The end of the first quarter is the perfect moment to introduce new wine vintages to the market. Selected wines by Belje were tasted by esteemed international tasters at several globally renowned wine competitions earlier this year, and the new vintage wines are already boasting some prestigious awards at the moment when they are hitting the market.
The La Belle Grand sparkling wine made its international debut at the Mundus Vini 2022 Spring Tasting, the first big international wine competition this year, winning a gold medal. The Grand is Vina Belje’s first sparkling wine made using the Charmat method of fermentation in tanks, from grapes carefully selected at both the vineyard and the cellar at harvest time.
The silver medal presented at the Mundus Vini to the new vintage of Graševina select, the best-selling wine in Belje’s range, serves as another proof that this Graševina is the absolute best buy in the market. Our long-term commitment to quality has already earned us silver medals at Mundus Vini, Decanter and Challenge International du Vin international competitions for this category of Graševina, which is regularly featured among the best wines in its category by Croatian media. The new vintage of Graševina is distinctive by its notable freshness and excellent food pairing potential.
The semi-dry Rose from our cuvee range, a wine combining the best features of a number of varieties from Belje’s vineyards, was presented with the silver medal for quality at The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. The new vintage Rose is dominated by Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, with their prominent fruity notes.
Marijan Knežević, Chief Oenologist at Vina Belje, underlines the importance of all the awards presented to our wines, adding: “The gold medal for the La Belle Grand sparkling wine is a huge achievement that shows the enormous potential of the Belje vineyards in the production of high-quality sparkling wines. Our decision to move into the production of sparkling wines as a new challenge was a logical response to the demands of the market and the consumers, who have started to discover the delights of sparkling wines in recent years. Our own vineyards that surround the winery, stretching over 564 hectares along the southern slopes of the Banovo brdo hill in Baranja, are a major asset. Having our own vineyards means that we are able to handpick the grapes for our wine categories and varieties, the first step toward creating premium-quality wines. The silver medals we won for our new vintage of select Graševina and Rose attest to our absolute commitment to quality and consumer satisfaction, and 52 quality medals we received last year motivate us to be even better and even more successful with our new vintage.”
The 2021 Rose and the 2021 Graševina select are already in distribution and will be available at retail stores and the HoReCa channel across Croatia, along with the entire range of Vina Belje’s products and its La Belle Grand sparkling wine.