Clearing up confusion around Wine Tourism awards

Tuesday, 22 June, 2021
wine.co.za | Judy Brower
There seems to be some confusion around the new Ambassador Awards which form part of the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards, so I took a look in order to get some clarity.

The wine industry has had a number of different tourism awards over the years and with some changes happening at present, I thought it would be useful to clarify who is doing what presently.

Cape Town was a member (and the wine industry by default) of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network for a number of years, but ceased to be a member in 2018. During their tenure, there was an annual competition called Best Of Wine Tourism Award. Since rejoining the Great Wine Capitals in 2021, Wesgro resuscitated the programme, and it ran concurrently with The Wine & Food Tourism Awards in 2020, which was started in 2019 by private entrepreneur Margi Biggs from Specialized Tours & Events.

The Wine & Food Tourism Awards Programme was part of the Wine & Food Tourism Conference, which honoured 12 recipients annually in the categories of INNOVATION, SERVICE EXCELLENCE, THE AUTHENTIC SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE  and the WWF CONSERVATION LEADERS.

At the end of 2020 it was decided by consensus between Wesgro and Margi Biggs, that the two programmes would be amalgamated to avoid duplication.

As from 2021, the following seven categories apply for the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2022 programme:

  • Accommodation
  • Wine Tourism Restaurants
  • Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices
  • Architecture & Landscape
  • Art & Culture
  • Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences
  • Wine Tourism Services

In addition, the three Wine Tourism Ambassador Awards will also be included and judged:

  • The Wine Tourism Diversity Award - paying special attention to issues around empowerment in wine tourism
  • The Authentic South African Experience Award
  • WWF Conservation Pioneer Award - recognising those endeavouring to reach for the standards set by the Best of award but not quite reached that point.

It is also clear that judging takes place in 2021 for the 2022 awards.

The entries for all awards are now open at www.bestofwinetourism.co.za

Entries close on 30 June 2021.