Czech wines shine in New York competition that supports global causes

Czech wines scored well in an international competition held in New York State, garnering 22 percent of them at the Great American International Wine Competition (GRAMIWC), held in Rochester, New York.

The 52 winners in the platinum category included 13 wines from Czechia. Domestic wines also earned 26 gold, 78 silver, and 49 bronze medals, for a total of 166 prizes. In total, 184 Czech wines competed. Overall, 765 medals were awarded to wines from the Americas, Europe, and Australia.

Despite the strong showing, no Czech wines were among the Best of Show winners, which comprised four American wines and one from Australia. In the Platinum category, Central and Eastern European wines were well-represented with bottles from Slovakia, Slovenia, and Montenegro all winning, alongside American and Canadian entries.

While wines made from grapes were the vast majority of entries, some fruit wines were also part of the competition. A cherry wine from the U.S. state of Delaware was among the Best of Show winners. All the Czech winners were grape wines, but neighboring Slovakia earned prizes for blackberry, cherry, and blueberry wines.

The top Czech wine was a Fankovka rosé from the small Bočko winery in Vrbice, South Moravia. It came in 28th place. While wines made from grapes were the vast majority of entries, some fruit wines were also judged. The second-and third-best Czech entries were white wines from the Šlechtitelská stanice and Vican family wineries, both in South Moravia. They came in 38th and 41st place, respectively. Eight Czech wines then scored a block covering 45th to 52nd place.

The most successful Czech vintner was Tesařík winery from Prušánky, which won three platinum and two silver medals. Winemaker Miloš Michlovský took two platinum and two gold medals.

The international jury consisted of members from 11 countries. Czechia was represented by Ondřej Novotný from Vinný sklepki Maršovice. He was chosen at random from several candidates.

"Participating in such a competition was above all a great experience. America evaluates wines differently than we are used to in Europe. The evaluation at the Great American International Wine Competition was much more complex, our hundred-point table is only one of the criteria that are judged there," Novotný told news server Novinky.

"Overall, I would say that the rating is more consumer-oriented, high ratings are mainly given to delicious, comprehensible, consumer-attractive wines. Much less attention is paid to wine-making finesse here than at our competitions," he added.

GRAMIWC is organized by the Raise A Glass Foundation (RAGF), which supports charities worldwide that help save and improve the lives of adults and children. They supply thousands of bottles of award-winning wines and spirits to select charities, who can then in turn auction them off to raise money.