DeMorgenzon chosen as one of Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the Year 2013
Saturday, 21 September, 2013
DeMorgenzon
DeMorgenzon has been chosen as one of the Wine & Spirits Magazine
Top 100 International Wineries of 2014. Alongside wineries such as Krug
(Champagne), E. Guigal and Château de Beaucastel (Rhone), Felton Road
(New Zealand) & Dr Loosen (Mosel), DeMorgenzon is the only South
African winery to be awarded such an honour.
Wendy Appelbaum, Owner of DeMorgenzon, is delighted at the news and at the recognition that DeMorgenzon is achieving.
Wine & Spirits’ Top 100 “Wineries of the Year” are chosen as the producers that delivered the best overall performances in the magazine’s tastings conducted during the past twelve months. Founded in 1982, Wine & Spirits Magazine is published eight times a year and read by over 200,000 members of America’s wine community and has many International followers too. Consumers and wine professionals read the magazine for information on established and up-and-coming regions and producers, the art and science of viticulture, restaurant and industry happenings, and food and wine pairing. Leading the wine magazine category, Wine & Spirits has earned the most James Beard awards for excellence in wine writing.
Wine and Spirits is America's practical guide to the straightforward, enlightened enjoyment of fine wine and premium spirits. “We have served customers and marketers alike with a lively mix of wine reviews, features, profiles, food and wine pairings, new product introductions, travel pieces, history, opinion and wine business news. Editorial is focused on serving the needs of the customer, but we are well aware that this same information will also be vital to wine marketers, producers, retailers and restaurateurs” cites Joshua Greene, Editor & Publisher of Wine & Spirits Magazine.
Each year the panels and critics taste over 12,000 wines to select these 100 Wineries. Wine & Spirits tastings are a two-step process. First, all wines submitted or purchased are tasted by screening panels, who are asked to determine which wines stand out as being better than average for their variety and appellation. These panels, conducted by W&S staff, are composed of retailers, sommeliers, winemakers and other wine professionals. The goal is to draw on a broad universe of tasters to help decide which wines are worth recommending, and to avoid the prejudices any one critic might exercise, consciously or not, which might prevent certain styles or classes of wine from being considered.
“DeMorgenzon has a unique terroir for Chenin Blanc in that it offers high levels of morning sunlight intensity. This ‘gentle’ sunlight allows for an elegant yet ripe expression of Chenin Blanc where white fruit and floral aromas are expressed with a brisk acidity. This makes for wines which are opulent and generous in flavour yet retaining a refreshing crispness. We have a lot of fun crafting Chenin Blanc, picking the grapes at a number of different ripeness levels and fermenting and maturing the batches separately, before a final blending that produces the most balanced wine” explains Carl van der Merwe, Winemaker & General Manager of DeMorgenzon.
Wine and Spirits is distinctly different from other wine magazines in that the focus is more on the substance of wine rather than on style alone. Focus is directed towards ways in which wine might fit into a normal life, well-lived. The philosophy being rather than soothing readers with assurances that they've arrived, W & S arm readers with the knowledge they'll need to get there.