Entries Now Open for the 2025 Winelovers Wine Awards

The 4th edition of Winelovers Wine Awards will be held in a new location, the organizers are expecting more than a thousand wine entries in 12 different categories.
Date: June 29 - July 1, 2025
Venue: Ensana Thermal Hotel Margitsziget
Some of the wine world’s greatest experts, a Master of Wine, a Master Sommelier and WSET Diploma holders, as well as winemakers, wine merchants and renowned sommeliers, will gather again this year to find the best wines from Central and Eastern Europe in the Winelovers international competition. 
In just a few years, Winelovers Wine Awards in Hungary is well on its way to becoming the most significant wine competition in the Central and Eastern European region.
 

 

More than just a wine competition
The tasting in Budapest has already exceeded the traditional competition model, as it is not only an international competition meeting global standards, but it also offers several side events that give wineries opportunities to establish commercial relationships.
Beyond the three-day wine judging, the Winelovers-X "trade tasting" will take place, designed as a dynamic offline platform connecting winemakers with traders and restaurateurs seeking new selections. This year, the X event will be an exclusive professional gathering, dedicated to fostering business-oriented networking. Scheduled for the second day of the competition (Monday), it is expected to attract between 300 and 400 industry professionals.

Meet the Buyer: A Gateway to Market Success
Following its overwhelming success last year, the Meet the Buyer tasting event returns, providing an invaluable opportunity for wineries to present their wines directly to trade buyers specializing in Central and Eastern European selections. Each participating winery will have a focused 12-minute session to showcase their products. In light of last year’s enthusiastic reception, the organizers will offer two opportunities for wineries to participate in 2025.



Global Exposure and Prestige
The competition’s results will gain international recognition. Award-winning wines will be featured on the competition’s English-language website and social media channels, as well as on the globally renowned Wine-Searcher platform. Additionally, press releases will be distributed to international media outlets, and a digital brochure in English will reach key Western European wine market players.
Hungary’s top 100 wines will be highlighted in a printed magazine, while the highest-rated Hungarian wines will be showcased at the Winelovers 100 Grand Tasting, offering consumers the chance to experience these exceptional selections firsthand.
“The Winelovers Wine Awards has proven its place among the largest domestically organized wine competitions in just three years, both in terms of the number of entries and the quality of its organization. Our goal is to surpass the 1,000 mark in entries this year, while strengthening the international field even further. Our B2B-focused side events have already proven successful, offering practical opportunities for wineries that provide real support in building commercial relationships. With the introduction of new categories, we are making the competition accessible to a wider audience, giving a chance to those who couldn't participate before” - emphasized Ádám Boglárka, Managing Director of Winelovers.

Opening doors for more wines
In addition to the previous categories, four new ones will be announced this year. Sparkling wines, sparkling wines made with tank and transvasee will compete separately from traditionally made sparkling wines. Natural wines and retail wines will also have their own categories. The goal of the retail wine category is to provide reliable wines for a wide audience, including occasional wine drinkers. While this category does not exclude high-quality wines, the focus is primarily on affordability and accessibility. This category will accept wines that are widely available in retail stores. Additionally, there will be an exciting category for wines with alternative packaging. This category will focus on solutions outside traditional glass bottles: Bag-in-Box (BiB), aluminum cans, PET bottles, Tetra Pak, glass alternatives (e.g., stoneware, composite materials), and keg.
A competition offering numerous opportunities for winemakers
The Winelovers Wine Awards is a perfect opportunity for wineries from Central and Eastern European countries to present themselves and gain visibility, especially if they are considering export activities within or outside the region. The organizers place a strong emphasis on attracting jury members from as many countries as possible, ensuring the competition covers markets that could be important export destinations for the CEE region.

SHOW YOUR WINE TO THE WORLD, MAKE SURE YOUR WINES ARE ALSO PART OF THE 2025 WINELOVERS WINE AWARDS! REGISTER HERE!

The president of the Winelovers Wine Awards will again be László Bálint dipWSET, with Essi Avellan Master of Wine (Finland) and Tamás Czinki Master Sommelier (Hungary) also returning to the jury, along with many new experts such as Mikk Parre (Estonia), the most recent European Champion Sommelier, and Serdar Balkaya (United Kingdom), the current head sommelier of the two-Michelin-starred Trivet restaurant. The first confirmed names are already available on the website, so check out who will be attending!
Build your commercial relationships with Buyers! At the accompanying events of the Winelovers Wine Awards, you can meet them in person! At Meet the Buyer, you can introduce your wine to Solveig Grohne (Germany), who is responsible for the entire wine range of the German Rossmann chain, Daniel Satola (USA), who made several successful deals at last year's Meet the Buyer event, or Peter Goosens (Belgium), whose company, Global Wineries, with its huge portfolio, is constantly looking for new wineries from Hungary.

For more information, visit the Winelovers Wine Awards website: https://wineloverswineawards.com/
Videos: https://www.facebook.com/wineloverswineawards/videos
Photos: https://wineloverswineawards.com/gallery