The Lounge at Sneeukop has been named the winner of the Wine Tourism category at the 2026 ontbytSAKE Awards, announced on Thursday, 10 September 2026 at a gala evening at SunBet Arena in Pretoria. The Awards celebrate South African businesses and entrepreneurs across a range of categories, and this year's Wine Tourism prize points to growing role of wine destinations, hospitality and experience within South Africa’s wine industry.
Over the past decade, wine tourism has increasingly evolved into an important part of the South African wine industry, with visitors no longer looking only for a good wine, but for a complete experience that brings together wine, food, people, landscape and stories. Sneeukop built its experience on a simple conviction that wine brings people together. The wine is where it starts, but it is the place and the hospitality that give a visit its meaning.
"This award is an incredible honour for us," says the Sneeukop team. "It belongs to every person who is part of Sneeukop and who shows up every day to make the experience special for our visitors. For us, wine tourism is about so much more than serving a glass of wine. It is about people, stories, memories and a place you take home with you."
The timing matters for the wider industry too. Wine tourism has become one of the main ways local and international visitors discover South African wine, and it gives producers something a supermarket shelf never can. A single bottle is easily forgotten; a day spent on the farm can be the start of a long relationship with a brand. An award like this one recognises that whole picture, not just the product but the experience and the people behind it.
Sneeukop's 2026 Wine Tourism award comes down to one idea: good wine makes you remember what you drank, while an exceptional wine experience makes you remember where you were, who you were with and how it made you feel.
The next chapter is about building on that, one visitor, one glass, and one memory at a time.