ABOUT US
The Vitis Vinifera Awards recognise quality wines and grape derived spirits that are available to the majority of consumers. Most other competitions focus on aspirational products in the ultra-premium segment of the market, which tends to enhance 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.
HOW WE DO THIS
Many fine wines and spirits are produced across a range of taste spectra and price points. With the Vitis Vinifera Awards, we aim to commend wines and spirits of quality and we achieve this by conferring awards on superior products across various price categories, in order to make them available to consumers on more shelves across the globe.
Wines are tasted blind by a group of consumers.
Red wine flights will alternate with 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 where possible to prevent flavour saturation.
Judging Methodology
All panellists will be lovers of grape derived products such as wine and spirits. These are the very same members of the public who will be spending their time and money in the winelands whenever they can, and they will be spending it most often on wine and spirits.
Experienced
Tasters
Panels will be comprised of experienced consumers who have a passion for wine and grape derived products.
Gender and
age equity
We are sensitive to gender and age equity in our judging roster, therefore we try to staff each panel with a diverse group of judges from various professions and experience levels.
Three judge
minimum
Each flight is designed to ideally have 10 products of the same class
The Stickers
Winning products will be awarded Gold and Double Gold awards, and the Top 10 producers will be able to add the Top 10 Producer sticker to their entries as well.
Here are some of our partners making this event a success
CATEGORIES
| NO. | CATEGORY | SPECIFICATION |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perlé or Slightly Sparkling Wine | Any sugar level |
| 2 | Sparkling Wine (Non-MCC) | RS<=15 g/L |
| 3 | Perlé or Slightly Sparkling Wine | RS>15 g/L |
| 4 | Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) | |
| 5 | Bukettraube | |
| 6 | Chenin blanc | RS<=10 g/L |
| 7 | Chenin blanc | RS>10 g/L |
| 8 | Colombar | RS<=10 g/L |
| 9 | Colombar | RS>10 g/L |
| 10 | Chardonnay | RS<=10 g/L |
| 11 | Chardonnay | RS>10 g/L |
| 12 | Pinot Gris | |
| 13 | Weisser Riesling (Rhine Riesling) | |
| 14 | Sauvignon blanc | RS<=10 g/L |
| 15 | Sauvignon blanc | RS>10 g/L |
| 16 | Viognier | RS<=10 g/L |
| 17 | Other Single White Varietal | RS<=10 g/L |
| 18 | Other Single White Varietal | RS>10 g/L |
| 19 | White Blend | RS<=10 g/L |
| 20 | White Blend | RS>10 g/L |
| 21 | Blanc de Noir and Rosé | RS<=10 g/L |
| 22 | Blanc de Noir and Rosé | RS>10 g/L |
| 23 | Low-Alcohol Wine | Alc<10% |
| 24 | Cabernet Franc | RS<=10 g/L |
| 25 | Cabernet Sauvignon | RS<=10 g/L |
| 26 | Malbec | RS<=10 g/L |
| 27 | Merlot | RS<=10 g/L |
| 28 | Mourvèdre | RS<=10 g/L |
| 29 | Petit Verdot | RS<=10 g/L |
| 30 | Pinot Noir | RS<=10 g/L |
| 31 | Pinotage | RS<=10 g/L |
| 32 | Shiraz | RS<=10 g/L |
| 33 | Other Single Red Varietal | RS<=10 g/L |
| 34 | Bordeaux-Style Red | May only contain the five Bordeaux varietals; RS<=10 g/L |
| 35 | Cape Blend | At least 30% Pinotage but no more than 70%; RS<=10 g/L |
| 36 | Other Red Blend | RS<=10 g/L |
| 37 | Sweet Red | RS>10 g/L |
| 38 | Natural Sweet Wine | Any sugar level |
| NO. | CATEGORY | SPECIFICATION |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | Special Late Harvest | RS>50 g/L |
| 40 | Noble Late Harvest | Any sugar level |
| 41 | Straw Wine | Any sugar level |
| 42 | Cape Ruby Port | |
| 43 | Cape Tawny Port | |
| 44 | Cape Vintage Port | |
| 45 | Cape Late-Bottled Vintage Port | |
