PIWI International Wine Challenge 2025: Outstanding Quality and more wines registered

Home News NewsPIWI International Wine Challenge 2025: Outstanding Quality and more wines registered

Valtice, July 31, 2025 – With an impressive 216 wines submitted from nine countries, the PIWI International Wine Challenge 2025 was held for the second time at the Czech National Wine Centre in Valtice. The event once again proved to be a highlight in the calendar for disease-resistant grape varieties (PIWIs), underlining their growing importance in the international wine scene.

An expert jury of five international tasting panels — featuring professionals from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Spain — evaluated the wines using the internationally recognized 100-point OIV system, supported by the established tasting software of the Valtice Wine Centre.

A total of 25 professional tasters assessed the entries and awarded 127 wines:

9 wines received "TOP GOLD" (95+ points)
25 wines were awarded "GOLD" (from 92 points)
93 wines received "SILVER" (from 89 points)

The highest score of 95.33 points was achieved by three wines:

Orange Wine 2023 from Weingut Schmid-Oberrautner (South Tyrol, Italy)
Rinot 2022 from Vinselect Michlovský (Czech Republic)
Rössler Barrique 2022 from Weingut Amon (Austria)

Additional TOP GOLD award winners included:

Souvignier gris 2023, Kollerhof, Austria
Donauriesling 2023, Milan Vašíček, Czech Republic
Regent, Vinařství Prygl, Czech Republic
Rinot 2023, Vinselect Michlovský, Czech Republic
Souvignier gris Orange, Weinhof Winter, Germany

Christian Waltl, Managing Director of PIWI International, expressed his enthusiasm:

"Once again, this tasting has shown the potential of PIWI wines. With the National Wine Centre in Valtice, we have found an ideal partner for a long-term collaboration."

Wolfgang Renner, head of PIWI Austria and one of the panel leaders, also gave a positive summary:

"The quality level of PIWI wines was once again very high this year. The growing number of submissions makes us optimistic for the future. The PIWI International Wine Challenge has clearly established itself as one of the most important PIWI wine tastings in Europe."

The official presentation of the awarded wines and the certificate ceremony will take place at the PIWI World Summit in Berlin, from November 8–9, 2025.