Belje’s Archive Graševina Served at the Wine Oscars
19. July 2023.The evening of the award ceremony for the prizes won at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London is known as the Wine Oscars among winemakers. As the IWC is one of the most influential wine competitions in the world, the official award ceremony is a major wine event that brought together over five hundred wine experts, judges, traders, distributors and media from around the world this year.
Among the trophy wines of this year’s IWC, Vina Belje’s archive Graševina from the 2006 vintage stood out and was declared the best white wine from Croatia. For this reason, Belje’s archive Graševina was chosen as one of the four white wines served at the Wine Oscars dinner.
This is a significant recognition for this exceptional wine, fifteen years after its release, and it is particularly important for showcasing the potential of Graševina, the most important grape variety in Vina Belje and throughout Croatia, as Graševina accounts for 25 percent of all vineyard plantations and over 40 percent of domestic wine production.
Marijan Knežević, the head oenologist of Vina Belje, believes that this is one of the greatest successes in terms of promoting Graševina in the international market. “Over 6,000 wine samples from 40 countries worldwide were evaluated at the IWC this year, and Croatian producers won a total of 95 medals, including only five gold medals. Among the gold medal winners, the national trophy was awarded to our archive Graševina from the 2006 vintage, which has led to an invitation to participate in the Wine Oscars dinner, where the organizers presented a total of 12 selected wines from this year’s evaluation. I would like to take this opportunity to recommend Graševina to all wine lovers in Croatia because it pairs excellently and easily with various dishes from our local cuisine. In addition to rich and structured wines, such as the archive Graševina from the 2006 vintage, Vina Belje offers a wide selection of Graševina wines, ranging from young wines dominated by freshness to full-bodied aged premium Graševina wines.”
The archive Graševina from the 2006 vintage can be purchased at the wine shop in the old cellar of Belje in Kneževi Vinogradi in Baranja upon prior announcement, and fresh Graševina wines from the 2022 vintage are available in bars, restaurants and stores throughout Croatia.
