Feinschmecker Wine Awards 2024: Istria presented its gastronomic excellence at a fantastic gala dinner in Hamburg

The "WINE Awards" ceremony organized by the leading German gourmet magazine Der FEINSCHMECKER has been the social highlight of the German gastronomic scene for 49 years. At this spectacular event, which is attended by excellent chefs  and exceptional wineries, Istria had the opportunity to present its gastronomic specialties for the first time through the presentation of truffles, extra virgin olive oils and wines at this year's edition.

More than 500 distinguished guests attended Feinschmecker's gala ceremony, for which more tickets were requested. All tickets, the price of which was 379 euros, were sold out weeks before the event itself, and the guests could in return enjoy a magnificent culinary and wine experience. The gourmet Wine Awards 2024 was held on Saturday, November 9, and the five-star Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg provided an exclusive setting for this fantastic combination of art, culture and cuisine.

With a champagne welcome, guests could enjoy delicacies such as oysters, Wagy beef and other specialties, as a prelude to awarding the best. The leading German gourmet magazine is in the festive hall with superb jazz Der FEINSCHMECKER honored the best winemakers and wineries of the year. Among the six winners of this year's "Wine Oscar" are the legendary Willi Bründlmayer from the Bründlamayer Winery and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon from the renowned Roederer champagne house.

In the continuation of the event, the top performers are known chefs, with more than 10 Michelin stars, presented extraordinary dishes at special gastronomic points. Director of the Tourist Board of Istria Denis Ivosevic is together with Wolfgang Neuhuber and Stephanie Gastager from ART Redaktionsteam, a long-standing Istrian public relations agency, successfully and impressively presented Istria.

For Istria, he prepared a dish with truffles, no less, but John Lafer, television culinary star. A real craze for Lafer's Istrian plate followed, and the 600 prepared portions disappeared without a trace. The top Istrian wines Kozlović and Veralda were also presented at the gala dinner, as well as the award-winning wines, as the only wines of the evening. Chiavalon olive oils, presented by Tedi Chiavalon, provided an additional gastronomic sensation.

"For us, this was an extraordinary opportunity to show an exclusive audience what high quality we have in Istria", he said Denis Ivošević, director of the Istrian Tourist Board and added: "We succeeded in becoming a household name in southern Germany, and now our goal is to achieve such recognition in northern Germany as well. The gala ceremony under the auspices of Der Feinschmecker served this perfectly and represents an important stone in the mosaic of our current and future PR activities, which we carry out in cooperation with the ART Redaktionsteam agency."

Cover photo: Volker Renner / source: TZ of Istrian County