Wine Investment in South Africa - Cape Wine Academy

The Terroir Wine Awards asks its seven local judges ( five of whom are winemakers ) to
assess typicity and expression of origin in its awards, which must ultimately help fine wines
establish their place and authenticity in the pantheon of world wines.
Another ‘International’ wine competition, the Santam Classic Wine Trophy ( Est 1998 ) only
assesses domestic wines, but is judged solely by French judges, though placed here under
‘domestic recognition’ as SA wines are only judged in SA, against each other and not
against foreign wines. This competition is a direct attempt to get South African wines under
the noses of important industry figures from a nation historically quite insular in its wine
tastes ( and to get an impartial judgement ). It is held in association with France’s leading
wine publication, La Revue du Vin de France ( RVF ) and a limited number of only 17
medals can be won to ensure legitimacy and credibility for winners. The organizers state the
aims of the competition are to;
‘Recognize, reward and promote wines of elegance, balance and finesse. Wines
should also show ability to age well. The Classic Wine Trophy is given to the most
iconic entry’ ( Classic Wine Trophy, 2011 ).
‘Elegance, balance and finesse’ is a classic French concept, almost flying in the face of New
World blockbuster wines and will help establish SA wines as wines offering more than just
big fruit and alcohol. It is a concept closely associated with investment wines. Success also
brings international exposure say the organizers and, ‘following our 2010 RVF article, two
South African wine estates were approached and asked to be represented in France:
Vergelegen and Ataraxia’ ( Classic Wine Trophy, 2011 ).
Other competitions and awards, such as the SA Young Wine Show, Diners Club Winemaker
of the Year, the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Awards and the plethora sponsored by Wine
Magazine SA all help to raise awareness and support the pursuit of excellence.
There are critics of domestic competitions, however. Local judges can also be insular in their
tastes. The 2007 response by some winemakers that the earthy, burnt rubber notes of
domestic red wines identified by Jane MacQuitty ( 2007 ) took a long time and faced much
resistance before concessions were made in winemaking. Local judges are often
stakeholders in the industry, frequently winemakers ( even sometimes judging their own
wine ) and maybe not as independent or well-travelled as one would like. As Remington
Norman MW says, SA wine tasting panels are;
‘..One of the biggest challenges facing SA wine’ ( Norman, 2011 ).
Neil Pendock quotes Norman in his plea for truly international palates to judge SA wines
( Pendock, 2011 ). Tim James CWM goes even further;
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