Did Diners invite the wrong kind of media to the larger-than-usual Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Awards bash on Saturday night or is Franschhoek beyond the event horizon for Cape Town’s notoriously stay-at-home blogosphere? Nederburg red winemaker Wilhelm Pienaar tweets this morning “I find it fascinating that the airwaves are so quiet about Razvan’s triumph at #DCWinemaker2012 with his @Nederburg Eminence. Sour grapes?”

The only social mediast I saw at dinner was an internet radio station DJ and he was only noticable as he wore bumster jeans to a black-tie function.  So no surprise that the twittersphere has been tranquil when the twits were left off the guest list.  Even those Platter tasters who leaked that Marc Kent had won were conspicuous by their absence.

But the real reason for the sweet silence that has greeted the triumph of Nederburg cellarmaster Razvan Macici is more likely entrenched prejudice against Distell and all its works.  Heck earlier this year when UCT unveiled their list of the Top Twenty Wineries in SA, Nederburg were rudely ignored, in spite of winning the most awards at local and international competitions and even in spite of being Winery of the Year in the Platter sighted guide many of the voters visualize for.

Still the marketing mavens at Diners, given useful advice by Diners director Reg Lascaris, have clearly decided to entrust their communication strategies to the professionals if the Sunday Times Lifestyle wrapper that easily exceeded the entire annual social media budget for the Winelands, is any clue.