“With wine trade having resumed and the further freeing of the economy from 1 June, we are very pleased to make this announcement. The competition is now going ahead, although this will indeed be about five weeks later than last year.”
The Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards was established 15 years ago and was taken over last year by the South African National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) as an established and highly rated competition in the Cape wine industry – with the same sponsor, Novare, having been involved from the onset.
Following last year’s record entries and numerous new wards demarcated as individualist terrains, a sizable participation is again expected in this year’s competition with its stringent Wine of Origin rules. Only wines certified by the Wine and Spirits Board as Wine of Origin from a specific ward, a district not divided into more than one ward, estate-produced wine and single vineyard wines may participate.
This competition is unique in the sense that it is the world’s only one based on the concept of terroir – a French term referring to the fact that wines from different terrains continuously show character traits resulting from the interaction of their specific typography, soils and climate.*
National winners, as well as area winners are named after the judging. The Novare Trophies for Top Single Vineyard Wine, Top Estate, Top Wine Area, Top Terroir Producer and overall Top Wine of the competition are awarded.
According to the chairperson of the SANWSA, Christo Pienaar, the Cape winelands are blessed with a variety of wine terrains that yield excellent results, created by the soils and climate.
“It is thus highly appropriate that South Africa has an excellent Wine of Origin Scheme and that the producers that utilise their terroir agriculturally in the vineyard and express this creatively and technologically in the cellar, receive the industry’s recognition. The Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards has over the past 15 years proven that it provides the best stage to crown the best wines,” says Pienaar.
The founder of the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards and seasoned wine journalist, Marius Labuschagne, says that few countries can boast such a variety of good quality terroir-driven wines. “The competition could not exist without the co-operation of the country’s Wine of Origin Scheme, the Wine and Spirit Board and Sawis.”
Said Derrick Roper, founder of the Novare investment company, “The ability to successfully execute the combining of natural assets within the wine industry, such as a region’s climate, soil and terrain, is why we continue to sponsor the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards. This year is the 15th anniversary of these prestigious awards and we are proud to give recognition to talented winemakers, viticulturists and their teams.
“The terroir-driven participants should always receive the highest praise. They grant wine lovers the privilege to experience all the wines and styles from specific areas across the winelands,” he said.
Entries for the competition close on 17 July and the delivery of samples for judging takes place on 23 and 24 July. The judging is scheduled from 03 – 07 August. A decision is yet to be made regarding the date of the presentation of the awards function.
*The holistic combination of all these is held to give each site its own unique terroir, which is reflected in its wines more or less consistently from year to year, to some degree regardless of variations in methods of viticulture and winemaking. – Jancis Robinson, The Oxford Companion to Wine.
Entry forms are available online at www.terroirwineawards.co.za
For more information contact the organisers on tel 021 863 1599 or e-mail info@terroirwineawards.co.za.
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