the ‘Best of Hungary’ with this exclusive wine offer:

Best of Hungary has selected an exclusive mixed case of DWWA 2022 and 2023 medal winners including sparkling, white, red and sweet wines from four historical wine regions.

Decanter readers can take 5% off site-wide on their first order with the code DECANTER5 at checkout.

The first 15 cases also come with Decanter’s December issue, including a special Tokaj supplement to learn more about the region while sipping on Aszú.

Shop now

or scroll down to see the DWWA award-winning wines on offer

Included in Best of Hungary’s DWWA mixed case

Use the code DECANTER5 at checkout to save 5% site-wide on your first order.

Bolyki, Egri Bikavér, Eger 2018

Bronze, 87 points | DWWA 2022

Nice blackcurrant and plum fruits with a slightly smoky edge. Simple and easy-drinking. Alcohol 13%

Gróf Degenfeld, Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Tokaj 2017

Platinum, 97 points | DWWA 2022

Pristine apricot and ginger jam, peaches and cream, honeysuckle, and orange blossom with a lovely light touch of warming spice. There’s a layer of new Hungarian oak adding toasted, woody notes, and the palate finishes with an assertive and imposing texture. Alc 11%

Kreinbacher, Prestige Brut, Wine of Hungary NV

Gold, 96 points | DWWA 2022

A complex and developed aroma, leading with rich toasty biscuits and nuts, then opening into fresh, ripe lemons. The palate shows vibrancy and offers flavours of fresh apple and quince. The palate is well-structured, with a juicy lemon acidity and a nice mousse. Alc 12%

St Andrea, Áldás Superior, Egri Bikavér, Eger 2021

Bronze, 88 points | DWWA 2023

Spicy nose with aromas of red fruits. Medium tannins, well integrated and fruit driven, vivid finish. Alc 15%

Tokajicum Winery, Aszú, Tokaj 2018

Bronze, 87 points | DWWA 2023

Classic earthy nose of mushrooms and quince jam. Concentrated and pithy on the palate. Tasty. Alc 10%

Zelna, Olaszrizling, Balatonfüred-Csopak, Balaton 2021

Platinum, 97 points | DWWA 2022

The wine opens with a lovely honeyed citrus character that melts into notes of golden apples. The palate shows lovely freshness, with a flinty, smoky note sitting over the complex tropical fruits and lemon cordial. Shows amazing value. Alc 14%

Shop now

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First 15 cases come with Decanter’s December issue which includes a dedicated Tokaj supplement. 

About Best of Hungary

Website: www.bestofhungary.co.uk

Promotion period: Now until stock lasts

Promotion details: 5% off DWWA mixed case and full range of Hungarian fine food delicacies sitewide on first orders. First 15 cases come with Decanter’s December issue.

Online promo code: DECANTER5

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Slovenia is host to three main wine regions: Primorska, Posavje and Podravje. Whites predominate and some of the most interesting are made from little-known autochthonous varieties.

You’ll probably arrive through Ljubljana, with its elegant Baroque and Vienna Secession architecture, and hilltop castle overlooking the Ljubljanica river. From here, Slovenia’s top destinations lie west. There’s Triglav National Park with its rugged snow-capped peaks, the superbly photogenic Lake Bled, and the Soča Valley, carved out by the emerald-green Soča river. South from here lie the hills of Goriška Brda planted with vineyards (more about this later), then Kras (a geographic area formed of water-soluble carbonate rocks), and a glorious strip of Adriatic coast, home to the lovely Venetian-era towns of Koper and Piran.

Any first-time visitor would do well to spend a couple of days in Ljubljana and Triglav National Park before descending to Primorska to explore the sub-regions of Goriška Brda and the Vipava Valley, where stunning landscapes and numerous boutique wineries await. Each vintner has a special story to tell – many are experimenting with sparkling wines, orange wines and biodynamic production, and using terracotta amphorae and concrete eggs for ageing their wines.

Primorska

Primorska or the Slovenian Littoral, backing the Adriatic coast, divides into four sub-regions: Goriška Brda, Vipava Valley (Vipavska Dolina), Kras and Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra). Culturally Primorska has close ties with neighbouring Italy – sitting between the Adriatic and the Alps, it enjoys a sub-Mediterranean climate.

Goriška Brda

The hills of Goriška Brda conceal dozens of sleepy rural villages – medieval-walled Šmartno, a huddle of stone cottages centring on a Baroque church dedicated to St. Martin, the protector of winemakers – and Dobrovo, with its white 17th-century Renaissance castle of four towers, are the biggest. Green and lush, Brda’s hills are planted primarily with vineyards, as well as olive groves, cherry orchards and clusters of elegant cypresses, while the valleys are traversed by rivers and streams. On a clear day, you might see the snow-capped Julian Alps to the north and the sparkling blue Gulf of Trieste to the south.

Some 140 winemakers live here, producing 70% white and 30% red, organic and harvested by hand. They’re especially proud of the indigenous Rebula (or Ribolla Gialla as it is known in neighbouring Italy), known since the 13th century and Brda’s flysch soil gives it full flavour and minerality. It’s very resilient (with roots up to 12 metres long) and versatile, making everything from dry sparkling to dessert wine. Many wineries are open for tours and tasting. You really need a car to explore the region, though sporty visitors might attempt by bike.

Klet Brda, in the village of Dobrovo, the heart of Brda, is Slovenia’s major wine producer and importer, producing more than five million bottles annually. It unites 400 local wine growers cultivating vineyards on steep slopes in its circle of family and friends. Wine tastings are available for visitors in the main cellar as well as in the exclusive De Baguer cellar at Dobrovo Castle. For something exceptional, taste the De Baguer Motnik 2017, made from Rebula fermented in barrels smoked using local herbs before harvest. Klet Brda picked up two Gold and seven Silver Medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2023.

Also in Dobrovo, Medot was founded by Zvonimir Simčič when he retired from managing Klet Brda. Medot specialises in sparkling wine and Rebula. Try its top seller, fresh fruity Medot Brut 48, a blend of Rebula, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and its elegant Medot Extra-Brut Cuvée, made from Chardonnay and Rebula.

In Višnjevik, Erzetič uses amphorae and also experiments with different types of wood. The Orbis Rebula 2018, aged in barrels of oak, mulberry, wild cherry, ash, and acacia was awarded a Gold Medal at DWWA 2022.

High up in north Brda, at the foot of the Soča Valley, newly-built Ferdinand commands sweeping views down onto steep terraced vineyards. Its Sinefinis Rebolium 2017, made in collaboration with Collio producer Gradis’ciutta, is made from Rebula. Some of the grapes come from Slovenia and some from Italy to create ‘a wine without borders’.

Moving south to Ceglo, Marjan Simčič does all sorts of wonderful things with Rebula, as well as international varieties. Try his sweet Leonardo 2017, made from dried Rebula grapes before being aged in oak for four to five years.

At neighbouring Movia, Aleš Kristančič is a pioneer of natural wine. Don’t miss the chance to visit the Kristančič home to try sparkling Movia Puro, made from Chardonnay. Opening the bottle is an event in itself as it is only rid of its lees upon serving. After being stored upside down for 24 hours, the bottle is disgorged in a large glass bowl of cold water by a sommelier – so you can see the whole process – and then the wine is poured into Movia crystal glasses for guests to enjoy.

Other producers worth noting include Dolfo of Ceglo for Brut Nature fizzes, Zanut of Neblo, Ščurek in Plešivo and Edi Simčič, which has a contemporary tasting room filled with artwork in the village of Vipolže.

Vipava Valley

East of Goriška Brda, the Vipava Valley is home to small family wineries working with native varieties Pinela and Zelen, which do well on the region’s flysch soil. Historically, producers in this area supplied wines to Vienna.

In Slap, head to Marc winery to taste its fresh and delicate Pinela 2021. The 2019 vintage of the same wine won a Platinum at DWWA 2020.

Near Planina, modern winery Guerila overlooks an amphitheatre-shaped vineyard devoted to biodynamic wines. Taste the Guerila Zelen 2022, or Guerila Amfora 2020, made from the Rebula grape.

In Osek, Lepa Vida hosts tastings which tell amusing anecdotes based on the history of the region. The Zelen 2022 is herbal and spicy, while the ‘O’ 2021 is an orange wine made from Malvasia Istriana and a small amount of Rebula, with the skins in contact with the juice during fermentation.

Kras

Kras is famed for its caves – each year, tens of thousands of visitors enter the labyrinthine depths of Postojna and Škocjan, to admire vast underground halls and tunnels graced by stalactites and stalagmites.

Up above ground, the red soils of Kras are rich in iron and best known for red wine made using the Teran grape – try it at Vinakras Sežana in a vaulted stone cellar in Sežana. Its La Marie Teran 2018 won a Silver Medal at DWWA 2023.

Slovenian Istria

The sun-warmed flysch soils near the sea also produce good reds. From Vinakoper in the portal city of Koper, the red Capris Refošk 2020 won a Silver at DWWA 2023. The producer also makes Vinakoper Spa body treatment products from grape seeds. Nearby in Triban village, at MonteMoro, try orange wine Malvazija aMorus.

Podravje

In northeast Slovenia, Podravje produces almost half of all Slovenian wine. In Maribor, the 400-year-old Žametovka vine at the Old Vine House, – listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘oldest vine’– is a must-see for wine lovers. Nearby, tour the 2.2km tunnels in the vast Vinag cellars.

In neighbouring Ptuj, Ptujska Klet produces one million litres annually. Founded by Franciscan monks in 1239, it’s Slovenia’s oldest winery. Its aromatic Pullus Sauvignon won a Gold Medal at DWWA 2023.

Northeast, in Mačkovci, Marof produces the esteemed organic Marof Bodonci Sauvignon Blanc, aged on fine lees for 35 months in 2,500 litre oak barrels.

Posavje

In southeast Slovenia, the Sava Valley runs east towards Croatia. Posavje can be divided into the sub-regions of Dolenjska, Bizeljsko Sremič and Bela Krajina. It is known for Cviček, a curious sour wine made from a mix of reds and whites, but there’s more to Posavje than this.

Near Metlika in Bela Krajina, visit Šuklje to try the summery white Lozice (made from single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc) and flagship red Vrbanjka (made from single-vineyard Blaufränkisch matured in second fill French oak). For sparkling wines, Istenič in Bizeljsko won a Gold Medal at DWWA 2022 with its Prestige Extra Brut 2013, while near Tržišče in Dolenjska, Domaine Slapšak’s Penina range is also worth attention.

My perfect weekend in Ljubljana

Book in at the elegant Grand Hotel Union Eurostars on Miklošičeva Street, near the Triple Bridge.

Friday

If you’re here from May to October, check out Friday’s Open Kitchen street food fair, on the Central Market near the Triple Bridge, with several stalls representing Slovenian wineries. If it’s winter, toast your arrival with a glass of sparkling wine at Vinoteka Movia (run by the wine producer).

Evening

Ride the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle to dine at Strelec (‘archer’) in the 15th-century Archer’s Tower. Opt for the tasting menu with wine pairing.

Saturday

Morning

Take a private guided city tour, to discover the Unesco-listed works of architect Jože Plečnik, including the Triple Bridge, the covered market and Križanke summer theatre.

Afternoon

Stroll up to Ljubljana Castle, set in parkland with tree-lined avenues. On its southern slopes, the castle vineyard grows 1,050 vines, made up of roughly half white (Belpin) and half red (Rdečegrajc). Have lunch at the wine bar in the castle, then head to Tivoli Park to the National Museum of Contemporary History, tracing Slovenia’s past from 1914 up to the present.

Evening

Dine at JB on Miklošičeva Street, then head to Šuklje’s (owned by the wine producer) wine bar for a riverside nightcap.

Sunday

Morning

Drive out of town to the verdant Vipava Valley, one of Slovenia’s loveliest wine regions.

Afternoon

Have lunch at Faladur in Vipava, then visit local wineries Marc, Guerila and Lepa Vida.

Return to Ljubljana for your homeward flight.

Your Slovenia address book

Restaurants

Strelec

Michelin-star fine dining at Ljubljana Castle, with delicacies such as truffles, foie gras and venison.

JB Restaurant

In a building designed by architect Jože Plečnik, chef Janez Bratovž creates elegant dishes highlighting the natural flavours of local ingredients.

Hiša Marica

In Šmartno, in Goriška Brda, enjoy local seasonal specialities, along with the owner’s wines and home-cured pršut (prosciutto).

Faladur

Family-run eatery serving authentic local fair in Vipava and running Vipava Valley wine tastings.

Hiša Franko

In Kobarid in the Soča Valley, cult restaurant Hiša Franko has three Michelin stars and a Green Michelin, plus ten guest rooms.

Accommodation

Grand Hotel Union Eurostars

Big prestigious hotel dating from 1905, near Ljubljana’s Triple Bridge.

Kabaj 

In Šlovrenc in Goriška Brda, this welcoming winery has six cosy rooms, and an excellent restaurant serving its own organic wines – try the superb red Cuvée Morel aged seven years in oak.

Hotel Gredič 

In Ceglo in Goriška Brda, 17th-century Gredič has seven rooms, a fine-dining restaurant and a spectacular wine cellar.

