September 27, 2020 - Montenegrin wine production has received confirmation of its proclaimed high quality on the international scene - all Montenegrin participants can boast of medals won at one of the world's largest festivals, held in London
Winemakers recognized for their excellent red wines, are ready to conquer even the most discerning white wine markets, results of the "Decanter world wine awards, London, England 2020" confirmed.
At one of the most esteemed quality tests, the wineries finished with gold, eight silver, and three bronze medals.
Samples from Montenegro were sent to London by only four wineries, and each came away with at least one medal.
In addition to the inevitable giant - "Plantaže", which won gold for "Vranac Pro Corde" from 2016, and numerous other medals for a wide range, the wines of Grbalj winery "Castel Savina", and Podgorica's "Bogojevic" and "Vukicevic" drew significant attention. During the previous week in London, silver medals were earned by the Chardonnay "Castel Savina", the red wine "Bogdan" from the winery Bogojević, and the white wine "Malvazija" from the winery Vukićević from Beri.
Malvasija was the closest in terms of points to the gold medal of Montenegrin white wines in London.
"Those few points needed for gold were taken away by the fact that we were a candidate for young wine from the 2018 harvest. If we had run for Malvasija in 2016, we would surely have won a gold medal. However, we are a small winery, and we wanted to prove the quality of wine that people can buycurrently, since the older vintages are almost sold out. We achieved the goal, and I received confirmation from London that we have top-quality red wines in Montenegro, but also excellent white wines. To those who would doubt us, I'd tell them to try Malvasija. In addition to the Malvasija wine, we received a bronze medal for the young wine 'Vranac Vukićević' and we are incredibly proud of the quality of the wine of our family winery," emphasized agronomist Filip Vukićević.
In just five years since its founding, the winery "Vukićević" has proven its quality at all the most prestigious fairs.
"We only perform at fairs in the region and Montenegro, while for the most prestigious samples we send by express mail, and even that is expensive for us. However, this season with the pandemic, it was confirmed that wine production has far exceeded the market's needs. It is a pity that all our wineries did not participate in Paris and London. Only by participating can we position ourselves on the world wine map and expand the market because we have quality and reasonable prices. In addition to the award-winning wines, we have started the production of chardonnay this season, we have rosé, and also grape brandy 'Vukićević,'" explained Filip Vukićević.
Podgorica vineyards, based on the results and experience of Vukićević, have vast potential.
"We have 18,000 vines, but in a crisis due to a pandemic, it is risky to increase the numbers. Our goal is to expand the capacity of the base and procure equipment. There are announcements that there will be an international assistance program for precisely that through the Ministry of Agriculture ... ".
Vukicevic points out that in this coronavirus year sales started only after the opening of the borders, and that the previous figures were not good either.
"We hope that the New Year's holidays will bring profit, otherwise many wine producers will be in trouble at the beginning of the next harvest. That is why we do not plan to expand the vineyard for now. We must continue to participate in the most prestigious fairs to get a foothold in other markets. Only better positioning will avoid the problem of a small market - it will be difficult to survive otherwise if we have another crisis season".
Text by Slaviša Živaljević
