One of South Africa’s most unique and awarded Sauvignon Blanc wines, the Winter Ferment from Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville, continued its winning-ways by taking the Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc at this year’s Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards. Since the first vintage of Winter Ferment in 2017 the wine has won numerous accolades, including spots in the FNB Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc Competition, Veritas Double Gold accolades and the Sauvignon Blanc Trophy at the National Young Wine Show.
This year’s 2020 vintage is the fourth consecutive year the Diemersdal Winter Ferment has been made. And the new vintage came up trumps in the largest category of entries at this year’s Michelangelo Awards which saw 165 Sauvignon Blanc wines entered among the total entries of 1 565.
This Winter Ferment is a unique Sauvignon Blanc in that it is made from grapes harvested in February 2020 and undergoes fermentation in the South African winter months after the freshly crushed juice was frozen for four months. This freezing process gives the wine a uniquely expressive fruit profile.
“The method of making the Winter Ferment continues to result in a wine with a flavour that we as Sauvignon Blanc fanatics are immensely pleased with,” says Thys Louw, owner-winemaker at Diemersdal. “The fact that it is one of Diemersdal’s most popular wines in the market is an added bonus. From autumn we already begin to get asked as to when the Winter Ferment is available, which is really rewarding for us to experience.”
Louw also says this year’s Michelangelo Awards confirms Sauvignon Blanc as South Africa’s largest and competitive wine category with the number of entries this leading wine show received.
“Sauvignon Blanc leads the way as by far the most popular varietal wine in the market-place as well as a variety for which growers receive the best prices out of any white wine cultivar,” he says. “Looking at the quality of South African Sauvignon Blanc, as shown by Michelangelo and other wine competitions, it is becoming clear that the country is also making some of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world. Its success in the market validates this: quality will always be the overriding factor in any wine-buying decision.”
Diemersdal’s other excellent result at this year’s Michelangelo went to the estate’s Pinotage 2019 which was awarded a Platinum medal. Platinum recognises wines scoring 96pts and above and only 24 out of the total wines entered achieved this rating.
Gold medals went to the following Diemersdal wines: Unwooded Chardonnay 2020, Shiraz 2019 and Pinotage Reserve 2019.
