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Vitis Vinifera Awards

A wine competition driven by the consumer

What?

The Vitis Vinifera Awards recognise quality wines and grape derived spirits available to the majority of consumers. Most other competitions focus on aspirational products in the ultra-premium segment of the market, perpetuating the perception that good products are out of reach of the average consumer. This in turn leads to the misconception that appreciating wine and grape based spirits is an elitist matter, reserved for a small group of connoisseurs who are able to describe subtle flavours in obscure language.

Why?

South Africa produces fine wines and grape derived spirits across a range of taste spectra and price points. With the Vitis Vinifera Awards we aim to commend wines and grape derived spirits of quality that are available to consumers on more shelves across the globe, and confer awards on superior products across price categories.

How?

Wines are tasted blind by a group of consumers.

Red wine flights will alternate white wine flights where possible in order to prevent tannin build-up. No more than 10 products of a particular class will be tasted consecutively to prevent flavour saturation.

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Judging Methodology

All panellists will be lovers of grape derived products such as wines and spirits. These are the exact members of the public who will spend their time and money in the Winelands whenever they can, and spend it most often on wine and grape derived spirits. 

Qualified Consumers

Panels will be comprised of qualified consumers who possess at least a Cape Wine Academy certificate, or a similar qualification.

Gender and Age Equity

We are sensitive to gender and age equity in our judging roster and try to staff each panel with judges who have professional diversity and experience. 

Three Judge Minimum

And each flight is also designed to ideally have 10 wines of the same class

Judges may ask for a new bottle to be poured if they believe a product to be faulty or corked. A product will be disqualified if the second bottle is also found to be faulty or corked. Entries will be judged in the category they have been entered into. Entries will be judged randomly but in order of vintage. The panel chair will assign a different tasting order to each judge (e.g. from low numbers to high or vice versa) in order to minimise the shadow effect within a flight.

 Tasters will judge each product on an overall basis. Products will be presented to judges in numbered glasses. No sample bottles will be visible to judges at any time. The judges will have no knowledge of the identity of the products, except for the minimum information needed to score. Staff members will be instructed to avoid discussing any brand names entered into the competition.

This process of judging is referred to as double blind and uses concepts found in Wines: Their Sensory Evaluation by Amerine and Roessler (1983), and aims to avoid some problems often associated with blind tasting. The pouring area will be totally off-limits to the judges.

Red wine flights will alternate white wine flights where possible in order to prevent tannin build-up. No more than 10 products of a particular class will be tasted consecutively to prevent flavour saturation.

There will be morning and afternoon tasting sessions where necessary.

Flights are structured so no panellist has to judge only one type of product during the tasting event. Panels will typically be expected to judge about 90 products per day, rarely more. There will be a 20-minute mid-morning break given to the judges where tea, coffee and sandwiches will be provided.

Alternating Red / White Wine Flights

In order to prevent tannin build-up.

Maximum of 10 Wines per Class Tasted Consecutively

In order to prevent flavour saturation.

Morning and Afternoon Tasting Sessions

To ensure an even spread of tasting opportunities.

The Stickers

Wines will be awarded Gold and Double Gold.

Benefits of Vitis Vinifera

Specialist wine shops or top-end restaurants employ sommeliers or wine experts, but there are many wine outlets and eateries where consumers have no access to expert advice on the quality of wine that is in the bottle – we aim to remedy this.

Wine Producer
  • Give your brand kudos, pride and bragging rights;
  • Add tasting room talking points;
  • Generate buzz and make your product stand out in the crowd;
  • Awards simply helps you sell more.
Wine Consumer
  • Better catered for when choosing wine off the shelf
  • Increased assurance that wine purchased will be good
  • Time-saving method for choosing wine

There will be no silver or bronze awards, because these are largely considered irrelevant. Many producers enter wines they are confident about in competitions, and are then disappointed in the very limited number of top-scoring wines awarded Gold or Double Gold.

Often, producers will not display bronze or even silver stickers won in a competition. Vitis Vinifera Awards will not on principle limit the number of wines that can achieve Gold or Double Gold status.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other helpful information

  • Timeline and Dates for 2018:
    • Competition Opens – 8 May 2018
    • Cut-off date for entries – 28 August 2018
    • Delivery of wines samples – 3 & 4 September 2018 (Monday and Tuesday)
    • Producers receive results – 10 September 2018
  • How much does it cost to enter a wine?

    The Vitis Vinifera Awards is one of the most affordable competitions in the country. The cost is R695 excluding VAT per entry. Gold and Double Gold stickers will be available at R350 excluding VAT per 1000.

  • Do I get a certificate if my wine has won an award?

    An electronic certificate will be sent by email to the winners.

  • When will the winners be announced?

    The winners will be announced on or before 10 September 2018 and an email will go out to notify them. The producers can utilise the stickers and competition artwork to maximise exposure on various social media fronts and for their existing client base, but must display them together with the name(s) of the product and vintage if applicable, that earned this accolade. Stickers will focus attention on the award-winning products, leading to higher visibility and a boost in sales.

  • When will the stickers be available?

    We will endeavour to have the stickers ready by 24 September to 28 September 2018 for collection. The stickers have to be paid for prior to collection, unless other arrangements are made with the organisers.

  • Do I have to order medals?

    You are not obligated to order stickers, but if you indicate that you do need stickers you have to take them when the winners are announced, as set out in the rules of the competition. If you do not want stickers, please indicate the number of stickers needed as 0 (zero).

