Our International Federation of Wine Brotherhoods (F.I.C.B.) organized a world first : a wine tournament pitting the “champion” wines of 14 brotherhoods against each other in pairs (dry white wines for this first edition). It was held on February 6 and 7 at the M. Musée du Vin Paris.
The idea came from observing wine tournaments in Slovenia, as practiced by Professor and international jury president Marin Berovič.
Detailed tournament rules had been established, and an international jury consisting of seven experienced judges, chaired by Marin Berovič, had been formed.
The competing brotherhoods were :
Consulat OEVE Austria, Consulat OEVE Macedonia, Consulat OEVE Roumania ; Académie du Cep (Switzerland) ; Cocorico /Confrérie de l’Asperge et de la Vigne Argenteuil-Sannois (France), Ordre Illustre des Chevaliers de Méduse (France), Confrérie de Saint-Etienne (France) ; Consulat OEVE Slovenia ; ZSRVV (Slovenia) ; Oregon Wine Brotherhood (U.S.A.), Knights of the Vine (U.S.A.), Renaud Society (USA/Argentina); Knights of the croatian wine (Croatie), Fédéraçao Confrarias Bachicas (Portugal), Ordine dei Cavalieri del tartufo e dei vini di Alba (Italy).
The winner, which received the Jury Prize, was the Brotherhood of Croatian Wine Knights, for its Pinot Sivi Gold, vintage 2023, from the Matočec estate in Podravina (in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia).
(See below for the account by Knight Zeljko Miniarski).
The awards were presented during a dinner held on the evening of the General Assembly at the Bonne Franquette restaurant in Montmartre.
The three other semi-finalists competed for the Delegates’ Prize, following a blind tasting by around thirty renowned wine enthusiasts in attendance.
The Knights of the Vine USA emerged victorious with a 2021 Chardonnay from the Carneros estate in Napa Valley.
The FICB General Assembly unanimously decided to continue this tournament, the details of which will now need to be refined to take into account the experience gained, and which can be applied to regional or local projects.
Read below for Knight of Croatian Wine Zejlko Miniarski’s account of the tournament.
CHRONICLE OF THE FIRST KNIGHTLY WINE COMBAT IN PARIS
In the Year of Our Lord, in the city of Paris, where for centuries culture, craftsmanship, and the spirit of Europe have been measured, the first Knightly Wine Combat was held.
In ancient times, knights competed against one another with lances on horseback, defending honor, name, and the colors of their lord. Today, in an age of peace and culture, the knightly spirit continues in a different, nobler form. No longer do men fight — wines do. Each knight presents to the world the finest expression of his land, his vineyards, and the work of the winemaker he represents.
Thus, at the first Knightly Wine Combat in Paris, the Croatian wine Pinot Sivi Gold, vintage 2023, from Matočec Winery, from the Podravina wine region, was presented. The wine entered the combat with dignity and pride, as a messenger of Croatian soil, sunlight, and the labor of the hands that created it.
In this noble contest, where no blood is shed but truth is tasted in the glass, Pinot Sivi Gold won the Gold Medal, confirming its value before international knightly and wine circles. In Paris, it thus repeated the success previously achieved in London, where it had also been crowned with gold.
The wine proved to be harmonious and well-balanced, with clarity of aroma, freshness of taste, and a dignity befitting a wine bearing knightly honor. Its performance in the Wine Combat was noted and recognized, and the name of Croatia was spoken with respect.
With this Wine Combat, it was confirmed that knightly tradition has not vanished, but has been transformed. Today, it lives through wine — as a symbol of labor, patience, competition in quality, and mutual respect.
The first Knightly Wine Combat in Paris thus remains recorded as the beginning of a new chapter, in which wines speak instead of swords, and honor is measured by truth in the glass.
May this record remain in the chronicles as testimony to a time in which Croatian wine, under the knightly sign, stood shoulder to shoulder with the finest in the world.
⸻.
