In 2006 when the inaugural competition was held, 151 wines were entered and last year a total of 276 wines were entered. Since 2012 adjustments were made to the rules to ensure that WO wines from districts not divided into wards could qualify. It was necessary because quite a few wards that were previously part of a district now had become districts in their own right, with exactly the same terrain as the ward it was previously. Two high-status trophies were also incorporated into the competition, namely the Novare Trophy for the Top Wine Area and the Novare Trophy for the Top Wine Estate. Both are well deserved on the ground of the number of highly rated wines from a specific wine terrain and the number of highly rated wines from a specific wine estate. In addition, for the first time ever in South Africa, in 2012 the Top 5 Estate Wines were also announced from all of the estate wines entered. "There has been general consensus that wine producers who still have a passion for estate wines and go through all the effort to create every single drop of wine from vineyards on the estate and bottle it on home ground, deserve recognition. It is indeed an honour to select South Africa's Top 5 Estate Wines for the second time this year, together with the trophy for the Top Wine Estate," says Marius Labuschagne, founder and project leader. "Next year we will bring in another trophy to reward the wine cellar that was the overall top performer of all the participants. Good examples of cellars that deserve recognition are two of last year's top performers which both produced two national winners as well as many winners in their area, namely Nuy (Top Muscadel and Top Chardonnay) and Anura (Top Cabernet Sauvignon and Top Shiraz), wine of origin entries from the Nuy and Simonsberg-Paarl wards respectively." The National Winners of cultivar wines, red and white blends, rosé, sparkling wines and dessert wines are announced from all the wines entered from all the terroirs in all the wine growing areas. The National Winners receive certificates at the awards function, together with the trophy winners. Bottle stickers and certificates are also available to area winners. 2013 PROGRAMME Entries close: Monday 24 June 2013. Delivery of samples: Thursday 27 June and Friday 28 June. Judging: Wednesday 10, Thursday 11 and Friday 12 July 2013. Awards function: Tuesday 30 July 2013. More information is available on www.terroirwineawards.co.za, or contact Elma Brand, project coordinator (tel. 021 863 0397; events@agrimega.co.za), or Marius Labuschagne, project leader (tel. 021 975 8166; mlab@iafrica.com). PS Novare awarded Top SA and Top Africa Novare was recently awarded two prestigious awards for "South African Hedge Fund Research Provider of the Year" at the International Hedge Fund Awards 2013, sponsored by Acquisition International Magazine, and "Best Fund of Funds" for the Mayibentsha Moderate Fund of Funds at the 2013 HedgeNews Africa Awards. These prestigious awards speak of the commitment of the Novare teams. "Novare has been involved with SA Terroir Wine Awards since its inception in 2006 and we are extremely proud that this year marks the 8th annual awards celebration. This event has not only grown from strength-to-strength over the years, but also represents and contributes to a South African industry that proudly reflects the very best of local place, quality and creativity," says Marina von Til, Head of Marketing. "Novare is honoured to continue, in association with the Department of Agriculture Western Cape, with our bursary scheme aimed at the development of skills and transformation within the agricultural sector. The fifth Novare bursary was presented to Kayla Koul at the annual graduation ceremony of the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training in December 2012. "Novare's association with the SA Terroir Wine Awards is testament to our belief in innovation, expertise and the honouring of world-class wines".