Gold Wine Awards
Quality Wine at Respectable Prices
About
With the huge variety of wines available to the consumer on the shelves, there is very little to guide them, especially in the lower price categories.
Value for Money
The Gold Wine Awards is a consumer-judged competition that awards excellent wines at a price of less than R110 to the consumer with Gold medals. The wines are tasted blind in a tasting that is facilitated by the Cape Wine Academy. Wines are judged by qualified tasters selected by the Cape Wine Academy and the results are then statistically related to the price to determine whether the wines offer real value for money.
Easier Choices
Often, consumers do not have a guide to help them choose from the many brands out there, especially the ones that sell at lower prices.
This competition aims to make it easier for the consumer to make choices by commending wines that are extremely well priced.
Tasting Procedures
Research has shown that most of the time receiving an award in a wine competition is just about random. This competition aims to give all wines a fair chance by making sure the judges do not suffer from flavour fatigue by never tasting more than 10 wines of a kind in a row. This competition also gives wines that might not have done well in other competitions a second chance to shine.
Unbiased Tasting
It has been found that when wine tasters know the price of a wine they tend to be biased in favour of the more expensive wines.
In a double-blind tasting, the tasters do not know the identity nor the price of the wines and therefor judge the wine more fairly.
Practical Details
Pertinent information to make sure you are well informed.
You are not obligated to order stickers, but if you do request stickers on your entry form you have to accept and pay for them when the winners are announced, as set out in the rules of the competition.
Here is an example of the Gold medal that is awarded (above). The sticker measures 25mm across. Stickers should be available approximately two weeks after the winners have been informed of their results, and the winners will be notified by email once the stickers are available. No sample stickers will be available before the stickers have been printed and are available for collection. All stickers allocated to entrants will have to be taken in one go. If more stickers are needed later, the stickers might not be available, because extra stickers are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Printed certificates will be available for collection with the stickers.
There should be a small overrun of stickers available on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be only one sticker print run; under no circumstances will more stickers be printed. Winners are given ample opportunity to make sure about the quantities they would need. Winners are not allowed to print their own stickers. Stickers may only be used on wines with a SAWIS application number that were entered and won.
Enter Online
All entries are done online and may only be done by the winery doing the entry. A current WSR2 or WSR4 certificate needs to be delivered with each sample. By entering the competition, the entrant states that the information provided is factually and legally correct. Invoices for entries can be printed online by the winery after logging in. The only invoices that are sent are the ones for the stickers. The banking details are on the invoice.
If you find that the company details on the invoice for the entries are wrong, the entrant can edit the company details online by logging in, and the invoice can simply be printed online.
Drop off Location for Samples:
The entry samples should be delivered between 9 am and 4 pm on 31 July and 1 August 2017 in Stellenbosch at Nietvoorbij Experimental Cellar to be accepted.
Wine Entries
Uncertified wine may not be entered. Tank samples will not be accepted as entries into the competition. Unlabelled wines may be entered as long as the wine has been finally bottled and has a SAWIS application number, and a current tasting date on the WSR2 or WSR4 form. Unlabelled bottles must have stickers on them showing details such as cultivar, vintage and brand name. Each wine may only be entered once into the competition (even if it is under a different label).
Any participant may enter more than one wine in a class. Examples are wineries that produce several wines of the same varietal but with different vineyard designations, vintages, etc. Wines that were entered in last year’s competition may be entered again. Early or late deliveries will have to be cleared with Michelle Grimbeek at the Cape Wine Academy. The number of entries will not be made public. For confidentiality purposes, only a list of brands that were designated Top 5 EWP (Excellent Wine at the Price) will be made public and not a list of wineries that have taken part in the competition nor the score assigned to any wine.
Bottles needed for entry:
- 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.
Categories Accepted