Aldila

Five cosy double rooms in a lovely renovated building in medieval Šmartno in Goriška Brda.

Guerila

This biodynamic winery has three modern self-catering apartments overlooking hillside vineyards in the Vipava Valley.

Wine shops and bars

Vinoteka Movia

Small cosy wine bar below Ljubljana Castle, stocking Movia wines from Goriška Brda along with other outstanding offerings.

Šuklje

Riverside wine bar near Ljubljana’s Triple Bridge. Wine flights and selections by the glass, including the owners’ wines from Bela Krajina, along with platters of Slovenian charcuterie and French cheeses.

Grajska vinoteka

In a vaulted brick space inside Ljubljana Castle, come here for quality Slovenian wines plus snacks.

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Zürich is a wine-obsessed city with an innovative approach to production and consumption. On its eponymous lake, experiments in maturation take place within specially designed buoys, while the medieval guild house-turned-restaurant Zunfthaus zur Waag has an outdoor fountain that spurts wine (sadly, mostly reserved for weddings).

On Lake Zürich’s sunnier side, the hills are braided with vines – including Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Räuschling – but only a fraction of wine is exported. It’s the same story for the rest of Switzerland, with only top winemakers such as Domaine Donatsch, Studach, and Gantenbein having some bottles escaping to cellars beyond the sky-scraping Alps. The Swiss love their wines and so will you (especially if you’re partial to Pinot Noir).

While Switzerland’s largest city is best known for its financial centre, it’s also a cosmopolitan metropolis with areas — such as Langstrasse and Europaallee — that recall hipster pockets of Berlin or Stockholm. Whether you’re intent on exploring the city’s best cellars in its cobblestoned Old Town or popping into a natural wine boutique while wandering the art deco streets, Zürich has you covered.

Five top spots for wine lovers

Wystube Isebähnli

The heart of Zürich hospitality resides in the Wystube Isebähnli — a creaking wood-clad corridor of a restaurant on the edge of the Old Town. In 2008, this 200-year-old former wine bar was taken over by Yücel Ersan, who has established it as a destination for the in-the-know gourmand. Its stainless-steel mousehole of a kitchen plays host to guest chefs serving up frequently changing tasting menus. And while the French-inflected cuisine is exquisite, it’s the wine list — spread across several 800-year-old cellars in the vicinity — that is Yücel and his sommelier sister Ebru’s true passion. At the restaurant, you’ll be given a list that’s short and to the point, offering wines from their collection that are at their absolute peak. If you’d like to explore deeper, ask for the full wine list in advance. Isebähnli has a focus on rarities with vintage depth from Bordeaux (1910-2020), Burgundy (1959-2021), Piedmont (1990-2018), Tuscany (1982-2020), Rioja & Ribera del Duero (1954-2019) and California (1994-2018). As the pair knows most of the Swiss winemakers personally, this is also the place to dive deep into the national wine scene.

Carlton Restaurant

Down a quiet lane off the shopping mecca of the Bahnhofstrasse, the Carlton inhabits the lower levels of a revamped Belle Epoque hotel. Its Art Deco interior is the ideal setting for monthly Gatsby parties that run late into the night and take advantage of its superb cuisine and 900-strong list. With a focus on Swiss and French (particularly Bordeaux) producers, you’ll find tantalising selections from Domaine Romanée-Conti as well as New World treasures such as Californian cult winery Sine Qua Non, among many others. On the à la carte, crowd pleasers such as Wiener schnitzel and beef wellington dominate, while chef Philipp Heering’s creativity is expressed in dishes such as the tangy and sweet strawberry gazpacho with basil and chilli, or the sea bass with salted lemon and avocado. For the full Heering, opt for Carlton’s five-course tasting menu with wine pairings (225 CHF per person).

Gamper Bar

The Gamper Bar’s tall windows and red leather banquettes upholster a corner of the trendy Langstrasse area with a hint of Spain thrown in. The bar is attached to a restaurant of the same name and this popular pairing is the brainchild of owner and chef Marius Frehner, formerly of three-Michelin-star El Celler de Can Roca. His staunchly sustainable outlook has created a 100-strong wine selection heavily weighted towards organic and natural wine from Europe. It also features a Champagne list, ideal for cutting through the richness of small plates such as oysters or burrata with smoky lardo and caramelised fennel seeds. However, should you wish for something more substantial, you can try for a table next door and discover Frehner’s ‘Surprise Menu’ of vegetable-forward courses.

Landolt Winery

The Landolt ancestor who began making wine in the early 1800s, so the story goes, had been preparing for a life of the cloth. When he discovered how profitable wine could be, he ditched theology and built up what would become the largest wine-grower in the city. Using six of Zürich’s 13 available urban hectares, the winery is best known for its Schiterberger Himmelsleiterli Pinot Noir grown on its original terroir – the steepest hill in the Zürich canton. The Landolt Weine Vinotheque showcases its 30-strong range, which includes popular Swiss white Räuschling, as well as wine produced through the unusual Austrian technique of Gemischter Satz (traditional field blend). If you’d like to see the vines after a tasting, it’s fifteen minutes on foot from the shop to the closest Riesling plantings. Alternatively, book in for one of Landolt’s five-hour guided wine hikes through the city (129 CHF per person).

Hotel B2

With its tell-tale chimney marking it out beside Google’s Zürich HQ, Hotel B2 inhabits the industrial shell of what was once one of the largest breweries in Zürich. Today, however, the focus has switched to wine thanks to the family of oenophiles that bought it in 2012. This is why the hotel’s centrepiece, like a sophisticated student fantasy, is its 20-shelf-high wine library containing 33,000 books (not all about wine, unfortunately). The wine list – more focused than the bookshelves – is curated by local wine hero and TV personality Beat Caduff, with everything sourced from within a 250km radius. Plenty of Italian and German wines make an appearance while travelling the least distance is a selection of Swiss winemaker Erich Meier’s 2021 Pinot Noirs. Rarities, predominantly Burgundian and Piedmontese, are enticingly displayed in a glass cabinet. Adjoining the hotel is a sizeable spa with a rooftop pool (half-price entrance for hotel guests), while in the stylish suites you’ll find a copy of wine journal Schweizerische Weinzeitung.

Things to do

If you’re an outdoorsy person, Zürich’s charms are instantly decipherable. Lace up your hiking boots and walk the forested pathways of the Uetliberg or seek solace from the summer heat in the limpid waters of Lake Zürich and its many lidos.

A lively burst of food-focused festivals is on offer (check dates before travel). Food Zürich has its hub of food stalls, bars and cooking demos located in trendy Europaallee. Accompanying this is an itinerary of both paid and free activities that in the past have included things such as multi-day sourdough workshops and free drop-in wine tastings.

Back at the lake, wine festival Expovina sees an armada of boats host walk-on wine tastings, with workshops held throughout the city.

How to get there

Zürich Airport is half an hour by public transport from the city centre. You can access 160 weekly flights from the UK to Zürich through Swiss Air. Upon arrival, purchase a Zürich Card and benefit from unlimited second-class travel on all public transport across the city as well as a host of other benefits.

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Tokaji Aszú is one of the most complex wines in the world and vintage really matters in this cool, volcanic, continental region on Hungary’s far northeastern edge. For most wines, one season is enough, if it goes well.

For Tokaji Aszú, three different seasons must come together. First, a good summer for ripe, healthy grapes, then a humid early autumn is vital for ‘noble rot’ to set in. After that, a sunny, breezy Indian summer is essential to desiccate the berries into aszú (Hungarian for shrivelled and noble-rotted berries).

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Tokaji Aszú wines worth seeking out

The ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ fungus botrytis cinerea has two extreme faces. It mostly causes devastating grey rot but very rarely, in certain locations, when conditions are just right, it becomes noble rot. Tokaj (the spelling for the region; Tokaji is the wine) is one of the few places where this happens reliably, and aszú berries have been documented since 1527. Climate, terroir, grape variety and vintage conditions all play a role in allowing botrytis to turn noble – grapes must be ripe, or the result will be destructive grey rot.

Botrytis degrades the skins, making them permeable so water can evaporate, and it changes the composition of the grape, with a dramatic increase in quantities of aromatic compounds, including typical Tokaji characters of apricot, peach, apple, caramel and honey. Glycerol increases significantly, which contributes to the silky, mouthfilling texture of Tokaji wines, a reaction favoured by low pH (a notable feature of Tokaji compared to Sauternes – Tokaji Aszú is typically around pH 3.1-3.3, Sauternes closer to pH 4.0).

Timing of noble rot infection also affects the quality of the aszú berries, and the best is from ripe to overripe grapes (helped by old vines and low yields). At lower ripeness, fungal mycelia appear on the skins, and this external botrytis can give zesty flavours and some bitterness, with wines that can be good but more rustic. On very ripe or overripe grapes, it develops internally, giving more citrus and apricot notes, and less bitterness, so finer, silkier wines.

Singular winemaking

Harvesting aszú berries one by one in several runs of picking is another important feature of Tokaji. Aszú berries are so shrivelled that they can’t be pressed for juice as for most sweet wines, so the region has developed unique winemaking. One by one picking means that maceration is essential – but it also gives complex, structured (more like a red wine than a typical white), long-lived wines, which are different to other botrytised wines. Every winemaker has their own idea about whether aszú berries are macerated in grape must, fermenting juice or young wine, depending on the quality and health of the berries.

The climate, volcanic soils and grape varieties also contribute to Tokaji’s distinctive character and vintage variation. President of the wine council of Tokaj and general manager at Patricius Péter Molnár says that ‘God was in a good mood when he created Tokaj’, for its geology and geography, perfectly suited for botrytis and shrivelling of the grapes.

The complex volcanic bedrock has undergone aeons of hydrothermal activity, too, and the Furmint grape (the principal variety used to make Tokaji) is particularly well suited – late-ripening and susceptible to noble rot, as well as keeping its hallmark vibrant acidity. The vintage also determines the overall quality, blend and style for base wines (which may be produced from any of six authorised varieties), as well as the variety of aszú berries.

Botrytis cinerea is not unique to Tokaj, but the way it infects the region’s grapes – coupled with the cool continental climate, complex volcanic soils and distinct winemaking methods – all come together to make something very special, but that varies with each season. It’s a wonder that winemakers keep putting themselves through this complicated and uncertain process – which is in the hands of the weather gods on so many levels. That is, until you taste the glorious wines.

Tokaji Aszú: Know your vintages

Tokaji Aszú is truly one of the glories of the wine world: use our expert guide to vintages below, to help you make a beeline for the best wines.

2017 vintage rating: 5 / 5 

One of the best vintages of the past decade is now widely available, though wines are still incredibly young. They are already gloriously drinkable in a fruity, vibrant style but will gain complexity with time. This was an outstanding and generous aszú year, thanks to a mild spring and early bud break, cool April and May and then a summer of heatwaves interspersed with rainstorms. Lots of botrytis developed on very ripe grapes, giving creamy textured, luscious wines, with great elegance and finesse.

2016 vintage rating: 4 / 5 

2016 also produced some lovely wines, though in a style that’s more classically Tokaji with its concentrated aszú and notably high acidity. A year for silky, vivid and very fine wines, similar in style to the legendary 1999 but with more botrytis influence. It was a variable, rather damp growing season, giving late-ripening fruit, then early botrytis – and lots of it due to autumn rains – and then very rapid concentration thanks to an Indian summer. Wonderful and still youthful wines.

2015 vintage rating: 1 / 5 

This was the hottest and driest year to date in Tokaj and most producers didn’t make any aszú at all, but for the very few that did, I just love the results. It was all about specific plots, with the right soils, close enough to the river for a touch of humidity. For the tiny amount of aszú, there were two very different harvests as September to October was dry and just about shrivelling, but then October rains brought botrytis on incredibly ripe grapes, giving some gorgeously silky, impressive wines.

2013 vintage rating: 5 / 5 

Another magical vintage with truly glorious wines, vying with 2017 to be the best aszú vintage of the decade. It was a late spring with a rainy, early summer but then a heatwave until September, so the fruit ripened perfectly. September became colder and rainier so intense botrytis developed, then a dry spell delivered superb drying conditions for beautiful aszú berries which produced fine, rich and aromatic wines that will go on for decades.

2011 vintage rating: 2 / 5 

This was a tricky vintage with very few aszú wines, but I’ve tasted some rather lovely examples recently that are at a beautiful meeting point of freshness and development. Even in such unregarded years, aszú can be fantastic and, as in 2015, down to micro-location. It was hot and dry, but there was still soil moisture after the soggy washout of 2010. A dribble of rain fell in August, then it was unusually dry until October. The result was tiny quantities of very late aszú, strongly influenced by shrivelling, with very clean, pure flavours giving elegant, charming wines.

2007 vintage rating: 5 / 5 

Some beautifully complex wines are showing how well modern Tokaji can mature, adding overtones of spice and tobacco to the lusciously fruity palate, with generous dried apricot, peach and mango notes. Fifteen years on, the wines are still sleek and velvety with supple freshness. 2007 saw early flowering and a hot summer with rain in September and plenty of fog, so botrytis arrived on overripe grapes, giving incredible intensity of noble rot, and great aszú, though there was also a risk of vinegar flies so meticulous selection was vital.

