"Blind" wine tasting world championship/ Albania for the first time with a team

2024-10-10 09:01:54, Aktualitet CNA

"Blind" wine tasting world championship/ Albania for the first time

Sharp senses, a lot of study and "training with taste" seem to be the only weapons that five representatives of the Albanian team will have with them in the World Wine Tasting Championship, where our country officially participates for the first time.

This will be the first meeting of Albanian wineries on a completely new ground for them, which aims to clearly identify Albania as a destination for wine production and why not promote tourism related to it. This Championship is in its 12th edition and will be held on October 12 at Château Dauzac in Margaux, near Bordeaux in France.

Based on this blind testing activity (or blind tasting), which means that the participants will try different wines, about which they will not have any prior information, and based on the taste and other evaluation elements, they will give the evaluation for the grape variety, the region, the country, the detailed geographical indicators and the year of production (when the grapes were harvested or the wine was produced).

"Blind" wine tasting world championship/ Albania for the first time

The Albanian team will have as its members the coach Chris Gurali, Admir Pupë (tester and representative of Cantina Pupa), Flori Uka (tester, oenologist, representative of Cantina Uka), Serxhio Prelashi (team leader, tester, oenologist, sommelier, founder of Parcelare SSP wines), Rigers Kaçorri (tester, oenologist, representative of Cantina Arbëri).

"The World Tasting Championship is the world's largest wine competition. 40 countries are represented in the competition with 5 of the best wine tasters and connoisseurs of their country! Almost all participating countries have a national competition to select the top 5 connoisseurs.

For example, China tests 300,000 sommeliers a year to choose the 5 best to be represented in this competition," the leader of the Albanian team, Mr. Prelashi, told "Monitor".

Participation in a competition like this is considered, according to him, as an extraordinary opportunity for countries like Albania, where wine production and quality wineries have increased year after year, but we still do not have international recognition as a destination in this field. Albania has a tremendous potential for the summer tourism segment, which is a tourism that attracts millions of tourists from all over the globe in search of special labels.

"Blind" wine tasting world championship/ Albania for the first time

Flori Uka, from the Uka winery, says that the initial proposal came from Sergio Prelashi, who has been living in France for years, where he is engaged in the wine sector.

"His desire to promote Albanian wines as much as possible and Albania as an important international wine destination map, made possible the creation of our team. I think it is an honor and the highest point of my personal career as a sommelier. Also, this gives a good impact for our Canteen, which is the base where I was professionally trained," he says.

Rigers Kaçori from Cantina Arbëri in the country says that participating in this competition brings benefits beyond the personal as it belongs to the brand he represents.

"Participating in this event is a privilege for me and the winery as we are being recognized all over the world. It is a double personal and professional promotion and I wish that as part of the Albanian team we can achieve ambitious results. This would give a great voice to Albania, which should start to be recognized in the world arena also by the quality production of wine" he says.

It seems that Admir Pupa from Kantina Pupa is on the same line, who says that the selection to be part of the Albanian team in this international competition is an appreciation for the winery that is based on the production of wine with Berat's indigenous grapes, several varieties quite old that make summer special./ Monitor.al