Two winemakers from Stellenbosch wineries walked away as the night’s biggest winners at the 2023 Diners Club Winemaker and Young Winemaker of the Year awards black-tie gala dinner at Arabella Hotel & Spa in Kleinmond on Saturday (18 November).
Tertius Boshoff of Stellenrust Wines and Delheim Wines’ Nongcebo Langa claimed the top trophy honours in the prestigious annual awards. Diners Club introduced the Winemaker of the Year award to encourage local winemakers to raise the standard of wines produced in South Africa, and the Young Winemaker of the Year award was established to encourage winemakers under the age of 30 to develop their skills, express their individuality, and add to the future prestige of South African wines internationally.
The Winemaker and Young Winemaker awards focus on quality and the recognition of excellence and are among the country’s most prestigious and most-respected wine industry competitions. While most wine-industry awards focus on the winning wines these awards celebrate the creators of the winning wines, honouring the skills and talents of the vintners.
The awards are presented to winemakers who produce a wine that the judging panel considers to be the best in the two specified categories for the annual competition. This year, the category for the 43rd Winemaker of the Year award was syrah/shiraz, with white wine the category for the 23rd Young Winemaker of the Year award.
As in previous years winemakers could be shortlisted for more than one submission. These awards are open to all in the SA wine industry at no cost, in this way affording all winemakers an equal opportunity.
There were more than 180 entries and the field was narrowed down to 12 finalists through rigorous judging over two days by a team of wine experts. Six winemakers were shortlisted for the prestigious Winemaker of the Year award, and six were shortlisted for Young Winemaker of the Year. All the judges – Carrie Adams (head judge), Winnie Bowman, Yegas Naidoo, Shane Mumba, Denzel Swarts and Gregory Mutambe – agree it was a close race for the top prizes, a clear indication that the finalist wines were outstanding.
Boshoff delighted the judges with his 2020 Stellenrust ArtiSons Blueberry Hill Shiraz and won R50 000. Langa received her award for her 2022 Delheim Gewürztraminer and won R25 000. Both winners also received a round-trip air ticket to a wine-producing region.