2006 vintage rating: 4 / 5 

Another year I love but very different in style with perfectly balanced, super-clean, precise wines. It was a long, cold winter and a late start to the season, but the summer was warm and dry. A tiny splash of rain in early September and cool autumn evenings kept the acidity high, and the late, slow botrytis allowed a perfect sugar-to-acid ratio and whistle-clean aszú. Drinking beautifully now.

2003 vintage rating: 5 / 5 

I also have a soft spot for this, at the time, unusually warm year. The harvest was incredibly long, lasting from August to mid-November, and the wines ended up being very complex while retaining high acids. Early pickings were mostly about shrivelling, then October rain encouraged botrytis, resulting in complex yet velvety textured berries. The wines are maturing and showing lovely layered depth, with coffee, toffee, dates and orange zest overtones, but also fresh and vibrant.

2002 vintage rating: 4 / 5 

A little overshadowed by the vintage that followed, but I’ve recently tasted some simply incredible wines of amazing precision that can still hold for several years yet. It was an early year and a warm summer, but with enough rainfall in early September to bring morning fogs, so fine botrytis infected ripe grapes, then a dry Indian summer was perfect for desiccation. The best wines are still in great shape – refined, graceful, with great concentration and vivid acid balance.

1999 vintage rating: 5 / 5 

An amazing, admirable vintage – for many, one of the greatest ever. It has superb balance of sweetness with lingering spinetingling acidity and fantastic longevity. I rarely get to taste it nowadays, though it’s always exciting to see just how incredibly well modern-era aszú can age. And it speaks of how great the Tokaji terroir is, made at a time when understanding of winemaking complexities was less sophisticated and the relearning of specific vineyard locations was still in its infancy. Try it if you can.

Tokaji Aszú years to avoid

2010 and 2020 were largely washouts – both very rainy years, which allowed botrytis development but a lot of grey rot, and too humid for berries to dry out, though with occasional nice wines from well-drained loess soils. 2014 was similar, but some appealing wines were made where meticulous selection was applied.

For the future

Sneak previews from the barrel suggest great vintages to come. 2019 looks to have great structure, complexity and firm acidity. 2021 may be the best aszú year ever, according to some leading producers. 2022 is more of a mixed picture, with lots of botrytis. Some wineries report lovely balance in their aszú, while for others autumn was too humid to dry the berries, rating it instead a year for rich, sweet szamorodni (derived from a Polish word meaning ‘as it comes’, these are styles made using whole bunches, with a mix of botrytis-affected grapes and healthy berries).

Sweet success: Caroline Gilby MW’s pick of wines from top Tokaji vintages

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2023 harvest: ‘The motivated endure’

The 2023 Ukrainian wine harvest reflects winemakers’ resolve. Amid the ongoing conflict, vintners display remarkable resilience; diligently tending vineyards, producing wines and exporting their products worldwide. Despite unique challenges, winemakers remain optimistic.

According to the Wines of Ukraine website: ‘Six wine regions have been officially approved in Ukraine. This is an outdated norm in our legislation, which has been in effect since Soviet times and does not correspond to today’s realities. The Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine [aka Wines of Ukraine] is actively working to expand the winemaking area to most of Ukraine. A large number of new wineries that have appeared in the last 5 years are located in cool climates.’

Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush Winery, reflected on a challenging 18 months, ‘Beykush is a family-owned winery that spans just 13 hectares, it’s located two kilometres from the occupied area. When full-scale war erupted last year, we faced uncertainty about our winemaking prospects. In July, we decided to bottle wines initially prepared before the war’s outbreak. We also dedicated ourselves to caring for the vineyards. Last September yielded high-quality grapes due to dry, hot weather, with no issues in the vineyard. This year could be a mixed bag – I hear reports of unfavourable weather conditions from Zakarpattia (near the Hungarian border). However, due to last year’s success, we expect to increase our production by 20% this year, thanks to two additional hectares maturing, despite the rockets above us.’

Tania Olevska, owner of Friends Wine Travel, added, ‘Winemakers had no alternative but to continue nurturing vineyards and pursuing their craft. Emotionally, it’s crucial to stay engaged during wartime; otherwise, despair takes hold. Thus, despite the conflict, we enjoyed a bountiful harvest last year. This year is looking promising too.’

Kolonist Winery, founded by the Plachkov family in Bessarabia, exemplifies resilience and growth. Initially producing 30,000 bottles annually, it has expanded to 350,000 bottles, with 63ha of vineyards. The portfolio features classic aged whites and reds, semi-dry, sweet and sparkling styles. Its specialities, Odesa black and Sukholymanske white, highlight Ukraine’s indigenous array. Even during the conflict’s early stages, when alcohol sales faced restrictions and night-time lights were banned, the winery persisted. It opened its doors to families from occupied regions and provided humanitarian aid. Hryhoriy Plachkov, co-owner of the winery, presently serves as a military officer.

Former tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky, who now fights on the frontline against Russian, is the owner of Stakhovsky Wines in the Zakarpattia region. He spoke with decanter.com as he landed back in Kyiv safely, reflecting on the last two vintages, ‘We have 22.5 hectares of vines, producing 10,000 cases yearly. The 2022 vintage was very powerful and charismatic, but missile attacks left us without power for 2 weeks. The 2023 harvest faced weather instability, in our region, but we won’t fully know the results as we are just preparing for harvest starting the last week of September. Overall, the Russian invasion devastated wineries, making it difficult for the wineries to survive, but motivated vine growers and winemakers endure.’

Status quo: An overview of Ukrainian winemaking

The success stories highlighted above should not mask the devastating effect the conflict has had on some regional wine production. Many occupied regions have suffered significant impacts, leading to the loss of wineries in Kherson and other areas, producers said.

Tsybak, who is also c0-founder of Wines of Ukraine, a pivotal organisation championing domestic producers born out of the collaborative spirit when the conflict started, anticipated it would take at least a decade to revive some regions’ wine production. Overall, Ukraine has retained around 100 wineries (down from 180 before the war started), with the majority remaining operational.

One other challenge confronting Ukrainian winemakers was the complexity of legislation and bureaucracy. Over the last two decades, Ukraine’s wine industry has undergone a remarkable resurgence. Between 2016 and 2018 substantial legislative improvements were made to support small wine producers.

Tsybak highlighted the progress made: ‘Since 2018, we have been working on simplifying legislation, such as removing the need for an excise stamp on bottles.’

In 2021, a significant milestone was achieved with the removal of the still wine excise mark. More recently, law 9030 introduced key provisions such as streamlined licensing, the removal of administrative penalties, simplified reporting, support for winemakers and a provision for minor producers to purchase grapes for a much-reduced licence fee.

According to Stakhovsky, ‘The Ukrainian wine industry was looking on the uprise since 2016 when a new law was signed by the President giving small “craft” winemakers the right to produce wine from own-grown vines without paying roughly £16,000 on license fees.’

These legislative amendments have fostered the growth of boutique wineries in the country, he explained.

Paving the path forward

The worldwide wine community has rallied in support of Ukrainian winemakers since the outbreak of the war.

‘Recent years have seen many nations reassess their views on Ukraine. They now understand Ukraine’s true essence. Importers have expressed their desire to import our wines, resulting in repeat orders. Ukrainian wines have found new markets, and international markets have discovered Ukrainian wine. For instance, our Estonian partners started with just a single pallet, wanting to help out, and today their orders have increased to 5-6 pallets per month,’ Tsybak said.

She added that Ukraine’s wine industry is working tirelessly to expand its reach and enhance its presence on the global stage, introducing the Ukrainian terroir to global audiences.

While Ukrainian winemakers navigate the challenges of conflict, they are simultaneously preparing for a promising future. Despite uncertainties, 2024 plans are infused with optimism.

Kostiantyn Tintulov, commercial director of TM Villa Tinta, shared his vision, ‘In 2024, we plan to increase exports and domestic sales, explore new markets, launch new wines, and contribute to our country’s restoration.’

Vladimir Palariev, co-owner and winemaker at Frumushika-Nova was also optimistic when speaking to decanter.com, ‘In 2024, we plan to introduce a unique line of wines featuring indigenous grape varieties. We hope for robust sales in the UK and EU.’

The resilience and creativity exhibited by Ukrainian winemakers during these challenging times point to a bright future for the nation’s wine industry. Wines of Ukraine will present 13 wineries to UK trade on the 9th of October at 67 Pall Mall in London and plans to participate in Prowein and the London Wine Fair, building on its successes from the previous year’s participation in these prominent international fairs.

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Now in its 9th edition, the Salon of Decanter Medal Winners was held last week in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, featuring 42 producers and their recently awarded wines from the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards.

Around 300 wine lovers, trade and press from more than 10 countries gathered together on 4th July to taste some 130 award-winning wines, including 14 Gold medal winners from across Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

The Balkans had much to celebrate this year with Serbia’s first ever Best in Show as well as top Gold performances for Croatia and Slovenia.

Croatia won 44 more medals compared to last year – nine more Golds, 18 more Silvers and 20 more Bronze. The majority of wines awarded were white single-varietal wines, although 90 out of the county’s 358 medals were awarded to red wines, including a Gold for Kozlovic Winery’s Teran Selekcija 2021, presented at the event.

Slovenia had its best-ever Gold and Silver performance with 12 Gold and 80 Silver medals, signifying an overall increase in quality. In total, the country saw a record 195 medals awarded.

The Gold medal-winning wines from Slovenia available to taste on the day included:

• Bjana, Cuvée Prestige Extra-Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2018
• Bužinel, Wine Brothers Chardonnay, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2021
• Domačija Bizjak, Sivi Pinot, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2022
• Gašper Wines, Selekcija Cabernet Franc, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2020
• Klet Brda, A Plus, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2017
• Klet Brda, De Baguer Merlot-Cabernet Franc, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2017
• M-Enostavno Dobra Vina, Extrem, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2020
• Ptujska, Pullus Sauvignon, Štajerska Slovenija, Podravje 2022
• Simčič Karol & Igor & Marijan, Selection Vineyards Sivi Pinot , Goriška Brda, Primorska 2020
• Zuljan, Merlot, Goriška Brda, Primorska 2018

During DWWA judging week, co-chair Andrew Jefford said: ‘You look at newer regions like the Balkans, from where we get terrifically good entries. Increasingly we see real literacy of winemaking coming from it and similar regions, so that is very exciting to monitor.’

Jefford’s comments were emulated at the event by long-time DWWA judge, Slovenian wine expert and organiser of the Salon, Robert Gorjak who added, ‘The quality of wine in Slovenia is growing.’

The annual Salon in Slovenia offers wine lovers and trade the opportunity to discover Decanter medal-winning wines in one place and is a chance for producers to showcase and celebrate their newly awarded wines.

This year there was more to celebrate than ever, and the success of the region was felt at the sold-out event.

Simon Woolf, new joint regional chair for North, Central and Eastern Europe alongside Caroline Gilby MW at DWWA 2023, attended the event for the first time, taking part in the awards ceremony to congratulate all award-winning producers in attendance.

More DWWA 2023 judges were in attendance too, including Saša Špiranec and Miquel Hudin.

Commenting on all DWWA results, and relevant to this year’s results from the Balkans, co-chair Michael Hill Smith MW said: ‘Decanter World Wine Awards has evolved through time, but it’s still kept to its core principle of regions being judged by regional specialists. What I’ve really enjoyed is that mixture of the old and the bold. There’s a nice mixture of experience and enthusiasm and youth.’

This enthusiasm and youth, in particular, is very much felt in Slovenia – a country well worth a visit for wine lovers of classic styles and new wave and experimental wines alike.

See below for the full list of producers who showcased their award-winning wines on the day:

Slovenia

• Albiana Wines
• Domačija Bizjak
• Bjana
• Klet Brda
• Bužinel
• Dveri Pax
• Vinska klet Ferjančič
• Vina Fornazarič
• Vina Frešer
• EVINO
• Gašper Wines
• Vina Kotolenko
• Kristančič Winery
• Klet Krško
• Vina Kulčar
• Medot
• M-Enostavno Dobra Vina
• Vinska klet Metlika
• Moro Wines
• Nebó
• Vini Noue Marinič
• Protner
• Ptujska klet
• Puklavec Family Wines
• Radgonske Gorice
• Simčič Karol & Igor & Marijan
• Penine Simonič
• Aljoša Sirk
• Marko Sirk
• Ščurek
• Vino Šibav
• Kmetija Tomažič
• Vinakras
• Zalatel Wines
• Posestvo Zarova
• Zlati Grič
• Zoria
• Vinarstvo Zuljan

Croatia

• Kozlovic Winery
• Kutjevo

Serbia

• Jovac Winery

North Macedonia

• Popov Winery

Special thanks to Robert Gorjak and Belvin Wine School. Visit Belvin for more information.

Search all DWWA 2023 award-winning wines

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EU officials are exploring whether funds from frozen Russian assets in Europe could be released to help reconstruction in Ukraine, and the idea is of interest to Ukrainian winemakers impacted by Russia’s invasion 12 months ago.

‘We are raising the question of funds with the European Commission,’ Volodymyr Kucherenko, director of Ukrvinprom, Ukraine’s wine industry body, and director of the Ukrainian Wine Institute, told Decanter.

