Good work from the past brings excellent quality and good marketing results, and the word of our sparkling wines among consumers is spreading, both at home and abroad. We are happy to announce that with Gourmet brut sparkling wine, we became World champions 2005 at Ljubljana international tasting. With Barbara sparkling wine 2003 we became champions at Slovenian open tasting in Gornja Radgona. That same wine placed second at the international tasting in Znojmo, Czech Republic. At Mundus Vini, one of the biggest international tastings in Germany, Gourmet rose 2002 won the silver medal.

Grape harvest 2005 is behind us and we can already produce some quantitative and qualitative estimates. There were 10 to 20 % less grapes than the year before, as winter and spring frosts, as well as hailstorms caused some damage. Like last year, also this October’s first week was rainy, which lowered the level of sugar in grapes and caused decay. The grapes of those grape growers who cared for their vines with expertise and didn’t overload them, were healthy and sweet. On average, this year’s grapes, opposite to what we expected, were even slightly sweeter than last year’s, so with appropriate technology, good wines can be produced. With sparkling wine production, we are very picky when it comes to grape health and we rejected decaying grapes. We removed the impurities from the must, with cooling and 24-hour settling removed impurities and then controlled its fermentation at 18 C. Using special condensers during the fermentation, we reduced the leak of aromatic components from the must. Judging from the alcohol to acids ration, wines of 2005 will be suitable for good sparkling wines.

In 2006, Sparkling Wine Amateurs’ Club will be taking a trip to Portugal.