Wine enthusiasts from all walks of life are invited to take up the challenge and enter the South African Wine Tasting Championships (SAWTC) to put their taste to the test. Participating is simple, and here are the rules:
Kits can be conveniently ordered online, either for collection in Cape Town or nationwide shipping through CellarDirect.
Each kit comes with a unique number, enabling a single online entry.
Within the kit are 10 tubes of wine, and the task is to identify the grape variety, producer, and vintage for each one.
The wines in the tubes are sourced from a limited list of possible options, and to aid participants, each wine has been tasted and reviewed by Cathy van Zyl MW, with details available through videos online.
Multiple entries are allowed since most kits contain different wines associated with a unique code, giving participants more chances to enter. 1 kit = 1 entry
Points will be awarded for each correct answer: 10 points for identifying the cultivar, 8 points for the producer, and 2 points for the vintage. The participant with the highest score will be crowned the South African Champion.
While individual scores won't be publicly disclosed, they will be sent to each candidate, providing an excellent opportunity for wine club members to challenge each other or for couples to determine who does the dishes based on the lowest score.
For those in the wine industry, there's an extra incentive as they can try to persuade their HR department to give bonuses to the most professional employees scoring the highest in the company.
Entries will remain open until 25 August 2023 midnight.
Kits are priced from R350 each and can be shipped nationwide. It's a great way to have fun with friends and find out who among you is the true Supertaster. The national champions will be announced on wine.co.za on 28 August 2023.
Additionally, among the national champions, those who meet specific criteria such as possessing a valid passport and being available in October 2023, or the citizenship, will receive a new complimentary pack of international wines. They will also get the chance to participate in the selection of Team South Africa 2023 for the World Blind Wine Tasting Championship taking place in France on 14 October 2023.
Let the games begin, and may the best taster emerge victorious!