European wine trade body CEEV (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins) said it would support the move, although it is acknowledged that any funds may be needed more urgently for key infrastructure.

With wineries and vineyards mainly located in the south and east of the country, Ukraine’s wine industry has suffered alongside communities in the year since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

‘We have several mutilated vineyards and damaged wineries due to massive rocket attacks,’ Kucherenko told Decanter. ‘Also, some wineries in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Donetsk regions remain under occupation.’

He added, ‘These are tough times. Since 2019, with the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine wine production and sales have fallen. During 2019-2021, the wine production area decreased by 18.6%. And since the start of the full-scale invasion the situation has worsened much further,’ he said.

Ukraine wineries on the frontline

Valery Zavorotny, owner of Olvia winery in the Mykolaiv region, and Tairovo winery in the Odesa region, said 585 hectares – more than half of his vineyards – had been damaged over the past year.

‘The material loss is severe, many people have left the country and won’t return, and we have 100 of our staff fighting in the war,’ said Zavorotny.

Andrii Strelets, general manager of the historic Prince Trubetskoi winery located in the Kherson region, said Russians had looted $1m-worth of its wine collection, with 32,000 bottles and buildings destroyed by bombings.

‘The winery is located on the right side of the Dnipro River which has now been liberated, but at the moment we are unable to go to and fully assess the damage as we are under constant fire from Russians on the left side of the river,’ Strelets said.

Oleksandr Mironenko, owner of Graevo wines and Wines of Zaporizhzhia winery, said some of his vineyards remained occupied by Russians. Falko, a producer in the Mykolaiv region that was mined five times, said cluster bombs had damaged vineyards, storage facilities and killed animals.

Meanwhile, Artwinery said it was looking for a new production base as a consequence of war in the besieged city of Bakhmut.

‘The city is under constant fire and we cannot access production facilities at the moment,’ said Alexandra Cherednichenko, Artwinery’s marketing director.

But Cherednichenko added, ‘We are selling our wines and we’ve been able to resume production of the most popular varieties of Artemivske sparkling wine in the region of Odessa by using the facilities of our partner.’

After the Russian invasion began last year, Artwinery said it was able to evacuate staff and mature, ‘ready for sale’ sparkling wines from its cellars.

Turning to exports

While some Ukrainian wine producers are supplying the country’s army with wine and brandy, a collapsed domestic market means companies have been trying to generate more exports.

‘65% of still and sparkling wine in Ukraine were consumed by women, but millions of women have left the country,’ said Giorgi Iukuridze, cofounder and CEO of producer Shabo, which owns 1,200ha of vineyard in the village of Shabo on the Black Sea.

‘Fortunately, we’ve managed to export 105,000 bottles of wine to Denmark and we’re hoping to increase exports there to a million bottles this year,’ Iukuridze said.

Ukrvinprom has been seeking support for Ukraine at European wine fairs, and attended the recent Wine Paris and Vinexpo Paris show.

Despite the prevailing darkness in Ukraine, there was some lightness to cheer the mood during the 2022 harvest, where several producers said they had been able to pick healthy grapes.

‘We think it is the best vintage in recent history,’ Iukuridze said. ‘In terms of climate, at least, it’s [as] if the gods had been helping us.’

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Since Slovakia gained independence in 1993, the last two decades have seen the nation’s wine industry endure a period of changes and rejuvenation. With renewed wine regulations to embrace the European market and a new generation of winemakers, this small-but-diverse wine nation is now producing an exciting array of wines made using international and traditional varieties, waiting to be discovered.

The regions

Slovakia as a whole has a typical continental climate with temperature extremes in summer and winter. Due to the nation’s proximity to the northern limit for commercial viticulture (latitude between 48-49°N), the majority of its wine growing regions are located in the warmer southwest and along its southern border, planted with cool-climate grape varieties.

The Small Carpathians (Lesser Carpathians / Malokarpatská)

The Small Carpathians is the oldest wine region in Slovakia, encompassing 12 viticultural areas and 120 viticultural communes. Close to the Austrian border in the southwest, the vineyards are mainly found on the southwest, south and southeast-facing slopes of the Small Carpathians mountain range.

Benefiting from sufficient sunshine, well-drained sandy loam and rocky soils, in addition to abundant aeration, the Small Carpathians region now hosts nearly half of the nation’s wine producers.

A ‘Wine Route’ is drawn by the locals from the capital Bratislava and extends east along the vineyards on the rolling hills, attracting wine lovers to explore the viticultural centre of Slovakia.

Veltlinske Zelené (Grüner Veltliner) is the most widely planted variety here, followed by Rizling Vlašský (Welschriesling). Frankovka Modrá (Blaufränkisch) and Svätovavrinecké (St. Laurent) are among the most important red varieties.

South Slovakia (Južnoslovenská)

Located in the lowlands north of the Danube (which also serves as the Slovak-Hungarian border), the region has eight viticultural areas and 114 villages. Vineyards are found on the clay-rich plains and for the newer plantings, on the loess-rich uplands and alluvial terraces by the riverside.

This is the warmest Slovak region with an effective accumulated temperature (EAT) of over 3400°C during the growing season (higher than all other regions) and 2,200 hours of sunshine per year.

While white grapes such as Veltlinske Zelené and Rizling Vlašský are among the most planted varieties, Frankovka Modrá, Pinot Noir and late-ripening grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon are also cultivated here.

Nitra (Nitrianska)

Located east of the Small Carpathians, the Nitra wine region hosts a wealth of diverse microclimates. With nine viticultural areas and 159 wine-planting villages, the vineyards are found on south-facing slopes and plains, featuring varied altitudes, soils and orientations. It’s generally colder in the hilly north and warmer towards the Danube Lowlands in the south.

Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau and Frankovka Modrá produced from higher altitudes tend to yield higher levels of acidity. Veltlinske Zelené, Rizling Vlašský and Svätovavrinecké are also widely seen. Thanks to its dry and long autumn, the region also produces ice wine (when frost arrives in time) and straw wines.

Central Slovakia (Stredoslovenská)

With vineyards scattered along the Ipeľ (or Ipoly) river towards the Cerová Highlands, the Central Slovakia wine region includes seven viticultural areas and 107 villages. The region contains diverse terrain and soils: sandstone, loam, clay and volcanic soils in the hilly northwest. The region’s arid and cold climate enables sustainable viticulture. Aromatic whites such as Riesling, Traminer and the indigenous Devín are showing potential.

East Slovakia (Východoslovenská)

Situated along the southeastern border of Slovakia, the Eastern Slovakia region is home to four viticultural areas and 89 wine-planting villages. This is a sunny, dry region with volcanic soils, producing successful wines from the Pinot family. Besides Rizling Vlašský and Müller-Thurgau, red wines made from Frankovka Modrá and the indigenous Dunaj grape are also exciting to explore.

Tokaj (Tokajská)

The Slovak Tokaj, which borders its renowned Hungarian counterpart, is small but crucial to the quality claim of Slovak wines. This is a ‘closed’ wine region that requires wines to be made using locally-sourced grapes and bottled within the seven viticultural villages.

As is the case for its Hungarian neighbour, the Slovak Tokaj area is known for its lusciously sweet wines made by infusing base wine with noble rot berries. Warm summers and long, dry autumns combined with morning fogs enable the onset of botrytis.

The local producers learnt from Hungarian production laws and restructured their own regulations in the early 2000s. The Slovak version of ‘Tokajský’ wine is also made mainly from Furmint, Lipovina (Hárslevelű) and Muškát Žltý (Muscat). Three and four Putňový wines (equivalent to ‘Puttonyos’), which are quality grades already abolished in Hungarian Tokaj, are still made here.

Indigenous grapes: Four to know

Alibernet (Oděskij Čornyj)

A cross of red varieties Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon obtained in 1948 by researchers at the Tairov centre in Odessa. Deeply pigmented, it is a late-ripening variety thus more at home in the warmer Slovak regions. When picked at low yields and full ripeness, it produces wines with rich dark fruit flavours, robust tannins and fresh acidity. Barrel ageing helps to tame the harsh tannins.

Dunaj

‘Dunaj’ is the Slovak name for the river Danube. It was created by Slovak researchers Dorota Pospíšilová and Ondrej Korpás in the 1950s (registered in 1997). The scientists bred the variety by first crossing Muscat Bouschet and Blauer Portugieser, then with St. Laurent. It’s relatively resistant to frost, thanks to early bud-break, and it ripens early, therefore it’s believed to be suitable for the cool climate of most Slovak wine regions. Dark in colour, it’s capable of producing wines with plummy dark fruits and structured tannins, suitable for barrel ageing.

André

A dark-coloured red grape developed by the ŠSV research centre in Velké Pavlovice, Moravia of the Czech Republic. It was named in honour of natural scientist Christian Carl André (1763-1831), who founded one of the world’s first fruit and vine breeding associations in Brno, Moravia. The variety itself is a cross between Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. It’s a late-ripening grape and therefore needs sufficient warmth to achieve full ripeness. The wine features black fruit flavours with a herbal hint, high tannins and high acidity. It needs time in the barrel and bottle to smooth out its rough edges.

Devín

A white variety widely seen in Slovak wine regions except for Tokaj. It is a cross between Gewürztraminer and Roter Veltliner, developed in 1958 in Bratislava. The grape can accumulate relatively high levels of sugar towards harvest, featuring tropical, exotic fruit flavours and sweet spices.

Wines from Slovakia: 12 to try

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Located in southwest Switzerland, Verbier is best known as a luxury skiing destination – but there’s much more on offer than its famous après-ski. Indulgent restaurants with incredible wine lists, plus dazzling vineyards, make it an under-the-radar destination for wine lovers.

Get to know Verbier

At 1,500m altitude, the Swiss village of Verbier can be found in the northern part of the Val de Bagnes area, on the east side of the valley, facing the Grand Combin massif.

As with many ski villages, summers in Verbier are cool, and winters rarely rise above 1°C.

Verbier’s history stretches far beyond 1946, when its first ski lift was installed. The ruins of its castle denote an ancient history that is not even documented in local archives. Remains of a moat and crumbling churches provide a contrast against the picturesque wooden chalets and luxury boutiques.

Must-visit destinations for wine lovers in and around Verbier:

67 Pall Mall Verbier

Much of the frozen road from Geneva to Verbier is lined with vines. Intimate chalets can be glimpsed here and there – the perfect place for bon vivants to curl up with a glass of something decadent. It’s little wonder why London-based private members club 67 Pall Mall picked Verbier as its Swiss outpost.

67 Pall Mall Verbier first opened its doors in 2021, jetting Lucy Meza Ortega from its London club to be the new location’s head sommelier. Boasting 1,700 different wines, and 350 cuvées by the glass, the club has the biggest international wine list in Verbier. Non-members can also enjoy 58 wines by the glass in the downstairs wine bar.

While there’s certainly no shortage of mature classic wines to satisfy the distinguished palate (such as the 1989 Clos du Marquis St-Julien, which seduces the nose and reverberates on the palate), there is also a decided focus on Swiss wines. Try an incredibly fresh Syrah from the nearby region of Valais, or a sensational sparkling Chasselas. Ortega’s king-size wine list – and the expertise with which she navigates it for her guests – is truly impressive. But if you’d rather get high off your own supply, there’s a multitude of storage options for collectors to enjoy their own wines.

Rue de Médran 15, 1936 Verbier, Switzerland

Hôtel de Verbier

Situated in the very heart of the Place Centrale, the long history of Hôtel de Verbier is tied up with the history of Verbier itself. Built in 1947, it is the oldest family-owned hotel still in operation and is an ideal place to base yourself during your visit. Rooms are decorated with natural textures of stone and wood, with views of the Grand Combin massif. Plus, a downstairs gym and spa will ensure your legs get some well-deserved rest after a day on the slopes.

The hotel’s La Nonna restaurant serves as the breakfast eatery as well as the evening restaurant, boasting a rather delicious wine list. As you’d expect from the name, La Nonna’s wine list champions a range of Italian wines, but also offers a variety of Swiss wines, too.

Place Centrale 2, 1936 Verbier, Switzerland

Domaine La Colombe

Although Verbier itself has few vines of its own, an hour and a half drive will get you to Féchy, a village nestled in the appellation of La Côte. As it may have become apparent, the Swiss are huge fans of their own wines. In fact, 98% of Swiss wine is drunk within the borders, meaning only 2% is exported elsewhere.

Located on the hills that sweep down towards Lake Geneva, Domaine La Colombe welcomes guests for tasting experiences in its rustic tasting room. Whether you’d like simply an introduction to Swiss wines, or you’d prefer to get nerdy about single-vineyard expressions, there’s something to suit every palate. My advice? Ask nicely for an extra generous pour of the Marchandes Grand Cru and make some room in your bag for it – you’re going to fall in love. Check online for opening times.

Route du Monastère 1, 1173 Féchy, Switzerland

Chez Dany

A fantastic view reveals itself as you walk out of the piny forest and up towards the wooden chalet of Chez Dany, perched at the top of a mountain piste (accessed via a short ski, or a perilous walk). The sunset from Chez Dany is truly arresting, best enjoyed with garlicky snails, croûte jambon and a glass of Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée.

