The national award ceremony was incredibly well attended, the room bustled with anxious voices and laughter as the night progressed. We were spoiled with beef short rib for dinner and a selection of great wines to quench our thirsty palates as we waited in anticipation for the announcement of the 2025 champions. When the moment finally came, we were swept away by the performance of the Paarl wine region!
The Paarl region consists of the following viticultural and production areas: Paarl, Wellington, Tulbagh and Franschhoek, according to SAWIS – a regulatory body for the South African wine industry. Despite the many entries that were received, only 19 coveted national trophies were up for grabs, of which the Paarl region claimed a staggering 42% with 8 of these trophies having been awarded to wineries that fall under the collective Paarl wine region.
Trophy winners
GENL SMUTS TROFEESA KAMPIOENWYN
La Motte Sémillon
PIETMAN HUGO TROFEE: BESTE PUNTE BEHAAL MET 5 BESTE INSKRYWINGS
KWV
JOHN MCDONALD TROPHY SA CHAMPION SAUVIGNON BLANC
KWV: Sauvignon Blanc
AGRI-EXPO SILVER TROPHY SA CHAMPION NATURAL SWEET WINE
Perdeberg: Natural sweet white wine (wooded)
VINE PRODUCTS TROPHY SA CHAMPION RED BLEND
KWV: Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Petit Verdot (wooded)
JG GRAUE TROPHY SA CHAMPION CHARDONNAY
KWV: Chardonnay (wooded)
FRANK MYBURGH TROPHY SA CHAMPION SÉMILLON
La Motte: Sémillon
DR AI PEROLD TROPHY SA CHAMPION PINOTAGE
Wellington Wines: Pinotage (wooded)
The awards and celebrations were abundant this year, with the Regional Paarl Young Wine Show having received a sponsorship from certification body NSF to award two cellars with a financial contribution towards the training of cellar and vineyard employees. The sponsored training courses included: SKOP 1-4, vineyard pruning courses for four employees, and a wine evaluation course at SU (Stellenbosch University).
The recipients of these prizes were La Motte, who received a wine evaluation course (sponsored by NSF) for their Paarl Regional Champion Semillon; and Babylonstoren, who received the Skop 1-4 and vineyard pruning training courses, for their encapsulation of team work during the 2025 harvest.
The Paarl Regional Young Wine Show wanted to give back to our hard working teams this year, with the help of NSF we have made this possible and look forward to finding new ways to empower and educate our hard working employees in the years to come.
Without a doubt, the Paarl Wine Region put on a marvellous display of the region’s winemaking capabilities this year and we hope this encourages more producers from the Paarl, Tulbagh, Wellington and Franschhoek areas to enter the National and Regional Young Wine show next year.