Christiaan Groenewald of New Cape Wines takes the honours as Winemaker of the Year for his Arendskloof Voetspore 2011. The Young Winemaker of the Year award goes to Murray Barlow of Rustenberg Wines for his Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2012. The Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Awards is regarded as ONE of the country’s most prestigious and well-respected wine industry competition. “I am very impressed with the quality of the entries this year and congratulations to our outstanding winners.” says Diners Club South Africa Managing Director, Ebrahim Matthews. This, the highest accolade in the South African wine industry, is now in its 33rd year and it remains the dream of any local winemaker to bear the title. Great names in winemaking, such as Gunther Brözel, Beyers Truter, Walter Finlayson and Johan Jordaan, owe part of their success to this initiative and the prestigious award.Dave Hughes, chairperson of the judging panel, confirmed that Christaan’s Arendskloof Voetspore 2011 was chosen from a record number of 87 entries for this year’s category of non-Bordeaux red blends. There were 51 entries for the Young Winemaker of the Year in the category of dry white wines. Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault are still growing in popularity and winemakers are beginning to experiment with Italian and Portuguese varieties. The quality of uncommon combinations was exceptionally good this year,” says Hughes.