The Helderberg Quaffers defeated 70 other wine clubs to walk away with the glory. This Somerset West based wine club was formed nine years ago by wine loving friends, and they meet monthly. The Quaffers are an intimate group, with 12 members, most having been members since the inception. This unique competition is the only wine contest in South Africa where amateur wine clubs are given the opportunity to submit their own blends for judging by a panel of professional wine experts. Prizes include wine from Blaauwklippen and glassware from Vitria, who has been a sponsor of this competition since its inception. Finalist clubs are treated to a fun-filled and informative weekend in the winelands, and every club also gets a personal visit and special wine tasting from Rolf Zeitvogel, Blaauwklippen's cellar master and convenor of the judging panel. The winning club gets the honour of having their blend bottled under the Blaauwklippen Barouche label and sold commercially. The label for this year's blend is based on a specially designed artwork by well-known Stellenbosch artist, Frans Groenewald. The wine is sold in Magnum bottles from chosen retail outlets and from the tasting centre on the farm. In the final round of the battle of the blends, the Helderberg Quaffers was up against: The Grahamstown Wine Tasting Circle, an established wine club formed in 1977. The Grahamstown Wine Tasting Circle are no newcomers to the competition, as they've been in the finals five times and won in 1985. The Wine Appreciation Group, or the WAGS as they preferred to be called, is a tasting circle born out of boredom in 2002. A group of loyal husbands were stuck at home on the first Tuesday of every month as their wives attended book club. Now the group of ten taste wines and enjoy each other's company, instead of sitting home alone. The Wino's from Natal was formed 26 years ago. They are no newcomers when it comes to entering the Blaauwklippen Blending Competition, as they were victorious with their first try in 1991. In 1995 and 1996 the Wino's reached the final and was crowned runners-up. This year clubs have been tasked with making a blend from the following components: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Malbec, 2008 Merlot and 2008 Shiraz. After the clubs had determined the ideal percentage of blending components to create their final wine, the 70 'creations' were tasted by a panel of winemakers and wine writers to determine the final four. The challenge to the clubs was to produce a complex, serious dry red blend with subtle tannin structure and good balance - a wine with finesse and freshness which can be enjoyed soon, but also allows potential for cellaring. Interestingly enough, this year produced three duplicate recipes as well as one triplicate recipe. Overall the blends that boasted higher percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz impressed and the average score of the four finalists were between 16.17 - 16.37 out of a total of 20. The Helderberg Quaffers' winning wine was a blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Shiraz, 20% Merlot and 15% Malbec. A new award was introduced this year, the Newcomer Trophy. This trophy goes to the wine club with the highest scoring wine, coming from a wine club that has never entered the competition before. This honour went to the Les Amis Wine Club from Bloubergstrand in the Western Cape. "Blaauwklippen aims to give South African wine enthusiasts a real life taste of the wine industry and a chance to become involved in the process of wine selection first hand. This competition has become an institution on wine club calendars and definitely gives the clubs something to look forward to each year," says Rolf Zeitvogel. "The number of entries and repeat entries underscores the popularity of this competition and the role it has in the community of wine clubs. We are also encouraged that younger participants are taking part in the competition. With the Newcomer Award we aim to take the competition to the emerging market and hopefully introduce the art and fun of blending to a wider audience." Zeitvogel's panel of judges this year included Jeanri van Zyl (WINE journalist), Albert Basson (Blaauwklippen assistant winemaker), Clive Torr (Cape Wine Master and winemaker), Neil Pendock (wine judge and journalist) and Marius Malan (Slaley winemaker).