King Charles Presented Coronation Vintage Created By Austrian Wine-Maker

An Austrian wine-maker has produced a special wine blend to honour the coronation ceremony of Prince Charles on 6th May.

Willi Opitz- from the town of Illmitz, Burgenland State, Austria – created the blend called the ‘Coronation Cuvee’ from vines on Duchy of Cornwall land in the Scilly Isles.

He selected Pinot Noir grapes from his Holy Vale Vineyard and Winery on St Mary’s Island.

Opitz told Newsflash: “The queen of red wine grapes, Pinot Noir, was chosen as the grape, because it is particularly popular among British wine connoisseurs.”

A total of 600 litres of the ‘Coronation Wine’ were produced, Opitz said.

King Charles, says Opitz, was presented with a magnum bottle of the special wine by the Austrian ambassador.

A part of the vintage was also presented by the Austro-British Society to Buckingham Palace in May 2023.

The Holy Vale winery was established with the help of Opitz in 2009 when a total of 7,000 Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris vines were planted over seven acres.

Willi came into contact with King Charles – then still Prince of Wales – when the then Duchess Of Cornwall sampled his wines at the opening.

At the time, Camilla reportedly said that “she tried all the most expensive wines in the world, [but] nobody presented her wines like Willi Opitz.”

She then asked him to visit her and Charles at their London home Clarence House to discuss vineyards at the then prince’s estate in Romania.

He has ever since produced a special wine every year on the couple’s grandson Prince George’s birthday.

Opitz told Newsflash: “King Charles III is a very interested agronomist and was delighted to have someone from Austria make wine on his property – where no one had tried before – and produce delicious wines as a result.

“The king and his wife are exceptionally personable and knowledgeable people about wine and agriculture, and I was amazed at our very candid and open conversations.”

The former mechanical engineer who used to make Mars bars for a living before he quit for winemaking, revealed that the idea for the wine emerged out of his respect for the king.

Opitz hit the headlines after he released a CD called ‘The Sound of Wine’ containing 15 tracks of different wines undergoing fermentation in 1995.

He also made a range of Formula Wine in cooperation with F1 motor racing aces McLaren.

He then produced a Mr President wine dedicated to Bill Clinton after the two met in Austria.

The blend gained a special place in the book ‘The 1,000 Finest Wines Ever Made’.