  • What happens to the wine that is left over after tasting?

    Any remaining wine at the end of the judging process becomes the property of Vitis Vinifera Awards.

  • Will the tastings be audited?

    The tasting procedure will be audited by a reputable auditing firm to ensure the judges are not influenced and the tasting is done blind and conforms to international standards.

  • Competition Rules

     

    1. Spirits have to be 100% grape based to qualify for entry.
    2. Submission of samples and/or payment of entry fees constitute acceptance of all the rules.
    3. Tank samples will not be accepted as entries.
    4. Uncertified wine may not be entered into the competition unless it is flavoured wine.
    5. All certified wine must be accompanied by a SAWIS (South African Wine Industry Information & Systems – www.sawis.co.za) application number, and the stickers awarded may only be applied to the wine attached to the application number. If a certain wine has more than one application number, the wines must be entered separately.
    6. Each certified wine has to have a current WSR2 or WSR4 certificate showing that the wine was approved on the strength of taste and analysis by SAWIS, or the Department of Agriculture Wine-on-Line screen capture printout to show the wine has a current tasting date on September 8th, 2018. This certificate must be current (i.e. the wine must have been tasted and approved by the board no more than one year before in the case of a white wine and 18 months in the case of a red wine). A certified wine sample will not be accepted without this certificate. No refunds will be paid if the WSR2 or WSR4 certificate is not current.
    7. Each product’s category will be determined by the information on the label.
    8. There is no minimum quantity needed to enter.
    9. There is no limit to the number of entries per producer. Whereas each product may only be entered into the competition once (even if it is under a different label), any participant may enter more than one product in a class. Examples are producers that produce several products of the same type but with different styles or vintages.
    10. A wine that has not been certified as a cultivar wine, although it may be one, may be entered into a blended category.
    11. A product that received an award in a previous year’s competition may be entered again.
    12. Entries and registration will be accepted online from 8 May 2018 up to midnight on 28 August 2018. Proof of payment must be emailed to info@vitisawards.com before midnight on the closing date for entries to be accepted.
    13. Invoices for entries must be printed online by the participant, and paid before the final close of entries.
    14. For wines in 750 ml bottles, a sample has to comprise three bottles per entry. For wines in containers bigger than 750 ml, a sample has to comprise two units. For wines in containers smaller than 750 ml, a sample has to comprise four units or the equivalent thereof. For spirits, only two 750ml bottles are needed or the equivalent thereof.
    15. The sample must be delivered to the drop-off point between 9am and 4pm on the 3rd or 4th of September 2018 to be accepted into the competition.
    16. Winners will be notified by email, and stickers will be available for collection about two weeks later. Proof of payment of both the entries (R695 excluding VAT per entry) and stickers is needed before stickers can be collected. Stickers cost R350 excluding VAT per 1000, and come in multiples of 1000.
    1. Quantities of stickers ordered that are not multiples of 1000 will be rounded up and invoiced as such.
    2. By entering the competition, the entrant commits to paying for the number of stickers indicated before the required deadline for the products that receive awards.
    3. The producer may only use the stickers awarded on the particular product that was entered and won the award. Stickers may not be put onto another batch of product similar to the one entered, that did not win an award in this year’s competition.
    4. Participants must always market their winning product in conjunction with the year of the competition the product won the award.
    1. The competition logo or stickers may not be displayed on their own for purposes of marketing, but must be accompanied by the name of the particular product that won, or may be photographed on the specific product that won the award.
    2. Any samples remaining at the conclusion of the judging becomes the property of the competition organisers.
    3. The judging process will be entirely confidential and no details will be released concerning the judging process or reasoning. No feedback of any nature will be given.
    4. The decision of the judges is final and no changes will be made to awards after the judging process is complete. In the event of a dispute, this competition’s decision will be final.
    5. No refund of entry fees will be made.
    6. By entering the competition, the entrant states that the information provided is factually and legally correct.
    7. If a participant does not follow all the rules of the competition or legal requirements, the competition has the right to disqualify the particular entry concerned or the entire year’s entries, or ban the producer from the competition.
    8. For confidentiality purposes, only a list of the top producers will be made public. No list of all the producers that took part in the competition or the score assigned to any product will be provided.
    9. Entries will only be accepted in English.
    10. Entries must be completed in full, and entries that were not completed in full may be declared void.
    11. This competition can change the rules of the competition without notice, and publish them on the website without giving notice to entrants. If the entrant does not want to comply with the new rules they can cancel their entries.
    12. If an entrant does not comply with the rules their entries may be cancelled.
    13. The producer whose product is entered must be fully aware of the submission, and must grant the person entering the competition the right to enter the product and order stickers. If this is not found to be the case, the person entering the competition will be liable for any financial commitment made.

Contact Us

E-mail us:

Sanet van Heerden (support@vitisawards.com) Tel 084 446 0412 — General Competition Enquiries And Administration

Or use the form below:

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Directions once at Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch

When you enter the main gate at Nietvoorbij, go through the security boom and drive up the road all the way until you reach the white walls at the top. You then turn left towards the Experimental Cellar and drive past the stairs on the right. Keep driving around the building, and to the right you will see the entrance to the back door of the cellar where the wine must be delivered.

Michelle’s contact details are michelle@turnkeyeventsolutions.com ,  082 773 0738.


The address for the purpose of courier services is:

Nietvoorbij Experimental Cellar, Nietvoorbij, Klapmuts Road (R44), Stellenbosch; Attention: Michelle.