Hameau de Clambin 10, 1936 Verbier, Switzerland

Verbier: helpful hints

As Verbier is a ski resort, there are many businesses that choose to open only during the ski season, which normally runs from around late November to late April.

However, as its summer cultural programme expands, Verbier is becoming a village that can be enjoyed year-round. As the snow melts, you’re met with a dazzling green landscape, dotted with colourful wildflowers.

For those looking to stop at wineries, keep in mind that harvest peaks in October, so an impromptu visit may be more welcome earlier in the year. Additionally, many establishments are likely to be closed in the off-season, so make sure you check online before visiting.

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Sadly, the excellence of Swiss wines is unbeknown to many, mainly because less than 2% of the country’s wine is ever exported. Swiss wine’s lack of fame is not a question mark on its quality but rather because it is produced mainly for, and consumed happily by, the Swiss themselves. If you want to relish the Swiss nectar, you’ll likely have to fly there. And that’s precisely what I did.

While Switzerland has six wine regions, I decided to explore Geneva, the third largest wine-producing canton in the country, with more than 30 different grape varieties cultivated on one twentieth of its territory. And the best way to discover the wine trail of the Genevan countryside by yourself is on an e-bike.

Starting from the birthplace of the World Wide Web

Catching a tram from Geneva central station at 8:30am, I reached Meyrin in less than 20 minutes, where Gideon, my guide from ebiketour, was waiting.

‘The site where you are standing right now is where the World Wide Web was invented in 1989’, said Gideon as he explained about CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, before briefing me about the bike route.

‘Today we will be cycling 12 miles (20km) in the countryside of Geneva, guarded by Salève mountain in the south and Jura mountains in the north’, he continued, ‘and you’ll come across many vineyards, valleys and villages during your three-hour bike ride.’

The journey through bucolic landscapes

Wearing a fluorescent vest and helmet, I was ready to devour the beauty of the Swiss wines and countryside. We rode for an hour, mainly on a flat serpentine road immersing ourselves in Geneva’s wine trail while appreciating the countryside’s rural heritage. As I pedalled deep into the valley, I noticed the grape harvest season was almost over, and the lush vineyards had changed from vibrant and rich chlorophyll greens into the deep warm oranges, vivid yellows and golden browns of autumn.

At a roundabout, I saw grape harvesters singing and dancing to traditional Swiss songs in a trailer while sipping their Chasselas and Gamay. Sensing my curiosity, Gideon explained that grape harvest season heralds celebratory wine festivals in autumn. This was one tiny display of the mega festivities that unfold throughout the alpine nation, the biggest of which is a three-day festival held in Neuchâtel at the end of September. Another prominent festival is ‘Fête des Vignerons’, the Winegrowers’ Festival held (supposedly) once in a generation at Vevey since 1797.

Inhaling the crisp alpine air and soaking in the beauty all around, I forgot whether I was in Switzerland or France as all the signs, village nomenclature and even building architecture were quintessentially French. Silently cruising on the trafficless road, we crossed the villages of Bourdigny Dessous, Bourdigny-Dessus and Choully of the Satigny municipality before arriving at our first pit stop – Domaine Les Perrières.

Domaine Les Perrières – Peissy

The handbrakes came into action as soon as we reached the cellar of Domaine Les Perrières, an award-winning winery tucked away in the picturesque village of Peissy opposite the iconic bell tower of a thousand-year-old chapel. Tracing its origins back to 1794, the Les Perrières winery is today run by the eighth generation of the Rochaix family.

The molassic and clay soils and the region’s mild climate contribute to the estate’s fruit-forward wines made using 17 different grape varieties, said commercial director Frederic Rochaix. The incredibly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and the indigenous Swiss variety Gamaret were my highlights. The apple juices were equally delicious.

Re-energized, we continued our journey. The landscape wore several outfits on the way – from beautiful sunflower meadows to golden vineries to giant cedars. We passed through hilltop hamlets of La Tuilière, Essertines and Malval before stopping at another family-run winery in the region.

Domaine du Centaure – Dardagny

They say the best view comes after the hardest climb; in my case, the treat was the wine. After trudging an uphill road, we reached Domaine du Centaure in the wine-growing village of Dardagny. We were welcomed with a broad range of wines to try, while learning about the significant role played by the Ramu family in the history of the Swiss wine industry since pre-1602.

The neutral, easy-to-drink Les Danaïdes Chasselas and the classy, supple Cuisse de Jupiter were certainly memorable for me. We also had the pleasure of exploring the food pairing potential of Swiss wine.

After enjoying a sensory wine-tasting journey, it was time to bid goodbye – but with an aim to return soon.

The cycle route

The short and primarily flat 12 miles (20 km) ride from Meyrin to Satigny, which I took, was a relatively easy route for cyclists of all abilities, according to Gideon. There are innumerable country cellars and farm shops along the way for people to casually stop by.

Although Geneva is just a stone’s throw away, oenophiles can sleep at hotels and B&Bs in Meyrin, Satigny, Russin or Dardagny. Domaine de Châteauvieux in Satigny is renowned for its idyllic setting in a vineyard and its two-star Michelin restaurant.

Practical tips

How to book: For a bike tour with wine tasting, contact ebiketour. For wine tasting only, contact the wineries direct (see above).

Best time to visit: March to October, when the weather is mild and dry. A particularly good time is late July to early August when vineyards are in full bloom.

Itinerary add-ons: CERN, Allondon Nature Reserve and Verbois dam.

Other wine tastings: Domaine Dugerdil, Cave de Stephane Gros and many more.

Restaurants: Domaine de Châteauvieux, Café de Peney and Vignoble Doré.

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It was the 5th of March and the second week of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. That morning, Mykhailo and Georgiy Molchanov, the father and son team of the Slivino winery in the Mykolaiv Oblast in Southern Ukraine went out to prune their vineyard. Lodged in one row of the vines was an unexploded Russian missile from a ‘Grad’ launcher.

Meaning ‘hail’ in Russian, the name refers to the BM-21 systems that indiscriminately launch up to 20 of these missiles at once, something that has become a commonplace occurrence in Ukraine since the Russian invasion earlier this year. Due to their poor targeting ability, they’ve destroyed untold numbers of homes and civilian structures and killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.

There was little that the Molchanovs could do about this missile back then. Georgiy took a photo of his father making a ‘V’ for victory gesture and they posted it on Facebook. It circulated widely as one of many symbols of the Ukrainian endurance in the face of what had seemed to be, at the time, an unwinnable battle against supposedly-superior forces.

‘The explosive core was eventually removed but we’ve otherwise just worked around it as well as around others that are still out there, in the vineyard,’ Georgiy said.

Slivino is a small winery founded in 2018 which produces about 3,000 bottles a year. As the war passed the summer and harvest grew near, they and other wineries had to contend with the logistics of bringing in the grapes and producing new wines. Various wineries still have their vineyards occupied by the Russian army, but even those who don’t have been confronted with new challenges.

‘So many people volunteered to fight in the army that there were few left to work in the vineyards. We’re lucky that we don’t have mines because many vineyard owners have to deal with getting those out, which is a slow and complicated process,’ Georgiy said.

While Slivino was initially buying grapes when they started about eight years ago, they’re now only using their own vineyards. From the 2021 harvest, they had originally intended to make a small release pét-nat sparkling wine of just 400 bottles, based on Riesling, Pinot Noir and Muscat. Once the Russian invasion started, they decided to give it the name, ‘Grad Cru’ in reference to their now ‘missile-infused’ vineyard. Within a few days of announcing it in October, they sold out, with all the proceeds going directly to aid the Ukrainian military.

As a clear tribute to the Ukrainian dark sense of humour that has helped see them through this tragedy, the tasting note accompanying the bottles is, ‘of metal and gunpowder’.

Georgiy told Decanter that in addition to the vineyard work keeping him busy, he’s also been involved with a non-profit named Rebel Volunteers who coordinate direct humanitarian aid to civilians as well as to the military. Their main focus is their southern region between Kherson and Mykolaiv that’s been taking a massive, direct assault by the Russians. It’s easier to count the 50 or so days in Mykolaiv that they’ve not been bombed as opposed to the over 220 since the 24th February where they have.

As the war continues to rage and the Ukrainian army makes costly, yet sustainable progress in evicting the Russian invaders from their country, people who haven’t left have entered what Ukrainian sommelier, Jenia Nikolaichuk has written up as a ‘War-Life Balance’. Life goes on and while mortal peril can strike at any moment, much like the missile in Georgiy’s vineyard, people continue to work around it and are even looking to the future with hope, as shown by their re-joining the OIV.

When asked if the situation had improved since the Russian army left Kherson, Georgiy said, ‘Yes, it’s much quieter now and there are no missiles for the moment. We can only hope that this will lead to people coming back and things starting to return to some kind of normal.’

Before we could finish the interview, the line went dead as the biggest volley of Russia strikes to date hit on 15 November, knocking out more of the electrical grid as well as internet connections. Their electrical system is currently only able to function at 50% capacity.

While the Ukrainians have learned to work within the confines of what the war continues to present them with, it’s clear that its immediate end by the Russian ceasing all hostilities is the only sustainable resolution for the future of its people and, in turn, their wines.

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Caroline Gilby MW, Isa Bal MS and Darrel Joseph tasted 151 wines, with 8 Outstanding and 67 Highly recommended.

Adriatic whites panel tasting scores

151 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 8

Highly recommended 67

Recommended 72

Commended 4

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release white wines from Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro or Bosnia-Herzegovina, single varietals or blends using any grapes, but preferably including a large proportion of indigenous varieties

The eastern shore of the Adriatic sea is better known for its tourism than for wine, but results from this tasting showed that it’s home to many wines to spark wine lovers’ interest. Croatia, with some 1,800km of Adriatic coastline, submitted most wines, but there was also a good showing from Slovenia (47km of coast) and a handful from Bosnia & Herzegovina (just 20km of seashore).

This was an impressive, and often exciting, two-day tasting, with very few poor wines. As Isa Bal MS pointed out: ‘I found the quality to be of a very high standard,’ highlighting, ‘some excellent Malvasia from Croatia and some very well-made, pyrazine-free examples of Sauvignon Blanc from Slovenia.’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top wines from the Adriatic whites panel tasting

Local grapes dominated the entries and provided many of the top-scoring wines. Malvasia Istriana (Malvazija Istarska is the local spelling) was the superstar, showing its potential in several styles. It has gone from ordinary workhorse to something quite special in the last two decades. It makes great bright, fruity, appealing wines when vinified cool in steel, though even these simpler versions can keep remarkably well. Among the 2021 wines, the main reservation was that, though quality was generally very good, the wines were all quite similar.

Malvasia is also capable of greatness in a whole range of styles, from classic oak fermentation to skin contact, orange and natural wines aged in other vessels such as clay amphora, larger casks and even acacia wood. Bal noted ‘some very competent winemaking using skin contact and natural yeast’.

Other local grapes also showed well, not least the incredibly rare Grk – grown on a handful of hectares on the island of Korčula – as did Korčula’s other special white grape, Pošip. There’s real intensity and great texture, underscored by a sea-salt mineral freshness in these unique local grapes. Darrel Joseph noted that ‘most of these wines are gorgeous exotica, treasures of where they are so at home’.

See all 151 wines from the Adriatic whites panel tasting

There were only a few examples submitted to the tasting of the flagship Rebula grape (Ribolla Gialla) from western Slovenia – though these did show its quality and versatility.

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s flagship Zilavka was praised by Joseph: ‘Zilavka has really been coming into its own in recent years,’ he said. ‘The variety’s wonderful Mediterranean herb and citrus characteristics and its gently elegant acidity shine through in the wines with such focus, clarity and freshness. Even better, Zilavka’s diversity is so enticing. It’s not just about young and fresh steel-aged wines; it does so well also as barrel-matured and – joyously – even as a natural, amber-style wine with age. Such exciting potential!’

Yet it’s not just about local grapes here, and you’ll find several excellent examples of international varieties that can also showcase the terroir. Pinot Gris was particularly strong, with several high-scoring wines showing an intensity and balance that wouldn’t be out of place in Alsace or Collio. There were also some excellent Chardonnays, and Sauvignons in a unique regional style between the aromatic fruitiness of New World and the mineral intensity of the Loire.

All in all, this tasting was evidence of a dynamic, if less well-known part of the wine world that is well worth exploring.

Top scoring Adriatic whites

The judges

Caroline Gilby MW is an awarded wine writer, author and speaker, with a passion for the wines of the Balkans, central & eastern Europe and the Black Sea. She is joint DWWA Regional Chair for North, Central & Eastern Europe.

Isa Bal MS is a consultant Master Sommelier. Winner of the prestigious Sommelier Award 2022 from Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland, he was also winner of the Best Sommelier of Europe competition in 2008, and was head sommelier for The Fat Duck Group for more than 12 years.

Darrel Joseph has been writing about the wines of central and eastern Europe since 1995, now also covering Croatia, Serbia and all other Balkan wine countries. He is a regular wine judge, educator and speaker, and is joint DWWA Regional Chair for North, Central & Eastern Europe.

