The ground-breaking Winter Ferment Sauvignon Blanc has just achieved its second consecutive FNB Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc accolade for Diemersdal Estate, the pioneering Sauvignon Blanc producer from Durbanville.

By achieving the highest rating for unwooded Chardonnay at this year’s Veritas Wine Awards, De Wetshof Estate from Robertson becomes arguably the most awarded unwooded Chardonnay producer in South Africa.

Top image: Christo Pienaar, left, chairperson of Veritas, with the team from Darling Cellars – marketing manager Lourens Relihan and winemakers Maggie Immelman, Carel Hugo, Anthony Meduna.

In its best showing to date at the prestigious Veritas Awards, Darling Cellars turned in a performance seeing it named one of the top five producers at this year’s competition, winning two Double Gold and three Gold medals.

Top image: Christian Eedes

Diversity, quality and pleasure for the consumer. That’s what the judges of this year’s FNB Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc Competition found while sniffing and sipping their way through the line-up of entrants for this year’s event, the results of which are to be announced on 10 October.

Leading Durbanville wine estate Diemersdal notched a stunning achievement at this year’s Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards winning one coveted Platinum award, three Double Gold and two Gold Medals.

Org de Rac, the well-known organic wine farm in the heart of South Africa’s Swartland region, won two Gold medals at this year’s Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards, Africa’s leading drinks competition. This year Michelangelo set a record for a South African wine and spirits competition attracting 2 255 entries.

In one of the most competitive line-ups in the 22 year history of the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirts Awards, Stellenbosch producer Kleine Zalze made history when a Shiraz was awarded not only the Grand Prix Wine Trophy  – the show’s top accolade, but for the first time in Michelangelo’s history, a second trophy was awarded to the same wine, namely the Shiraz trophy, sponsored by SA Airlink. The Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz 2015 was the highest scoring wine (98 points) at this year’s competition, which attracted a record number of 2 255 wines and spirits entries. This now makes Michelangelo the largest competition of its kind on the Africa continent and one of the leaders in the southern hemisphere.

Top image: Tim Atkin

In his much-anticipated 2018 report on the state of the South African wine industry, British wine critic Tim Atkin MW makes a strong case for the country’s Sauvignon Blanc to be taken seriously – despite wine pundits’ penchant for focussing on other varieties with a seemingly sexier image.

Top image: RJ Botha

Org de Rac, the organic wine farm in the heart of the Swartland region of South Africa, achieved three 90-plus ratings in the highly anticipated annual report done by Tim Atkin MW, the British wine expert who is seen as one of the world’s leading authorities on the country’s wines.