Best White Wine and Best White Wine from a Boutique Winery at the Swiss International Air Lines Wine Awards, hosted by the luxury Cellars Hohenort Hotel in Constantia on Friday, April 16th.
Winner of the Best Value Red Wine retailing at R50 or less per bottle award was the Diemersdaal Shiraz 2001. Winner of the Best Red Wine was the Glen Carlou Grand Classique 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, which has already won several local awards. Allee Bleue was the proud winner of the Best Kept Secret award.
Glenwood winemaker DP Burger was thrilled with the result, 'It is a stunning wine that was made in the vineyard', he said at the Awards Ceremony. 'When I picked the grape I knew it would be a great wine'.
According to Robert Joseph, President of the Swiss International Air Lines Wine Awards, and award-winning author and columnist; there were more, and better, entries in this year's competition. 'This year, the competition was open to all wine estates, not only to those participating in the Good Food & Wine Show, as happened last year'.
Joseph believed that there was greater variety across a wide range of styles, which shows that winemakers are exploring new ways of interpreting the vines in their region. 'There are a number of wine awards in South Africa, but what makes this competition stand out is a panel that includes international judges and highly respected local and international wine buyers', he added.
'Chris Murphy, the chief wine buyer at Marks and Spencer (UK), is one of Britain's leading wine buyers, he buys as much as one out of every eight bottles in some categories for Marks and Spencer.
'Allan Mullins, the wine selection manager for Woolworths, is probably one of the most important members of the panel, as he has the cheque book, he knows what South African consumers like to drink.
'We are an extremely tough judging panel , with a level of discussion and analysis that is higher than any other South African competition. Any wine that is marked highly by one judge, is then re-judged by all six judges - you could call this an extremely democratic wine competition - which is pretty relevant at the moment', he added.
Chandra Kurt, Wine Consultant for Swiss International Airlines, who judged the competition for the second time this year, said, 'there was much greater diversity of wines entered this year, including the best Pinotages I have ever tasted.'
All the winning wines will be paired with the 5-course gourmet dinner at the Gourmet Signature Banquet on 22 May, which is the finale to this year's Gourmet Festival. According to Gourmet Festival Director, Christine Cashmore, these wines are not only for the tasting of an exclusive group, all the wines will be available for tasting at the Good Food & Wine Show from 20 - 23 May.
'This year the Good Food & Wine Show will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, 20-23 May and the People's Choice category of the Swiss International Airlines Wine Awards will be judged by the expected 35 000 visitors to the popular show', said Cashmore. Six gold medals were also awarded.
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS
Allee Bleue Shiraz 2002
Boplaas Red Muscadel 1975
Cloof Pinotage 2002
Diemersdal Shiraz 2001
Glen Carlou Grand Classique 2001
Glenwood Chardonnay 2003
For Silver, Bronze, Special Awards and Seal of Approval lists, please contact Kim Barty or Christine Cashmore.
Issued by: Kim Barty, Trojan Horse
Email: kim@trojanhorse.co.za
For further comment: Christine Cashmore