The wine scene of Croatia is rich, propulsive and lively, so the number of wine labels on store shelves is increasing, as well as the number of wineries and wine merchants as well, while wine lists in restaurants often offer a serious dissection of the domestic and global offer. Well organised wine festivals are on the rise, as are various publications on the topic of wine. There are also regular tastings and promotions, several schools and courses in wine education are active, wine tourism is growing.
Such a good trend is due primarily to individuals behind all those activities, wineries, associations, publishers, scientists and numerous entrepreneurs from all spheres of economy – trade to production. The Vinart company behind the Grand Tasting festival in Lauba and numerous other wine events, headed by journalist and wine critic Saša Špiranec, joined forces with the Rõmerquelle water brand and decided to detect and award the most deserving in the wine world. Thus an award was created for annual achievements to be given to individuals and companies each year, presented by the organisers in the Pupitres Bar, Wine & Coffee.
The Rõmerquelle Person of the Year award will recognise an individual especially indebted by Croatian winemaking and whose successes especially contributed to the development and affirmation of good wines. The laureate can be a person from the sphere of winemaking, trade, catering, publishing, journalism and science. The jury for Rõmerquelle Person of the Year will be composed of: Emina Basara, journalist; Rene Bakalović, journalist and TV-personality; Mateja Domitrović, journalist and TV-personality; Željko Garmaz, journalist and travel writer and author of several books on wine; Danijela Mirošević, journalist; Filip Savić, sommelier; Morana Zibar, wine connoisseur and TV-personality and Saša Špiranec, journalist, director and owner of Vinart.
The main award for wineries is the Rõmerquelle Winery of the Year, given to a winery which generated the most success in the past two years on the domestic and international wine scene and also contributed to the affirmation of Croatia wines, as well as building an image of reliability, uniqueness and high quality. Additional awards from the winemaking sphere are: Regional Winery of the Year (Slavonia and Danube, Croatian Highlands, Istria and Kvarner, Dalmatia). In every of the four regions a wineries is chosen which contributed most to the affirmation of regional wines, as well as building an image of reliability, uniqueness and high quality.
Awards will also cover the trade area, as trade is, along with production, the most important activity for winemaking development. Dedication to work, specialisation, good idea, creativity in problem solving, dedication in overcoming challenges, superior education and understanding of the core matter are preconditions for success, as well as raising wine culture to a higher level. The best in all sectors are very deserving for the development of the domestic wine scene, whether they are importers, traders or in retail. There will also be awards for distributer of the year, wine store of the year, supermarket of the year and webshop of the year. The award ceremony will take place on November 9 in the Sheraton Zagreb hotel.