| 46 | Other Port | |
| 47 | White Jeripigo | |
| 48 | Red Jeripigo | |
| 49 | White Muscadel | |
| 50 | Red Muscadel | |
| 51 | Fino Sherry | |
| 52 | Oloroso Sherry | |
| 53 | Cream Sherry | |
| 54 | Brandy Non-Vintage/Age Not Defined | |
| 55 | Brandy 3–8 years | |
| 56 | Brandy 9–12 years | |
| 57 | Brandy 13–20 years | |
| 58 | Flavoured Brandy made from grape spirit | |
| 59 | Vodka/Witblits – unflavoured | |
| 60 | Flavoured Vodka | |
| 61 | Grappa (Marc) Unflavoured | |
| 62 | Vodka/Witblits made from grape spirit | |
| 63 | Gin using grape based spirit exclusively | |
| 64 | Grappa infused with other flavours | |
| 65 | London Dry Gin | |
| 66 | Plymouth Style Gin | |
| 67 | New Style Gin | |
| 68 | Gin Other | |
| 69 | White Vermouth | White wine blended with spices |
| 70 | Red Vermouth | Red wine blended with spices |
| 71 | Flavoured White Wine Still | |
| 72 | Flavoured Red Wine Still | |
| 73 | Sparkling Flavoured White Wine | |
| 74 | Sparkling Flavoured Red Wine |
FAQ’s
| Competition opens: | 15th April 2020 |
| Early bird cut-off: Cut-off date for entries: |
9th July 2020 4th August 2020 |
| Delivery of samples: | 17th and 18th of August 2020 (Monday and Tuesday) |
| Results released: | 24th August 2020 |
Early bird entries done by 9 July 2020 are R750 excluding VAT per entry.
Entries that are done after the early bird special closed are R975 excluding VAT per entry if done by 4 August 2020.
Late entries will be charged R1170 excluding VAT if done after 4 August 2020, but by 12 August 2020.
Gold, Double Gold and Top 10 producer stickers will be available at R375 excl VAT per 1000.
An electronic certificate will be sent by email to the winners. If the exact same product is sold under different brand names, you can request a certificate for each brand at no extra cost.
Results will be emailed to entrants on or before 25th August 2020 to notify them. The entrants 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.
We will endeavour to have the stickers ready for collection around 7th September to 11th September 2020. The stickers have to be paid for prior to collection, unless other arrangements are made with the organisers.
You’re not obligated to order stickers; if you do not want any, indicate the number on the entry form as 0 (zero). Once the results have been revealed, you have to take the number of stickers you indicated. Stickers will be available approximately two weeks after the winners have been notified.
Any remaining samples at the end of the judging process becomes the property of Vitis Vinifera Awards.
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.
- Spirits have to be 100% grape based to qualify for entry.
- Submission of samples and/or payment of entry fees constitutes acceptance of all the rules.
- Tank samples will not be accepted as entries into the competition.
- All wines from outside South Africa do not need a WSR2 or WSR4 certificate. All non-flavoured wines from South Africa 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.
- Each non-flavoured wine from South Africa 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 a Department of Agriculture Wine-on-Line screen capture printout to show the wine has a current tasting date. This certificate must be current (i.e. the wine must have been tasted and approved by the board no more than one year before the first day of delivery in the case of a white wine and 18 months in the case of a red wine). A sample will not be accepted without this certificate. No refunds will be paid if the WSR2 or WSR4 certificate is not current.
- Each category will be determined by the product information on the label.
- There is no minimum stock quantity needed to enter a product.
