Currently Browsing: Wine competitions
Aug 26, 2011
ABSA Top 10 Pinotage 2011
The results of the annual ABSA Top 10 Pinotage competition have been announced in Stellenbosch. Although Pinotage is planted outside of South Africa it remains the red grape most often associated with the country where it was created. The ABSA Top 10 is one of the most highly regarded wine competitions in South Africa, thanks to it’s simple formula and a track record built up over many years. The... read more
Jul 7, 2011
There’s been quite a lot written about the slide in South African wine sales in the UK off trade and supermarket sectors over the past year. This is not a unique situation. However on a positive note, we’ve seen the strong performance in the on-trade, where the bargain basement prices are not as prevalent as the high street and where the story behind many South African wines can be...
read more
Imbibe Sommelier Wine Awards 2011
Jul 5, 2011
It’s that time of year again when the crew of 15-odd tasters (ie. about 15 tasters, not 15 tasters who are a bit odd) responsible for the Platter’s South African Wine Guide are getting stuck into the thousands of of samples submitted by South Africa’s 600+ wine brands and wineries. The Platter’s is widely acknowledged as one of the leading wine resources in the world. Updated...
read more
No pity for Platter palates
May 6, 2011
Wine judging sounds like a great job, right? Getting paid to taste a wide array of wines from all over the world – nice one. But wine competition judges open themselves up to a lot of criticism, given the tricky subjectivity related to their job. Reading Christian Eedes’ article on what it takes to be a wine judge and taking into account all of the controversy that has been stirred up on the...
read more
Wine judges and competition PR
Mar 1, 2011
Last week I posted a few thoughts about the role of wine competitions. Subsequently, I saw that Neil Pendock made mention of the costs of purchasing the familiar blingy stickers that adorn winning bottles of wine. These are familiar adornments, created by all competitions in an attempt to shout out to consumers from the wine shelves. Many wineries add them to their winning bottles and it seems that the...
read more
Are the costs of wine competition stickers fair?