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Having left the ranks of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) in 2008, Ukraine has again joined the leading intergovernmental institution. This brings the total number of member countries up to 49.

The renewed membership is effective from 30 October and was formalised on Friday 4 November at the OIV’s General Assembly in Baja California, Mexico. The plenary session, which closed the institution’s 43rd annual congress, had its most symbolic and heartfelt moment when the Ukrainian representatives were given the floor to address their counterparts.

‘Ukraine has returned to the big home [of wine]. The producers of Ukraine reaffirm the fundamental principles of the treaty that gave birth to this organisation,’ said Volodymyr Pechko, head of Ukraine’s delegation.

‘Many things have happened, in the world and in our country in particular. The world is not the same it was a few years ago. Our land is experiencing violence but I can assure you that the moral of our wine people is as strong as ever,’ he added.

‘We bring greetings from all Ukrainian wine regions. We also bring greetings from all the wine professionals who are not able to dedicate their time to their passion because they have been called to defend their country.’

Symbolic return

Both Luigi Moio, president of the OIV, and Pau Roca, director general of the OIV, highlighted the deep symbolic relevance of Ukraine’s return to the institution as an active and full member. ‘Wine has long inspired values of peace and agreement,’ said Moio. ‘Wine catalyses agreement between countries with disparate interests and helps surpass any antagonism.’

Roca agreed and highlighted the OIV’s experience, during its more than 100 years of history, in creating agreement between countries which, beyond wine matters, might be at war. ‘It’s a source of great satisfaction to be able to sit all members at the same table.’ He stressed that ‘Ukraine has been welcomed back to the OIV by ALL [his own emphasis] members’ – a group that also includes Russia.

Roca went on to contextualise this reintegration as part of a larger movement in which Ukraine has been ‘forced back to the international stage as a result of a delicate situation’. He added: ‘The conflict has catalysed its participation in international forums.’

Ukraine was an active member of the OIV from 1997 to 2008. As a signatory of the organisation refoundation agreements of 3 April 2001, Ukraine requested to be accepted as a member again. The country’s government ratified the legal document on 30 September to formalise its legal adoption and the reinstatement process.

Ukrainian wine industry

With a total 41,800ha under vine, Ukraine has the world’s 31st largest vineyard surface area. In 2021 the country produced 660,000hl of wine. It was also an important import market for wine, with consumption rates increasing slightly (against global trends) until the Russian invasion in March 2022.

Speaking after the assembly, Pechko explained the diverse and serious impact the conflict has had on the Ukrainian wine industry. Vineyards have been destroyed and occupied; wineries have been shelled and looted; supply chains are broken; the country’s bottle factories have been destroyed. More dramatically, many winemakers and their families have been injured or killed.

As an active member of the OIV, Ukraine will benefit from its network of 1,000 experts, as well as important information and cooperation channels. This gives the country’s wine industry an essential support network, as it grapples with severe economic and structural challenges.

In the long-term, membership will also allow Ukraine to access important resources to fully reestablish itself and give the country a much-needed role in shaping the evolution of the wine sector. Pechko stressed the importance of meaningful support from winemakers from other countries, in the form of equipment and know-how.

A meaningful step has been taken, with Ukraine now back at the wine industry’s most important forum.

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The 8th annual Salon of Decanter Award Winners was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia last week – a Decanter World Wine Awards-focused event featuring some 40 award-winning producers who sampled their recently awarded wines from the 2022 competition.

Held in the heart of Ljubljana, the event saw around 250 attendees, both consumers and trade, come together to taste more than 120 medal winning wines, primarily from Slovenia with a selection from Croatia and North Macedonia.

Organised by Belvin Wine School and long-time DWWA judge Robert Gorjak, the event offers wine lovers the opportunity to discover Decanter medal-winning wines in one place, and is a chance for producers to showcase and celebrate their newly awarded wines.

Caroline Gilby MW and Darrel Joseph, joint Regional Chairs for North, Central and Eastern Europe, judged the wines blind during DWWA judging week back in April, and were in attendance to meet the producers, re-taste the wines and award certificates to all medal winners.

In total, the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards saw 196 medals awarded to wines from Slovenia, including 118 Bronze, 70 Silver, seven Gold and one Platinum for Ščurek, Zero Brut, Goriška Brda, Primorska, Slovenia 2019.

At the Salon of Decanter Award Winners there were two Platinum, five Gold, 48 Silver and 65 Bronze medal-winning wines open to taste, offering attendees the incredible opportunity to sample a majority of awarded wines from Slovenia, while highlighting the quality of wines awarded at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Award-winning producers in attendance included:

• Anima Wine
• Bjana
• Brič
• Deci
• Domačija Bizjak
• Erzetič
• Gašper Wines
• Hrvatin
• Istenič
• Klet Brda
• Koglot
• Kozlović
• Lavrenčič
• M – enostavno Dobra Vina
• Marko Sirk
• Matočec
• Medot
• Moro
• Nebó
• Penine Simonic
• Puklavec Family Wines
• Radgonske Gorice
• Ronk
• Statera
• Steras Wines
• Ščurek
• Vina Benčina
• Vina Čuk
• Vina Kotolenko
• Vina Mramor
• Vina Zaro
• Vinag 1847
• Vinska Klet Frelih
• Vinska Klet Metlika
• Vislander
• Winery Jaunik
• Žaren

Special thanks to Robert Gorjak and Belvin Wine School. Visit Belvin for more information. All photos taken by Rok Dezelak RD2.si

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The ‘Freedom Blend’blend uses a combination of indigenous grape varieties from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to symbolise and celebrate freedom in those countries.

Purcari is located just 15 miles from the Ukrainian border. It has turned its luxury suites, tasting rooms and conferences rooms into emergency accommodation, housing more than 5,000 people that have fled war-torn Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion.

The award-winning winery – which claimed best-in-show, platinum and gold medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2020 – initially created a ‘Freedom Blend’ as a show of support after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

It has now created a new bottling to raise funds for refugees from the current war. The dry red wine consists of 65% Saperavi, 20% Rară Neagră and 15% Bastardo grapes, aged in oak for nine months prior to bottling. It is said to offer notes of blackcurrant, cherry, blackberry, dried plums and red pepper.

In the UK, it sells for £19.95. All proceeds will go to Ukrainian refugees. You can purchase it from Transylvania Wines, Best of Hungary, North & South Wines in London and other independent retailers.

It is now more than 100 days since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. More than 14 million people have fled their homes in that time, according to the United Nations.

Half are displaced within Ukraine, while around 7 million have left for neighbouring countries, including Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Poland has taken more than any other country, but 483,306 Ukrainians have headed into Moldova, which has the largest concentration of refugees by population. The refugees are housed in makeshift reception centres if they cannot stay with friends or relatives.

International support is required to support the displaced Ukrainians, and wines like ‘Freedom Blend’ can help to raise vital funds.

A brand called Vodka Zelensky – created by refugee and fashion designer Anastasiia Rosinina, who fled Kyiv in March, and named after the Ukrainian lead – has also launched in the UK. All profits go to Ukrainian aid.

Stoli launched a limited-edition Ukrainian-themed vodka, while Cornish brewery Harbour created a ‘Stand With’ IPA, and there are various other drinks brands have launched limited-edition bottlings to support the humanitarian aid.

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First created in the 19th century, Bikavér – ‘bull’s blood’ – is Hungary’s most renowned red blend, produced in Eger and Szekszárd.

The Hungarian name ‘bika (bull) – vér (blood)’ gives up the first hint about the colour of Hungary’s iconic red wine: legend has it that during the Ottoman invasion in 1552, Hungarian soldiers drank dark-coloured red wine to fortify themselves while defending the Eger castle against the Turkish siege. The blood-like red wine stains on their clothes and faces caused rumours among the tee-total Turks that the Hungarian soldiers were drinking bull’s blood to gain power, hence the birth of the name ‘Bikavér’.

As fascinating as it sounds, the legend is unlikely to be true, primarily because Hungary was largely a white wine-producing country in the 16th century. It was only after Phylloxera had rampaged through the vineyards in the 1880s that growers in certain regions started to replant their vineyards with red grapes.

Bikavér: Key regions

Eger in the north and Szekszárd in the south of Hungary are the only two regions designated to produce the famous red blend and to use the term ‘Bikavér’ on the label.

‘There are far more differences than similarities between the two regions,’ said Elizabeth Gabay MW during the 2022 Hungarian Wine Summit.

Eger

Only two hours’ drive from Tokaj, Eger is a cool-climate region on a similar latitude to Burgundy. With the Bükk mountains to the east, volcanic soils dominate its 5,500ha of vineyards. Among the region’s single-vineyard sites is Nagy-Eged-hegy, the highest vineyard in Hungary at over 530 metres above sea level.

The first ‘official’ Egri Bikavér was made in 1868 by Jewish businessman Lipot Kanitz, who was responsible for restoring the local wine industry in the post-Phylloxera era and gaining an international recognition for its wines

Szekszárd

Szekszárd is in the Pannon region of southern Hungary, located west of the river Danube. The region’s 2,100ha of vines are planted on a complex patchwork of different orientations and altitudes, with loess and chalky limestone soils dominating its vineyards.

Szekszárdi poet János Garay first mentioned ‘Bull’s Blood’ in his poem, ‘Szegszárdi Bordal’, in 1846.

The Bull’s Blood wine blend

Bikavér (‘bull’s blood’) usually includes a minimum of four varieties:

Kékfrankos

Kékfrankos (aka Blaufränkisch) is the soul of Bikavér and perhaps the only constant in what can be a diverse blend. Taking the top place in Hungary’s red grape plantings, the variety’s sturdiness, its ability to reflect the terroir and retain acidity even in hotter years are especially treasured by Hungarian winemakers, according to Caroline Gilby MW, a wine writer and judge specialising in Central and Eastern European wines.

Kékfrankos must make up at least 30% of Egri Bikavér, while 45% and above is necessary for the Szekszárdi version. The warmer climate of Szekszárd doesn’t necessarily lead to heavier and jammier wines, explained Gabay – the higher minimum percentages of Kékfrankos means that Szekszárdi Bikavér may actually appear lighter and fresher than its Egri peer.

In a warm vintage such as 2017, when the Bordeaux varieties are building up alcohol, ‘Kékfrankos can take it [the alcohol levels] back, so you still get moderate alcohol levels in the final blend,’ explained Csilla Sebestyén of Sebestyén Winery in Szekszárd.

Kadarka

The thin-skinned Kadarka used to play a far more important part in the blend but as it’s prone to disease and ripens too late, the grape is now largely replaced by Kékfrankos in Hungary, with small areas of plantings carefully managed by winegrowers in Szekszárd. A small percentage of Kadarka (5-10% ) is mandatory for Egri Szekszárdi.

Other varieties

Classic Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, are also common candidates in Bikavér, contributing tannic structure and fruit favours.

Other permitted grapes include local varieties such as Zweigelt and Portugieser, in addition to international varieties such as Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Also read: Hungarian red wines: expert’s choice

For many, the name Bikavér may still ‘conjure up memories of cheap and rustic wine,’ said Gilby. This is mainly due to the reputation of mass-produced, low quality reds exported during the Communist era.

According to Tibor Gál of Gál Tibor Winery in Eger, however, in the last five years ‘more [changes have] happened to both Bikavér regions than the last 170 years.’ Increasingly, the younger generation of Hungarian winemakers are making their Bikavér with a more gentle approach, followed by ageing for a much shorter period than their grandparents’ generation. The aim, said Gál, is to make ‘fresher and more contemporary’ wines, from easy-drinking food wines to refined single-vineyard editions capable of ageing for decades.

Bikavér ageing requirements

To make Kékfrankos-driven ‘Bull’s Blood’ wine, ageing in oak is a must for both Egri and Szekszárdi versions, and both have their own quality categories:

Egri Bikavér has three ageing criteria, starting with Classicus (six months in oak), then Superior (12 months), and finally Grand Superior (16 months).

There are only two categories for Szekszárdi Bikavér; Regular and Premium, both demanding at least a year of ageing in barrel. To qualify as Premium, the wine must meet further restrictions, including lower maximum yields.

Six Bikavérs from Eger and Szekszárd to try

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In addition to the fine wine auctions reported on previously by Decanter, further initiatives have been set up to raise money for those in crisis.

UK-based wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene has been helping to relocate families fleeing from war-torn Ukraine and settle them in safe havens across Europe, in accommodation provided by the importer’s European winemakers.

To help cover the logistical costs of relocating families, the importer has announced it will hold a fundraising auction and charity dinner on 9 May at Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle in London.

The evening will include a live auction of rare and iconic wines, large formats and older vintages, as well as vineyard tours and dining experiences.

Among the rares on offer will be an imperial (6L) of Château Haut-Brion 1995, a jeroboam of Montevertine Pergole Le Torte, magnums of Domaine des Miroirs and rare bottles of Domaine Pierre Overnoy. In addition to the live auction, there is an online auction.

Elsewhere, US-based wine and spirits auction house Acker has announced that it has partnered with worldwide wine societies to host a fine wine auction, with proceeds donated to World Central Kitchen – a non-profit set up by chef Jose Andres to support relief in humanitarian, climate, and community crises.

