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PIWI International Newsletter
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Results of PIWI WINE CHALLENGE 2025
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What a day in Valtice! At the PIWI International Wine Challenge 2025, winemakers from all over Europe showed what PIWI is all about – diversity, quality and a whole lot of passion. Almost 200 wines entered the competition, and the jury was impressed by the high quality across all styles.
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PIWI International Wine Challenge 2025 - the winners have been announced
On 31 July, everything revolved around PIWI wines again at the National Wine Centre in Valtice. The wines were tasted and evaluated by an international jury from the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.
Wines from all over Europe were included: most came from the Czech Republic (64), followed by Austria (46) and Germany (40). Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Ireland and France were also represented.
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Fig. 1: Distribution of participating wineries by country (outer circle) and wine samples submitted (inner circle).
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PIWI diversity
The wines submitted showed how widely PIWI is represented today – a broad range of more than thirty PIWI varieties took part, mainly bred in Germany (9), Austria (8), the Czech Republic and Switzerland (5 each), Italy (3), France (2) and Russia (1). The most frequently represented varieties are shown in Figure 2. Some PIWI varieties were represented by only one sample or as a cuvée, for example Cabertin, Calardis Blanc, Sauvignon Nepis, Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc.This year's members' wine tour takes us to South Moravia, known for its impressive wine landscapes and rich history.Starting from Lednice, we will visit large and small wineries around the historically significant towns of Znojmo, Mikulov and Valtice.
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Fig. 2: Proportion of samples evaluated by variety
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Three times top marks
The highest score of 95.33 points went to three outstanding wines:
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- Category 2B: Roesler Barrique 2022, Erich Amon (AT)
- Category 5: Rinot 2012, Vinselekt Michlovský (CZ)
- Category 7: Souvignier Gris Orange 2023, Florian Schmid (IT)
- Category 1A: Sauvignac 2024, Weingut Schützenhof – Blass (DE) – 95 points
- Category 2A: Rinot 2023, Vinselekt Michlovský (CZ) – 95 points
Souvignier Gris 2023, Kollerhof am Eichberg (AT) – 95 points
- Category 3A: Solaris Auslese 2023, Staatliches Weinbauinstitut Freiburg (DE) – 92.67 points
- Category 4: ‘Grapes of Glory’ Rosé 2024, Christian Hirsch Weine (DE) – 92 points
- Category 6: Cuvée Neupery Organic Sparkling Wine, Vinselekt Michlovský (CZ) – 93 points
123 medals – a strong signal
Nine wines received Grand Gold, 24 Gold and 90 Silver. Most of the samples were from the 2024 vintage, which clearly dominated with 57%. The oldest treasure submitted was a 2012.
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The Results shows...
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PIWI varieties are mainly used in Central Europe for aromatic white wines such as Sauvignon or Muscat. Cabernet and Pinot Noir relatives dominate among red wines. Both older breeds and modern varieties were represented in the competition. The younger PIWIs of the last few decades are particularly impressive – their taste is almost indistinguishable from classic grape varieties such as Riesling or Grüner Veltliner.
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The official presentation of the winning wines and the awarding of certificates will take place at the PIWI World Summit in Berlin on 8–9 November 2025.
We would like to thank all the wineries for participating and congratulate the winners.
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With best regards,
Wolfgang Patzwahl
and the entire board of PIWI International
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