The CMB Sparkling Wines Session has just started in Alghero, Sardinia

Press release – Alghero, Wednesday 03 July
The city of Alghero in Sardinia is hosting the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Sparkling Wines Session. From 3 to 5 July 2024, 50 professional judges will be assessing over 900 sparkling wines from 24 countries.

The first day of judging of the CMB Sparkling Wines Session has just got underway in Alghero, in Sardinia. This year, 50 international judges (representing 22 nationalities) have travelled to the Italian island to evaluate more than 900 competing sparkling wines. Entries come from all of the major producer regions with no fewer than 24 nationalities represented. The competition is part of the first Alguer Wine Week, an event designed to celebrate Sardinian wine and winemaking culture through a series of events, tastings, and performances.

From a regional perspective, Champagne leads the way with 178 entries. Italy is also very high up in the entry league with almost 300 wines competing from across the country. Unsurprisingly, Proseccos are in pole position with 128 entries, offering further proof that Italian sparkling wines are truly on-trend. Also very interesting is the range of sparkling wines entered by the host region, Sardinia, including bubbles made from Vermentino di Sardegna and Torbato, two grape varieties typical of the region.

Quentin Havaux, CEO of the CMB, is delighted: “We are happy to finally launch this competition, which is the result of several years of work. It is no coincidence that we are in Italy for the second consecutive year for our Sparkling Wines Session. Italy has proven year after year that it remains a great wine-producing nation, continually impressing us with the quality of its wines and achieving excellent results in the CMB competitions.“

Sardinia, the wine island
The Italian island is renowned for its incredible natural beauty and rich history, but it is also a fertile land for winegrowing. Over the past few years, the quality of its wine production has grown constantly, increasingly establishing the region on the global map as a ‘wine island’.
The town of Alghero itself is a destination popular with history, gourmet food and culture enthusiasts. It is famous for its magnificent beaches, its preserved mediaeval ramparts and its picturesque historic centre. Alghero is also the ideal place to savour Mediterranean cuisine and seafood.

Creative producers
The production of semi-sparkling and sparkling wines in Alghero and across Sardinia is a testament to the ability of local producers to adapt and get their creative juices flowing. The island’s wineries have helped fuel remarkable progress for sparkling wines, which are renowned for their unique character and their roots that run deep in local winemaking traditions. This growth is stoked by innovative exploration into native grape varieties.

“The current trend in wine production is illustrated by the semi-sparkling and sparkling wine sector, which has experienced constant growth worldwide. Sardinian wineries have also brought in new equipment and prepared themselves for a successful debut in the category, carving out a unique place for themselves”, says Mario Peretto, chairman of the Consorzio Alghero DOC. These are the reasons why Concours Mondial de Bruxelles selected the island to host the Sparkling Wines Session of the competition. “This is a great opportunity for the entire regional department, which has been given the possibility to showcase its excellence to an international audience. The competition will be attended by 50 journalists, buyers, experts and influencers who will recount their experience of this fantastic island after discovering its landscapes and most significant wines”, added Mario Peretto.

Currently, over 110 semi-sparkling and sparkling wine labels are produced regionally, using different grape varieties. These include two excellent regional cultivars – Vermentino and Cannonau – alongside native grape varieties such as Torbato, Nuragus, Cagnulari, Malvasia, Vernaccia, Moscato and international grapes like Chardonnay.

The wines offer an alternative expression of the island’s native grape varieties, adding a new dimension to Sardinia’s winegrowing heritage.

The results will be announced on 15 July at concoursmondial.com

You can find photos of the competition in our Flickr album

About the competition
The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is an international competition where over 10,000 wines are entered by producers to be judged by a panel of experts. Our experienced judges taste the wines in the competition with one guiding principle, and that is to single out wines of irreproachable quality, with no bias stemming from the label or an appellation’s prestige. The Concours is one of the most significant international events of its kind.

Press contact:
Benoît Carion — benoit.carion@vinopres.com