Stories of the nominees

Elizabeth Smith, a nominee for WTA, will serve as a judge at the Winelovers Wine Awards in Budapest

USA

In August 2022, the wine expert and writer Elizabeth Smith visited Hungary for a winery tour, including Béres, Préselő, Bodrog Borműhely Winery, and Tokaj Nobilis. In January 2023, Smith continued her exploration of Hungarian wines at a Tokaj masterclass held at Compline Wine Shop in Napa with importer Eric Danch. And now, Hungary once again. This time, Elizabeth Smith, a WTA nominee from the United States, will be a judge at the Winelovers Wine Awards in Budapest.

The Winelovers Wine Awards, previously a national-level competition which has expanded its reach to the international stage since 2022, will be held in Budapest from July 7th to 9th.

Just like last year, this year’s competition features a panel of judges consisting of leading international experts, including the Wine Travel Awards 2022-2023 nominee in the “Wine & Food Influencer/The Brightest Journey” category and the winner of the public vote, Elizabeth Smith.

Elizabeth Smith is a wine author at Naked Wines USA and a member of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. In 2017, Smith received the Born Digital Wine award for the best wine-focused travel content for the story “Lodi: Beyond Zinfandel.” In 2022, she won a category at the annual Hungarian Web Wine Writing Competition for “2018 Wetzer Furmint, Tokaj, Hungary.”

“I am delighted to announce that this summer I am returning to Hungary as a judge at the Winelovers Wine Awards in Budapest, – Elizabeth Smith announced on her social media page. – I am looking forward to reconnecting with my colleagues and friends from Hungarian Wines and finding like-minded individuals in winemaking.”

Elizabeth highlights that this trip will also be an unforgettable vacation. She plans to explore the iconic landmarks of Budapest and then visit the Slovakian wine regions of Nitra and Vráble for the first time. One of the must-visit wineries for Elizabeth Smith is Víno Tajna, known for crafting limited quantities of craft wines exclusively from their own vineyards.

As a reminder, this year, just like the previous one, the organizers of the Winelovers Wine Awards have announced that participation is free for Ukrainian winemakers.