Another crop of international awards affirms Winecorp's commitment to quality
Monday, 24 May, 2004
Linda-Louise Roosenschoon
Longridge and Spier shine at Chardonnay du Monde and Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
Winecorp’s flagship labels, Longridge and Spier Private Collection, achieved a rich haul of five Gold Medals at the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles international wine competition, held in April 2004 in Brussells, Belgium. These medals account for 20% of the 26 Golds won by South African wineries at the competition.
The winning wines are Longridge’s Chardonnay 2002, Pinotage 2002 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 and Spier’s Private Collection Viognier 2003 and Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2001. In recent years both Spier Private Collection and Longridge wines have won many awards internationally, in competitions such as the UK’s International Wine Challenge, the German Mundus Vini, and the French Challenge International du Vin. Most recently, the Longridge Chardonnay 2002 won a Gold Medal at Chardonnay du Monde 2004 in France and was rated the second best wine at the competition out of 1 226 chardonnays from 35 countries.
Winecorp’s Head Winemaker Frans Smit is naturally delighted with these awards. ‘Our winemaking team deserves full credit for making such outstanding wines. And so do the Winecorp viticultural team who, over a number of years, have steadily improved the quality of grapes delivered to our cellars. Our aim is to further develop our vineyards to better reflect terroir in our wines.’
Vernon Davis, CEO of Winecorp, was full of praise for Frans and his winemaking team, ‘This is a fantastic achievement for Winecorp and it is gratifying that our ultra-premium wines are rated alongside the best in the world. These awards are very opportune because Winecorp will soon be embarking on a broad-based local and international marketing campaign. Frans and his team must be congratulated on using, to full advantage, the top-quality grapes from Winecorp’s vineyards.’
Longridge, situated on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains near Stellenbosch, is the boutique winery of Winecorp’s brand family. The grapes for Longridge’s wines are obtained from vineyards in this prime grape-growing area. Since the winery was established in 1994 it has rapidly risen to prominence. Early on, John Platter's South African Wine Guide, recognising its star quality, enthused, ‘Consistent individual Cape Chardonnay, showered with awards since first (released) 1996’, after awarding both the 2000 and 2001 Chardonnay 4½ stars. Winemaker, Frans Smit, is meticulous in choosing the best grapes for Longridge’s wines. His search for excellence is guided by his philosophy of expressing the distinctive Helderberg Mountains’ terroir in his wine.
In refurbishing Spier to a world-renowned leisure resort, the Enthoven family has retained the rich winemaking heritage of this famous wine estate. The original Spier wine cellar building, thought to be the oldest in the Cape, has been carefully restored. Spier was one of the first six farms in Stellenbosch and has remained one of the Cape’s leading wine farms over the last three centuries. In 1971, Spier was one of three founders of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, opening up to the public the pleasures of fine food and wine in one of the most picturesque wineland settings in the world. Today, its flagship and award-winning Private Collection range epitomises Spier’s commitment to winemaking quality.
Both the Longridge and Spier wines are available at the Spier Wine Centre
Tel: 021 809-1143
Longridge wines are also available at the Longridge Winery (by appointment only)
Tel: 021 855-2004
Winecorp Brands Division
Linda-Louise Roosenschoon
Tel 021 881 3690 · Cell 082 820 3349
E-mail linda@winecorp.co.za