The Blanc de Blancs champagne of Carastelec Sparkling Winery, located in the northern part of Transylvania in Szilágy (Sălaj) County, won a world championship title at the world’s most prestigious and rigorous sparkling wine competition, the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. The competition is in its 10th year, with almost 1000 wines participating.

It is certainly not a well-known fact that top quality methode traditionnelle sparkling wines are produced in Szilágy County in Transylvania, in a cul-de-sac village called Kárásztelek (Carastelec).

But the village has a long history of wine making. In fact, on a map from the 18th century, Kárásztelek was already depicted with grapevines. Centuries later, four good friends founded the Carastelek Sparkling Winery here with the support and patronage of András Tombor, a Hungarian businessman and philanthropist. The winery has had excellent results at the most prominent sparkling wine competitions since then.

At the 2023 championship organized recently almost 1000 sparkling wines from over 40 different regions around the world were judged. Carastelec Sparkling Winery won the Blanc de Blancs World Championship title with their wine, the Carassia Collection Blanc de Blancs Magnum 2017 Vintage. 

This sparkling wine is the first magnum in the winery’s history which was matured for more than 60 months and altogether 190 bottles of it were produced.

This long maturation led to its ‘classic complexity’ and ‘elegant, intense fruitiness,’ as noted by the CSWWC judges.

By winning the Blanc de Blancs World Champion title, the winery has not only contributed to its growing reputation but also to that of sparkling wineries in the entire Carpathian Basin. At the award ceremony in London, the founders and the winemaker of the Carastelec Winery said their success shows that those who dare to dream big and are able to work for their goals sparing no time and energy can achieve anything. Even if they start from a tiny cul-de-sac village like Kárásztelek.