The Société des Amis du Champagne, Commanderie de Bordeaux, Commanderie des Costes du Rhône, Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Baillage de New York and Wine & Spirits Magazine have all donated lots for the auction.

In Bordeaux, Laurent Fortin, Honorary Consul to Ukraine for the Nouvelle Aquitaine region and owner of Château Dauzac, called for donations from the wine world for a charity auction hosted by online auction platform iDealWine. Many rare bottles and large formats went under the hammer.

The Italians are stepping up too, as the Brunello, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri regional bodies held an auction called Vini per la Pace (Wines for Peace) at the Vinitaly trade fair in Verona last month.

The auction offered a wide range of unique Tuscan bottles from rare vintages and in large formats and raised £19,175 for Caritas Internationalis, which provides humanitarian aid to refugees.

Director of the Brunello Consorzio, Michele Fontana, said ‘We are really proud of all the winemakers of Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri-Bolgheri Sassicaia for their prompt and generous participation to this initiative.’

Because they were able to generate so much participation and offerings from winemakers, they have another auction in the pipeline.

More Italian wines are going under the hammer to raise money for Ukranian refugees. Sparkling wine producer Ferrari Trento, official sponsor and toast for Formula 1, has put jeroboams of the special Formula 1 edition Trentodoc Blanc de Blancs, signed by the winning drivers, up for auction. All proceeds will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Wines for Ukraine auction and Wine Unites for Ukraine auction, reported on by Decanter in March, raised £4,770 and £87,938 respectively

But raising money through wine auctions is just one way of supporting Ukraine through the crisis, there are other ways the industry has offered humanitarian aid.

The International Sommelier Association has launched an employment platform aimed at helping Ukrainian refugees find jobs in the drinks sector. The platform will allow wine producers, restaurants, bars, retailers, wholesalers and others to advertise jobs directly to refugees from Ukraine. All job offerings and postings will be vetted by the association.

Nocking Point Wines, based in Walla Walla in Washington State, has released a special-edition of their 2019 Outside red blend, with the label designed around the Ukrainian flag. Proceeds go to the Stand with Ukraine GoFundMe campaign which was launched by Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. Kunis was born in Ukraine and the couple have partnered with Nocking Point Wines to rasie money for charity.

Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukrainian tennis star turned winemaker, has taken up arms to fight for his country.

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Ukrainian wine, hanging in the balance

Since February 24th 2022 the world has quickly learned a great deal more about Europe’s second-largest country, Ukraine.

Most notably will be our profound admiration for the Ukrainians’ continued resistance to the invading Russian Army. This is but one item on a long list that includes such things as Ukraine being one of the world’s top exporters of wheat, barley and sunflower seeds. However, many people are also now learning that Ukraine not only has a thriving winemaking sector, but also a rapidly-growing wine-consuming public.

A European history of wine

Given that Kyiv sits at the 50th parallel, the vast majority of Ukraine, down to the Black Sea in the south, sits within what had been traditionally thought of as the optimal climate to cultivate grapes for wine.

The Crimean Peninsula has seen wine presses and amphorae discovered that were from the 4th century BCE. In the following centuries, there would be wine production all along the coast thanks to the establishment of Greek and then Roman towns.

Historically, there has also been winemaking in the Transcarpathia region (Zakarpattia in Ukrainian) which shouldn’t come as a surprise given that it’s a region only 70km away from Hungary’s Tokaj.

But the winemaking through most of Ukraine’s history was largely for personal consumption. Things would change a great deal with the creation of the Soviet Union.

Wine gets big

In the 20th century wine in Ukraine grew massively in terms of volume, but not in terms of quality.

While Georgia has seen the most amount of attention in terms of wine from a former-USSR country, it was actually Ukraine that was the biggest producer. It’s estimated that in the 1980s, before Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign arrived from 1985-1988, Ukraine laid claim to 250,000ha of vineyards. This means that it was an even larger producer of grapes than Languedoc, France’s largest region.

To accomplish this, vineyards were located primarily down around the Black Sea regions where the landscape is flat and easy to work with tractors. Given the deep, rich, alluvial soils, production was massive. These choices in the vineyards, combined with winery facilities that were focused on quantity over quality, led to a massive decline in the perception of domestic wine.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union the collectivised wineries collapsed, vineyards either died or were grubbed up for the more sensible production of grains and the industry shrank on all fronts.

The seeds are replanted

Today, while yet to form a central wine body at a governmental level, Ukraine categorises its wine regions into four parts: Transcarpathia (which borders Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland), Bessarabia (which sits between Moldova and the Black Sea), the overall Black Sea region that runs across the south of the country and has mild winters and then the peninsula of Crimea.

The illegal Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 had a profound effect on Ukrainian wine production. Currently, unoccupied Ukraine holds 41,000ha of vines; about the same as all of Piemonte, Italy. In Crimea there is an additional 30,000ha of vines where wineries from all over Ukraine were sourcing grapes. This included one of the main sparkling producers, Artwinery, despite them being located in the caves of an old salt mine very close to the frontlines in Donetsk.

Also getting many of their grapes from Crimea was Chizay in the Transcarpathia region, sitting just 5km from the Hungarian border. But as the export manager, Ihor Radomyselskiy told Decanter, ‘We needed to have a more stable supply of grapes and more control over the process, so in 2006, we planted 242ha of our own grapes around the valley where we’re located’.

There were many who still saw the potential of the Black Sea region, though, such as Shabo who is one of the biggest producers with 1,200ha of their own (the same as Moët & Chandon) and is located just to the southwest of Odesa. But there were smaller projects that started as well such as Beykush in the southern region of Mykolaiv. After buying grapes from Crimea for his initial experiments, in 2010 owner Eugene Shneyderis planted a relatively small plot of 11ha on a small peninsula by the Berezan river estuary.

Little by little, smaller projects started throughout the early 2000s despite losing access to nearly half the grapes grown in the country in 2014. The main obstacle to growth wasn’t actually grape availability though, but old laws that required anyone bottling wine to pay about £15,000 as a registration fee, annually. There was also no classification for a “small” winery meaning one that produces less than 100,000 litres a year.

These requirements were thankfully lifted in 2018, filing was made far simpler and now annual costs are £25. With this, there’s been a boom in terms of wineries.

As to what grape varieties are grown in Ukraine, it runs an exceedingly-wide range from the more standard fair of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Albariño to grapes that are less seen such as Pink Traminer, Cserszegi Fűszeres (a cross of Savagnin Rosé and Irsai Olivér) and then Telti Kuruk which is a white grape native to Ukraine but thought to be of Turkish origin.

An evolving market

More wine being produced is only good if there are more people to drink it of course. Watching this change take place has been Evgenia Nikolaichuk, an exceptionally dynamic member of the retail side of wine in Ukraine. She started working in wine back in 2005 and was one of the very first to achieve the WSET Diploma in Ukraine. She did something quite innovative in 2016; with partners Sergiy Klimov and Roman Balanyk, they opened a wine bar in Kyiv called Like a Local’s.

It was innovative not only for being one of the first wine bars but for being the first (and still the only) to stock 100% Ukrainian wines. She admits this wasn’t easy, ‘At the beginning, it was hard to find enough wineries as back then, we only had about 50 in the entire country. It’s really been in the last three years or so that we’ve seen a massive change and the number of wineries has easily doubled’.

There’s been a huge change in the wine-drinking public in Ukraine which Nikolaichuk has witnessed and even been part of. In addition to her local-focused wine bar, she also created a wine board game back in 2013 called “Winespiration” to spurn additional wine education.

Years ago the only domestic wines that people would trust were those from Crimea. Wines from the rest of Ukraine were seen as largely plonk and people would seek out imported wines which, no matter the price or quality level, were in a section labelled “Elite”.

Vladimir Shapovalov and Dmitriy Krimsky, who created the Goodwine shops as well as Wine Bureau imports back in 2006, have been leading the trends of quality imports. It may seem counterintuitive to think that an import company would boost domestic interest in wine, but as more and more Ukrainians started travelling, they came back wanting the Spanish Garnacha or Italian Sangiovese that they’d tasted while on holiday and this led to a more curious, open-minded wine drinker.

The change that February brought

The wine sector had been going exceptionally well in Ukraine up until 2022. The market was such that Evgenia had opened two additional locations of her Like a Local’s wine bar, other wine bars also opened serving a mix of domestic and imported wines, and the owners of Goodwine had amassed a warehouse of 15 million euros worth of wine for a thirsty market.

But the Russian Army’s invasion on February 24th changed everything.

All alcohol sales were banned, Horeca venues as well as direct sales to private individuals were shut down. While they were mostly reinstated a month later, it still remains challenging to sell wines.

On 4th March, Russian rockets launched at Kyiv hit the warehouse of Goodwine, destroying their entire million-euro inventory.

There’s a sadly-lengthy list of wineries that have been occupied, ransacked, and destroyed by Russian troops throughout the country as they engage in a scorched earth campaign. Despite this, winery owners and workers know that, if possible, work must go on as wine is an annual endeavour.

The general manager of Beykush, Svitlana Tsybak said that while they’ve not had any problems so far, a woman pruning in a neighbouring vineyard was killed by Russian artillery. The owners of Slivino winery near Mykolaiv posted an incredible photo on social media of standing in the vineyard next to a Russia Grad missile that had cratered amongst their vines. It’s hard not to recall the efforts made by viticulturists in France during both the World Wars to keep their vines alive despite often being on the frontlines.

But beyond the dangers of working in the vineyards the Russian invasion happened at a time when wines were supposed to be bottled. Many relied on Vetropack, a glass factory in Hostomel near Kyiv for their supplies, but it was heavily damaged in the early stage of the war.

With all the upward momentum in the wine sector, how this will affect the industry will depend, like all other aspects of Ukrainian life, on how long the war will go on. Chizay, as one of the wineries that have avoided destruction, used to see 14,000 visitors annually at their winery and they expected to sell half their produce directly from the cellar door. But now that’s simply not possible.

Export manager Ihor Radomyselskiy said, ‘We don’t know what the state of the company will be whenever this comes to an end. There’s a great deal of investment that needs to continue for the winery and for now, that’s all without any income.’

The Ukrainians have shown how powerful the belief in one’s right to exist is as they continue to fight for their survival as a nation. So too will the wine trade also endure, especially with the support of the international wine community.

When asked about unknown facts in Ukrainian wine, Yuliia Demianenko of Goodwine said, ‘Many people may not know that we make great traditional-method sparkling wines. We’ll be happy to raise a glass with our friends from around the world after our victory, in which we so believe.’

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Amid the devastation and turmoil since Russia’s invasion on 24 February, Beykush winery on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea Coast has been among those attempting to continue operations as much as possible.

Last week, Beykush began transporting thousands of wines to western Ukraine in order to protect them for possible export to other markets, winery director Svetlana Tsybak told Decanter. ‘Yesterday we sent three palettes, about 1,200 bottles, and today the same quantity,’ she said.

She also spoke of the determined efforts to get bottles to the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) warehouse in the UK recently.

It’s not the first time Beykush entries have been hand-delivered, but the winery went to extra lengths in 2022 by sending six cases of its wines to a friend’s office in Hungary, moving them over the border one case at a time over two weeks.

‘Finally, we asked the brother of my friend,’ said Tsybak. ‘He came from London via a flight, he took all these wines, paid additional cost for this and flew back to London and brought this wine to Decanter.’

She explained that the courier was the brother of Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky, who also owns a winery near to Beykush but who has enlisted in the military to help defend Kyiv.

Tsybak, who spoke to Dccanter from Kyiv but who has mostly been in the south of the country, is also head of the local craft wine association and has spent time helping to organise humanitarian aid in recent weeks. Beykush’s owner recently encouraged European wineries with spare accommodation to help host refugees.

In terms of business, Tsybak said exports could be a crucial source of revenue for wineries. She said there have been a lot of requests, but the supply situation is inevitably tough. ‘Our biggest problem is that we don’t have enough volume. We have wines still in tanks but can’t bottle this wine,’ she said.

A bottle manufacturing plant used by many wineries in the same area has been destroyed, she said.

Beykush has bought bottles from Spain over the past three years, but this is now difficult to organise, and has recently been organising shipments from nearby Moldova.

There has been particular interest from a company in the UK, said Tsybak, who believes Beykush orange wine, produced from the Rkatsiteli grape variety, could appeal to wine drinkers in the country.

Processes include extended maceration and ageing in American and French oak for three years. ‘We produce about 700 or 900 bottles. Now we are ready to give all this wine to the export market.’

Tsybak previously told Decanter that several wineries in southern Ukraine had been occupied, particularly those closer to Kherson. Beykush has remained free, but the situation continued to be tense late last week, with reports of more attacks being launched in the Mikolaiv area not far from the winery.

‘We all worry about the situation, but we need to continue our lives.’

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Geneva doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. It’s often used as a first port-of-call on a ski holiday, but with a swan-dotted, marbled blue-green lake – one of the cleanest in Europe; epic views of the Jura mountains and Mont-Blanc; and a quaint cobblestoned old town, this charmingly international city of Michelin stars and hyper-local wine should be more than just a quick pitstop.

