After a marathon tasting of 99 blends,
the finalists for the 31st Annual Blaauwklippen Blending Competition are, in
alphabetical order:
- Baronne Wynklub, Pretoria
- Bonza Bay Winos, East London
- Oude Molen Wynkring, Potchefstroom
- Vaal Ja-Pe Wynproe Groep, Pretoria
- Versapper, Centurion
- Weskus Wyngilde, Vredenburg
- Wine 101, Pretoria
These seven clubs will have to wait
until Friday, 17 October when the winner will be announced during a lunch prize
giving ceremony at Blaauwklippen for media and invited guests.
The winning blend will be bottled
under the Blaauwklippen Barouche label and recognition will be given to the
successful wine club on the back label. The label for the winning blend
is based on a specially designed artwork by well-known Stellenbosch artist
Frans Groenewald. The wine is sold in Magnum bottles from selected retail
outlets, and from the tasting centre on the farm.
The winning club and finalists also
win other great prizes, including wine, return airfares and accommodation at
the Protea Hotel Stellenbosch for the weekend of the prize giving, as well as
glassware from Vitria.
This year the clubs were tasked to
produce a consumer friendly, every day, easy-drinking, juicy, modern red blend,
consisting of the following wines, Cabernet Franc 2012, Malbec 2013, Shiraz
2013 and Zinfandel 2013. A minimum of three of the four base wines had to be
used in the final blend, and Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc had to be included in
restricted quantities in the recipe.
Cellar Master, Rolf Zeitvogel’s panel
of judges for the 2014 battle of the blends consisted of Albert Basson (Blaauwklippen
assistant winemaker), Clive Torr (Cape Wine Master and winemaker), Samarie
Smith (wine judge and journalist) Karen Glanfield (wine judge and journalist)
and Elona Hesseling (wine judge and journalist).