- There is no limit to the number of entries per producer. However, each flavoured wine or spirit may only be entered once into the competition (even if it is under a different label), and any participant may enter more than one wine, flavoured wine or spirit in a class. Examples are wineries that produce several wines of the same varietal type but with different vineyard designations or vintages.
- A wine that has not been certified as a cultivar wine, although it may be one, may be entered into a blended category.
- A product that received an award in a previous year’s competition may be entered again.
- Entries and registration will be accepted online from the start of the competition until midnight on the last day. Proof of payment must be emailed to support@vitisawards.com before midnight on the closing date for entries to be accepted.
- Invoices for entries must be printed online by the participant, and paid before the final close of entries.
- A wine sample must comprise three 750ml bottles, or the volumetric equivalent thereof and a flavoured wine or spirit sample two 750ml bottles, or the volumetric equivalent thereof.
- The samples must be delivered to the drop-off point in Stellenbosch, South Africa between 9:00 and 16:00 on the two days allocated to be accepted into the competition.
- Winners will be notified by email, and stickers will be available for collection about two weeks later. Proof of payment of both the entries and stickers is needed before stickers can be collected. Gold, Double Gold and Top 10 Producer stickers cost R375 excl VAT per 1000, and come in multiples of 1000 and 2000.
- Quantities of stickers ordered that are not multiples of 1000 will be rounded up and invoiced as such.
- By entering the competition, the entrant commits to paying for the number of stickers indicated before the required deadline (11:00 Wednesday 26th August 2020) for the products that receive awards.
- The winners of the Top 10 Producer Award may put this sticker on all wines entered. The producer may only use the Gold and Double Gold 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. Participants must always market their winning products in conjunction with the year of the competition the product won the award.
- The competition logo or stickers may not be displayed on their own for purposes of marketing, but must be accompanied by the details of the particular product that won, or may be photographed on the product that won the award.
- Any samples remaining at the conclusion of the judging become the property of the competition.
- The judging process will be entirely confidential and no details will be released concerning the judging process and reasoning. No feedback of any nature will be given.
- 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.
- No refund of entry fees will be made.
- By entering the competition, the entrant states that the information provided is factually and legally correct.
- If a participant does not follow all the rules of the competition or legal requirements as required by SAWIS for South African wine, the competition has the right to disqualify the particular entry concerned or the entire year’s entries, or ban the producer from the competition.
- The Awards Show (Pty) Ltd will not make available a list of all the producers that took part in the competition, or reveal the scores assigned to any product, or make available the details of products that were not awarded. It remains the prerogative of The Awards Show (Pty) Ltd to publish results of awarded products as they see fit.
- Entries will only be accepted in English.
- Entries must be completed in full, and entries that were not completed in full could be declared void.
- Employees of the competition and their immediate family are not allowed to enter the competition.
- If an entrant does not comply with the rules of the competition, their entries may be cancelled.
- 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.
- In the event that for any reason possible the judging cannot take place, or entrants cannot be given results, half of the entrants’ entry fee will be refunded, and no other damages will be awarded to the competition, or any of the companies involved.
- For any claim to be made against The Awards Show (Pty) Ltd for defective stickers, the stickers must be returned to Postnet at Stellenbosch, South Africa within 7 days after the date of delivery to Postnet. The Awards Show (Pty) Ltd will within its discretion either replace or pass a credit for defective stickers so proven, but shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, or any other loss, including loss to third parties and legal expenses, arising out of errors in providing stickers, or by delay in delivery, or by unsuitability of goods for use intended.
- This competition cannot be held liable for any damage incurred to stickers once the stickers have been accepted by the client or by a third party transportation company.
- 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 of the competition, they can cancel their entries up to the date entries close. After this time, entrants have to comply with the rules of the competition.
Contact us
GENERAL COMPETITION ENQUIRIES
AND ADMINISTRATION
Sanet van Heerden
084 446 0412
DELIVERIES CONTACT PERSON
Michelle
082 773 0738