International acclaim has come to Durbanville Hills through the China Wine Awards (CWA), the biggest and most prestigious wine competition in Hong Kong and China, where the winery received one double gold and two gold awards. In the UK, Durbanville Hills Chardonnay 2010 scored a five-star rating at the UK’s first wine and food matching competition. Amongst the judges was the world’s foremost sommelier, Gérard Basset MS MW. The wines were judged blind and with the focus on how well the wine matched the food. The Durbanville Hills Chardonnay’s pairing with mature cheddar came out tops in the “Cheddar and wine” category. A selection of favourite British, Christmas and Indian dishes, ranging from chicken tikka masala to apple crumble via fish and chips and roast lamb was tried. Locally, Durbanville Hills recently scored with an array of medals at the Veritas Awards, notably one double gold and three golds to back up its growing international reputation. “These awards affirm the underlying quality of the Durbanville Hills wines,” says cellar master Martin Moore. “Quality is and will always be the first marketing differentiator in an increasingly globalized world, and remains the basis for growing a loyal support base.” To this end, Durbanville Hills has also introduced an initiative to give consumers a greater sense of location of its vines, without the restriction of geography. The “Adopt a Vine” project aims to bring the consumer closer to the winemaking process by creating a connection with the plant, fruit and bottled result via a Google Maps satellite view of a few vine blocks that consumers may adopt and follow. As vines develop, adopters receive email updates to view the progress of their vines online. They are informed of factors influencing vine development such as pest control, pruning and the weather, as the vine – and eventually the wine – is gradually shaped by nature and human intervention. The project will also help educate consumers about the protection of the endangered renosterveld, an important family of indigenous plants on member farms and in the immediate vicinity of the winery.