Hungarian gold medal from Le Mondial du Rosé, Cannes

Cannes in France is the home of the world famous movie festival every year, but in spring, it’s not the celebrities of movies, but wine experts who gather together in the spectacular town of Cannes on Cote d’Azur. „Convivial and festive, the rosé wine has become the trendy phenomenon in the world of wine. This is why the Union des Oenologues de France has wanted to give the place of honor to this color by organizing each year a competition exclusively reserved for the rosé wines of the world. Every year, the jury composed of about sixty tasters, grades the samples presented, then, subsequently, the jury consults and exchanges with each other to determine the wines which will be medal winners.

These awards constitute for a large number of buyers, a guarantee of quality” claim the organizers.

Medal winners

The 14th edition of Mondial du Rosé has just released its results with 400 award winning wines with 14 Hungarian wines.

Gold medal:

Koch Winery Nero Rosé, Hajós–Baja, 2016

Silver medals:

• Frittmann Kunsági Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016
• Font Kunsági Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016 (ECKK)
• Font Kunsági Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016 (DUKN)
• Taschner Soprni Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016
• Simigh Tlnai Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2016
• Varsányi Egri Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016
• Dúzsi Szekszárdi Cabernet Franc Rosé, 2016
• Dúzsi Szeszkárdi Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2016
• Dúzsi Szekszárdi Pinot Noir Rosé, 2016
• Dúzsi Szekszárdi Merlot Rosé, 2013
• Dúzsi Szekszárdi Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2015
• Gedeon Kunsági Kékfrankos Rosé, 2016
• Kökény and Son Fisrcher Parti Rosé, 2016

Nero – a grape with healing effect

The gold medal winning Koch wine is made of Nero or Néró, a rather rare grape variety. Néró is a grape variety selected in Hungary in 1965 by two oenologists, József Csizmazia and László Beleznai. The name refers to the deep colour of the berry, but also the crazy Roman Emperor. The grape is resistant, therefore chemical spraying is not needed. Another advantage of Néro is that it produces an excessed amount of antioxidant which is rescued in the wine, thus its wine is healthier then wines made of most of the other varieties (Sagrantino in Italy can boast with immense amount of antioxidant as well). Despite the positive characteristics, the grape Néró is still not very popular, probably because it was categorized as a species of grape to eat (but it is legally used for making wine, the only restriction is that it should not be labelled as PDO – Protected Designation of Origin – wine, but PGI – Protected Geographical Indication wine).