Dr. György Lőrincz is the Winemaker of the Year

Dr. György Lőrincz, the manager of the St. Andrea Winery, the oenologist of the Eger wine region, was chosen as “The Winemaker of the Year” by the Hungarian Wine Academy in Budapest on Friday.

After receiving the highest ranked award of the profession, Dr. György Lőrincz expressed that Eger wine, for him is primarily blending varieties. He uses mainly Carpathian-Basin varieties in making wines. “When deciding ‘The Winemaker of the Year,’ we don’t only look at a certain kind of wine, but the winemaker’s achievements for the whole year,” says Miklós Kállay, the president of the Hungarian Wine Academy.

“In the past twenty years, huge talents have been found in the Hungarian wine industry that have become an important part of building if the country’s image,” emphasized the leader of the association.

The other vineyards that also received many votes were Éva Gálné Dignisz (Kunság vineyard), Ottó Légli (Balatonboglár vineyard), Mihály Szöllősi (Ászár-Neszmély vineyard), and Péter Vida (Szekszárd vineyard).

The voting system occurs in two rounds. In the first round, professionals, consumers and the media can vote. This year the first 250 out of 500 nominees remained for the second round. From the 250, only five remained to the finish. The 133 member Academy voted in secret for a winner (and envelopes were opened in the morning of the ceremony).

“The Winemaker of the Year” title is worn without time limitation, but after a year it can be only mentioned by indicating the year. The wine producer cannot be re-nominated for five years.

(Source: hvg.hu)