Wine Competition Concours Mondial De Bruxelles Changes Venues

     The Covid-19 crisis has had a profound influence on the global wine industry. The supply chain has been disrupted and hotel, restaurant, and wine tourism business have dropped off as to be almost nonexistent. Its influence is also felt in the wine competition sector. Many competitions around the globe were rescheduled to dates that were expected to be safe for travel and gathering. National and regional lockdowns and travel limitations coupled with judges’ concerns about travel and crowd size have forced organizing bodies to restructure events and to shift locations and dates.

     The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, an international touring competition at which 9,000 wines are tasted by 350 wine professionals from around the world, has had to adjust not just its main competition but three auxiliary events as well: the Concours Rosé Selection, Concours Mondial de Sauvignon, and México Selection. 

     Judges for the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles from wine producing and importing countries around the world are sommeliers, winemakers, wine writers, importers, and influencers in the global wine industry. The CMB has over 25 years of experience, and because Belgium is not a large wine producing country, the competition is considered to be independent of bias. An annually updated snapshot of the worldwide wine industry, the concours awards medals to between 27 and 29% of all wines submitted, with only 1% of entries receiving the top honor, a Grand Gold Medal. 

The 2020 competition, originally scheduled for May in Brno, Czech Republic, was postponed until September of the same year. The announcement of the following year’s location is a highly anticipated ritual held at the conclusion of tasting on the third day of judging. Last September, when the 2021 host city of Yinchuan, Ningxia, China, was disclosed, no one thought that Covid-19 related travel constraints and regulations would still be in effect in the spring of 2021. However, as May approached, organizers of the Concours switched the location from its planned destination to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Uncertainty surrounding the future development of the current health crisis prompted the organizing committee of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles to postpone the event slated to take place in Yinchuan until 2022. The decision was reached by mutual agreement with the competition’s Chinese partner.

     The tastings will run from May 21^st through 23^rd, 2021 in the LuxExpo convention and exhibition center located in the business district of Luxembourg City. However, if the health situation and government guidelines change between now and then, the event could be reviewed and changed. Safety measures will be put into effect in order to safeguard the health of staff, volunteers, judges and visitors. While in normal years judges fly in from all over the world, the 2021 competition will rely on tasters from within the European Union, who at this time are not subject to travel constraints or quarantine. 

     Regarding this development, Baudouin Havaux, Chairman of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, stated, “We thank the host country for offering us a venue that is particularly well suited to our event and for the invitation to visit the vineyards of the Moselle and discover the diversity of the country’s five wine regions. The lack of international exhibitions and trade conventions makes the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles a rare opportunity for producers to stand out from their peers. It was therefore essential that the competition go ahead on the dates initially planned to provide them with a unique chance to promote their wines and tap into new markets.” 

The Rosé Wine session of the CMB was supposed to have been held in the Abruzzo region of Italy this year; however, the organizers have decided to hold the event in their home city of Brussels on the dates initially scheduled, March 1^st to 5^th, and to task a selection of sommeliers and journalists, either Belgian or living in Belgium, with judging entries. By holding the session before the start of spring, the aim is to meet market requirements and respond to growing interest in rosé wines shown by consumers. This provides award-winning producers with promotion and marketing tools as soon as the wines are released for sale.

     The 12^th Concours Mondial du Sauvignon was due to take place in Torres Vedras, Portugal. It has also been relocated to Brussels, again with a panel of judges who live in Belgium. It will take place from March 8^th to March 12^th. In addition, the fourth edition of the three-day México Selection by CMB began on Wednesday, February 24^th in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Twenty-three professional judges, representing 6 countries, are meeting at the Sheraton Chihuahua Soberano Hotel to taste and evaluate more than 40 wines and 30 distillates—all from Mexico—each day. It had been postponed from September, 2020. Carlos Borboa, Director of the México Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles assured judges that rigorous protocols would be in place in order to safeguard the health and safety of the tasters and all those present.