THE COMPLETE RESULTS OF THE DANUBE WINE CHALLENGE 2025 ARE OUT: THE WINE CHAMPIONS ARE FROM SLOVAKIA, THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND SPAIN
13 June 2025, Château Bela: Renowned tasters from 4 continents awarded 232 medals, of which 40 Grand Gold and 192 Gold. The highest scoring wine of the entire competition (97.20 points) was the Tokaj Cuvée Ice Wine 2018 from Ostrožovič winery and won the Grand Prix RONA - Best in Show. The winners of the prestigious Prix VINOFED and the Champions of the competition in the nominated categories according to the Statutes are: whit wine - Riesling 2022 from Terra WYLAK winery, rosé wine - Cabernet Franc rosé 2024 from VINIDI winery, both from Slovakia; red wine - ANTAŇO Crianza 2019 from the RIOJA region in Spain and sparkling wine - Sekt Classic brut Nature 2021 from Znovín Znojmo winery (Czech Republic).
„Opinion leaders from 12 countries from around the world evaluated 740 wine samples according to the strictest international standards. This year's edition brought exceptional quality of the wines in competition, as evidenced by the number of Grand Gold and Gold Medals awarded and the fact that medals could be awarded from a score as high as 89 points (30% of the OIV limit)“, explains Edita Ďurčová, oenologist and General Director of the Danube Wine Challenge. Slovak winemakers have obtained the most - 131 medals in total, 25 of which are Grand Gold. 37 medals, 5 of which are Grand Gold, go to the Czech Republic and 30 medals, 2 of which are Grand Gold, go to Spain. A further 34 medals were shared by winemakers from Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary, France and Australia.
The highest score among the semi-dry and semi-sweet white wines was achieved by Riesling 2021 of Slovakian legendary winemaker Miroslav Petrech from Château Bela, which also became the Best Wine of the Nitra Self-Governing Region and won the travelling cup of the Best Wine of the Danube Wine Route. The best score in the category ‘orange wines’ was awarded to Pálava 2023 from the Moravian winemaker Lukáš Kundrata. The winners of the final tasting of dry still wines from the varieties Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch were awarded the Danube Wine Trophy. They are: Veltlínske zelené 2021 - Milan Vasicek from Moravia (CZ) and Frankovka modrá 2023 - family winery Andora (SK). The Best Wine Collection award goes to Víno Matyšák (SK), whose 6 highest ranked wines in the competition achieved the best average: 92.97 points.
The Danube Wine Challenge is one of the 14 elite wine competitions in the world. It is the only one in Slovakia that is a member of the World Federation of Major International Wine and Spirits Competitions (VINOFED) and is held under the high patronage of the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine). "I consider it very important for Slovakia that such an event is being held here. It reflects the high quality of local wines. However, it should be added that the tasting is conducted according to strict international standards and is anonymous - we do not know the origin of the wine, the variety or the producer, " said Ralf Anselman, oenologist and OIV representative.
"Slovakia is a wine country and wine is one of the products that offers a comprehensive experience throughout the country, even within the accompanying programmes. I believe that this event will also show Slovak wines and viticulture in top quality and will spread Slovakia's reputation internationally as a country of tasty gastronomy and quality winemaking," said Matej Fekete, General Director of SLOVAKIA TRAVEL. The competition is held annually in the unique location of Château Béla in the south of Slovakia. International tasters can also get to know the local winemakers personally as part of the accompanying programme.
"The wine competition puts Slovakia on the map of the wine world. Thanks to this, after each competition we see a huge increase in tourists who come to the wine regions specifically to enjoy the renowned wines", added Ján Kolkus, Director of Château Béla.
The ceremony of announcing the champions and winners of other special prizes will take place on 24 June at the Danube Wine Day Gala Tasting event in the Bratislava Water Museum. „Our aim is to focus on quality winemakers and to promote wine culture and moderat wine consumption. Not only will we get to know the most successful winemakers from Slovakia and the world, but the wine public will get the opportunity to taste the wines awarded by the prestigious jury at the 11th edition of the competition and meet the winemakers in person“, explained the President of the Danube Wine Challenge and the organizer of the Gala tasting, Igor Štumpf.
For the complete results of the competition and the list of awarded wines go to RESULTS 2025.
For more information, contact:
Edita Ďurčová, DG of the Danube Wine Challenge IWC
+421 903 221 292
danubewine@danubewine.sk
