Celebrating innovation and excellence in wine tourism throughout the nine greatest wine regions in the world, wineries across the Western Cape entered into the prestigious Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Awards.
This international annual competition is designed to reward the wineries in each of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network’s member cities, for their excellence in seven different categories, including:
Accommodation
Wine Tourism Restaurants
Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices
Architecture & Landscape
Art & Culture
Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences
Wine Tourism Services
Wesgro, the Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape worked closely with Vinpro, a non-profit company that represents 2 500 South African wine producers, cellars and industry stakeholders in finalising these awards.
The 2021 winners are:
Accommodation Winner:
Lanzerac Wine Estate
Wine Tourism Restaurants Winner:
Delaire Graff Estate
Sustainable Wine Tourism Practice Winner:
La Motte Wine Estate
Architecture & Landscape Winner:
Delaire Graff Estate
Art & Culture Winner:
La Motte Wine Estate
Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences Winner:
Creation Wines
Wine Tourism Services Winner:
La Motte Wine Estate
“We are proud of each of our members who have pushed through the challenges our industry has faced this year by continuing to excel and innovate, and in so doing, showcasing South Africa as a world-class wine tourism destination,” said Marisah Nieuwoudt, Vinpro wine tourism manager.
Judging Process
The judging process entailed an in depth reviewing process. The applications received were reviewed and scored based on the standard criteria. Our seven expert judges then visited the wineries within each of their categories.
These visits were conducted as “ghost visits”, meaning that the wine farms did not know when these judges will be visiting. Based on the application received and the “ghost visits” conducted, our expert and roving judges attended an adjudication review, whereby each expert judge presented their findings to our roving judges and a winner was selected from each category.
The judging panel for this year’s competition consisted of three roving judges and seven expert judges facilitated by Andre Morgenthal, judges included: Rhian van Wyk Deputy - Cape Winelands District Municipality, Maryna Calow - Wines of South Africa (WOSA), Unathi Mantshongo - Vinpro Consultant Europe (Speciality Viticulture, Wine Buying & Transformation), Teddy Ntsente - Tourism Grading Council South Africa, Jenny Handley - Gourmet Guide, Shelley Fuller - Fruit & Wine Programme Manager at WWF, Dr Luyanda Mpahlwa - Design Space Africa, Margi Biggs - Specialized Events & Tours, Ilana Clayton - CEO at Travel Smart Crew, Spencer Fondaumiere - ASI diploma Sommelier and vice chair of the South African Sommeliers Association.
Please follow the link to our announcement video https://bit.ly/3eonydK to meet the judges and winners.