Like its neighbours, Switzerland produces great wine. But unlike its neighbours, that wine is rarely exported, making the country – and each of its cantons – exciting for oenophiles and approachable for novices. ‘Only around 2% of Swiss wines ever leave Switzerland,’ says Mikaël Grou, chief sommelier at Beau-Rivage Genève, a historic hotel with one of the largest wine cellars in Geneva, dating back to 1865. ‘It’s even rarer to find the wines of Geneva exported outside the canton because in the other cantons they prefer to drink their local wines.’

Out of the country’s six wine-growing regions, the canton of Geneva is the third largest and is surprisingly diverse.

‘The most produced grapes in Geneva are Chasselas for white and Gamay for red. Historically, those are the easy-drinking wines,’ says Grou.

While Gamay and Chasselas remain the most popular with the locals, especially the older population, ‘international’ varieties like Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot are also now commonly grown in Geneva, as are the ‘newer’ Swiss varieties.

‘In the 1970s, the Swiss started thinking about creating grapes resistant to disease, and they created Gamaret and Garanoir,’ says Grou, both crosses of Gamay and Reichensteiner but with their own distinctive characteristics.

The Swiss tend to drink their wine young (Grou attributes this to historical low-quality production, which changed in the 2000s when entry-level competition from countries like Italy and Spain forced improvements), so it’s not common to find bottles in shops or on menus more than a few years old.

‘There is no cheap Swiss wine, but it’s rare to find hugely expensive Swiss wine,’ says Grou, citing a range of roughly £13 to £37 per bottle. Interestingly, there is no major mark-ups in restaurants because producers essentially keep the price the same for everyone.

‘You will more or less pay the same as in a restaurant, which is something very particular for Switzerland. Maximum, there will be a 20 per cent difference,’ says Grou.

Where To Try Genevan Wine:

Le Caveau de Bacchus

Le Caveau De Bacchus has three wine boutiques in Switzerland; however, its Genevan location is the most extensive with a separate spirits shop; a chic wine bar with over 40 wines by the glass; and labyrinthine, stone cellar packed with Swiss, French, Italian and Spanish finds. Le Caveau de Bacchus’ sommelier consultant Emmanuel Depreux recommends picking up a bottle of the slightly smoky, fruit-forward Garanoir Cuvée Albertine from the nearby women-led Domaine de la Vigne Blanche.

Le Blanc Valet

There’s no shortage of wine bars in Geneva. New to the scene is Le Blanc Valet, a warm and lively pick for Swiss and French wines. There are about ten wines available by the glass, but they change every two weeks, so it’s best to ask for recommendations. While you’re working your way through the multipage wine list, dig into hardy sharing plates of duck confit parmentier and bubbly tartiflette, and end the night with an aromatic prune eau de vie from Distillerie Morard Le Bry in the hills above Montreux.

Les Perrières Cave & Domaine

As one of Switzerland’s largest estates with over 100 hectares, the award-winning Les Perrières has been in the Rochaix family for eight generations. ‘We say we produce vin de cepage, wines that are true to the grape,’ says Frédéric Rochaix of the 17 wines on offer at the postcard-perfect laurel- and wisteria-fringed estate in the village of Peissy. Les Millerands Chasselas de Peissy is a true-to-character, approachable Chasselas with notes of pear and white flowers (pair this with gruyère and vacherin, the two cheeses commonly found in fondue in Geneva), but for something special try the Coteau de Peissy 1er Cru, an interesting blend of Viognier and Pinot Blanc. ‘No French winery would make this blend,’ says Rochaix.

Domaine De La Planta

Spearheaded by twin brothers Frédéric and Jean-David Gaillard, Domaine De La Planta is a midsize winery with 12 hectares and 29 wines. Grab a bottle of their oak-aged Lili Garanoir (‘a favourite of Michelin-starred restaurants,’ according to Jean-David), and go for a picnic among the vines.

Beau-Rivage & Le Chat-Botté

With sensational lake views and an elegant, old-world aesthetic, the antique-filled Beau-Rivage is not only one of the oldest and most luxurious hotels in Geneva, it is also the place to stay for wine-lovers thanks to its dizzyingly impressive wine list and candle-lit wine cellar, the largest of any hotel. It is linked to their Michelin-starred restaurant Le Chat-Botté by the impressive Chef Dominique Gauthier, a master of regional products like pike—pulled right from the lake—and perfumed honey from his own hives. Start the night with a cellar tasting with Grou before heading upstairs for dinner. Grou’s recommendation: pair Gauthier’s rich and juicy pork belly with a Gamaret from Domaine des Balisiers for ‘a bit of vivacity and a bit of tannins.’ The hotel also hosts special wine dinners throughout the year featuring different winemakers and estates from around Switzerland and the world.

Baghera Wines

Launched by two Christie’s alums, the prestigious Baghera Wines is best known as a fine wine auction house with over £81 million in sales since its inception in 2015. Recently, the outfit expanded to include an exclusive boutique and an even-more-exclusive private members club (with just 20 members), housed within Beau-Rivage. While you can’t get into the club without an invite, swing by the bijou boutique for a peek at the rare wines, including some hard-to-find aged Swiss bottles like a 2005 Comtesse Eldegarde Cabernet Franc.

The Details:

Geneva Airport is only 20 minutes from the city centre. There are over 160 weekly flights from the UK via Swiss Air, with fares starting at £54. Semi-private aviation company Aero has also recently started to fly to Geneva from London Farnborough. Travellers can book seats on an ultra-luxe bespoke 16-seat Aero aircraft with rates starting at £1,200.

The famous Swiss efficiency and precision applies to the Swiss Travel System: Pick up a complimentary Geneva Transport Card at your hotel, which grants free city transport including rides on the Mouettes Genevoises, the canary-yellow ferry boats. For more information on Switzerland and Geneva visit the national and local tourism sites.

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Hungary: A history of sparkling wine production

Surprising as it may sound, Hungary has had a long history of making sparkling wine since the 19th century. As a matter of fact, it used to be the world’s second-largest sparkling wine-producing country, only next to Champagne.

Similar to Champagne, the limestone quarried from the ancient underground wine cellars in Budafok, on the outskirts of Budapest, is said to have been used to build a number of magnificent historical buildings in the capital, including the parliament.

With producers trained in the French homeland, the Hungarian ‘pezsgő (sparkling wines)’ used to be crafted mainly using the Champagne grapes. The country’s leading sparkling producer Törley, established in 1882 in Budafok, carried on this tradition, though is also exploring other varieties, including Riesling and Zöldveltelini (Grüner Veltliner).

The booming sparkles in Tokaj

Tokaj, located north-east corner of the country, is perhaps best known for its lusciously sweet wines, with the botrytis-infused Aszú being its crown jewel.

The region itself is a complex patchwork of volcanic soils with vineyards planted on the steep slopes facing varied aspects. Furmint is the most widely planted grape variety there, spreading more than 3,500ha (out of the nation’s total 3,700ha), responsible for a wide spectrum of expressions and styles.

‘Furmint showed a similar sugar:acid ratio to Chardonnay when picked at the right moment,’ said Caroline Gilby MW, wine writer and consultant specialising in Central and Eastern European wines.

Read more: Furmint: the journey continues

Thanks to Tokaj’s moderate-to-cool climate, the white grape can achieve full ripeness while retaining its hall-mark high acidity. This, combined with its relatively neutral flavour and moderate alcohol levels, lays the foundation for quality sparkling wines.

‘Vencel Garamvári was almost certainly the first to make traditional-method Tokaji sparkling in 2002, with Chateau Vincent. However, it didn’t really take off more widely until the cold, rainy 2010 vintage, which produced very high-acid wines – perfect sparkling raw material,’ according to Gilby.

Although sparkling Furmint is still a relatively new notion in the region with most producers releasing wines from a specific vintage with limited quantities, some have started to build their own reserve for non-vintage blends.

It’s worth noting that Furmint isn’t the only hero in the Tokaji fizz story – a considerable proportion of sparkling wines produced in Tokaj are blends, where the region’s second most-planted Hárslevelű and international variety such as Chardonnay, among others, also play their parts.

The wines

Although not many sparkling Furmint from Tokaj are available in the UK yet, it’s apparent that the versatile poster grape of the region can take on the rich, toasty notes from prolonged lees ageing very well while maintaining its penetrating acidity. The traces of honey and quince, on the other hand, are friendly clues to its varietal characters.

Gilby highlighted the Tokaji Pezsgő Brut 2017 from Tokaj Nobilis, praising its ‘delicate bouquet of apple crumble with lemon zest and quince’, ‘elegant and long’ palate and a ‘graceful yet crisp finish’.

Barta Furmint Pezsgö 2016 also stood out in the sparkling Furmint masterclass during the 2022 Furmint February event. The traditional method fizz is rich in yellow fruit and floral charm, with yeasty depth from 36 months of lees ageing. The tell-tale mineral acidity of Furmint dances elegantly on the tip of the tongue.

Another excellent tipple is the Sauska Brut NV – perhaps the only non-vintage sparkling Furmint produced in Tokaj, for now – featuring 70% Furmint, 20% Hárslevelu and a dash of Chardonnay. Toasty notes from 18 months of lees ageing, underlined with a honeyed, buttery palate, formulating a real beauty at an affordable price (£19.50).

These wines, plus the ‘Sparkling Furmint’ from 4 Haz, a value choice made using the Charmat method, are telling examples of what Tokaj is capable of when dressing up its star grape with sparkles. As Caroline Gilby MW puts it, ‘all with the poise and structure of an aristocrat, with a twist of bohemian wildness.’

Based on the masterclass hosted by Hungarian-born wine expert Dr Orsi Szentkiralyi.

Try eight sparkling Furmint from Tokaj

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Several fine wine auctions have been organised by the members of the trade in support of emergency relief efforts and humanitarian aid for people affected by war in Ukraine.

One auction organised by private member club Crurated brought together more than 250 bottles from coveted producers.

It included top names in Burgundy, Champagne and Italy, such as Louis Roederer (Cristal), Domaine Meo-Camuzet, Domaine Dujac and Bartolo Mascarello.

Running from 14 to 20 March, a spokesperson told Decanter that Crurated raised $134,000 (£101,000) in aid of Ukraine.

The group said all funds raised would be distributed to Red Cross, Save The Children, UNHCR and UNICEF.

Each bottle sold also provides access to a digital non-fungible token (NFT) that verifies the wine’s authenticity and ownership history, Crurated said.

Spanish gems feature in Wines for Ukraine auction

Writer and Decanter contributor Miquel Hudin has organised an online auction of Spanish wines, with winemakers in Catalunya offering up bottles directly from their cellars.

Lots range from vaunted Priorat labels to older vintages and low-intervention wines, said Hudin on his website. ‘I hope that there’s a bit of something for everyone in here,’ he said.

Lots include top wines from Priorat’s 2013 vintage, such as Álvaro Palacios L’Ermita, Clos Erasmus and Clos Mogador.

There is also a piece of Priorat wine history in the shape of Cellers La Scala Dei, La Cartoixa 1974. ‘While there were 105,000 bottles of this wine produced originally, there are now known to be just over 100 in existence, all at the premises of the winery from which this was wine was kindly donated,’ said the auction site.

Alongside the wines, Hudin is offering a one-day Priorat wine tour for four people, which he said would normally have a value of €1,000.

The online auction runs from 21 March to Friday 1 April (midnight).

Proceeds will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross, Come Back Alive, and/or World Central Kitchen. See full details of the ‘wines for Ukraine’ auction.

Wine Unites for Ukraine auction

This fundraising auction by the UK wine trade has been organised by Sarah Abbott MW, Tim Atkin MW, Madeleine Waters and Celia Bryan-Brown. They have asked members of the trade to contribute lots.

Several lots involve top sparkling wines, including Ridgeview Blanc de Blancs 2009, a methuselah of rosé from Cornwall’s Camel Valley and a magnum of Champagne Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs 1999.

One lot is for a stay, tour and tasting at Bordeaux second growth Château Pichon Baron, for four people.

Decanter has also created a lot for the auction, including a 12-bottle case of Gold & Platinum medal-winning wines from the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 and 2021, plus a pair of Grand Tasting tickets to the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter London on Saturday 5 November, as well as a 12-month subscription to both Decanter magazine and Decanter Premium.

Other lots include a place on a WSET Level 1 course with accredited provider Rebecca Lamont Wine School, and a six-book ‘Cellar Edition #1’ collection from the Académie du Vin, which features the late, great Steven Spurrier’s memoirs, A life in wine.

The online auction will be live from 9am on Friday 1 April to 18:00 on Sunday 3 April.

Proceeds will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is helping those affected by the crisis. See full details of the Wine Unites for Ukraine auction.

Other companies across the wine world have either announced direct donations or joined efforts to help fundraise.

UK retailer Majestic Wine has created a funding page for the DEC on its website and said that it will match all donations up to £50,000.

As previously reported by Decanter.com, the owner of Ukraine’s Beykush winery has asked Europe’s vintners to consider offering spare accommodation to refugees.

According to the UNCHR agency, more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on 24 February.

The France-based International Sommelier Association (ASI) has launched a jobs platform for wineries, retailers, restaurants and others across the trade ‘willing to offer employment [to] Ukrainian refugees’.

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