Seems that wine writer competitions are like Myciti buses: nothing for ages and then along come three, one after the other. The latest is from Veritas whose “new Young Wine Writers Competition invites wine writers between the ages of 18 and 35 to enter an article and blog post in order to be eligible for the first prize of R15 000 or second prize of R7 500.” SA wine writers owe a lot to shock jock John Maytham who not only hates Scottish tennis star Andy Murray but also SA wine writers after judging their submissions for this year’s Franschhoek Wine Writers Competition.

“Interested parties must submit an 800 word article in any of South Africa’s 11 official languages on one of the following subjects

– the role of wine in everyday life, OR
– describe the difference between wines to be enjoyed as ‘quaffers’ and wines that do justice to certain cuisine

A blog post of 300 words about the most unusual wine the writer has ever tasted must also accompany the entry.”

With Mampoer Shorts looking to move into wine book publishing, perhaps commissioning editors should collaborate with wine writing competitions for credible authors rather than relying on radio dj’s who very rarely know anything that they ventilate about.