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Excellent wine at less than R125

The Gold Wine Awards was born out of a need to help the consumer make educated buying decisions and to promote worthy wines.

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 R125 to the consumer with Gold medals. Wines are judged by qualified tasters 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.

Reach the consumer

The vast majority of consumers buy wine below R125 per bottle, and they will be the main benefactors of the awards. The producers will also be able to distinguish their wine from all the others on the shelf.

Dates and Pricing

Important dates and costs to note.

Dates
  • Competition Opens: 10 April 2018 
  • Cut-off date for entries: 24 July 2018 
  • Delivery of wine samples: 30 and 31 July 2018 (Monday and Tuesday) 
  • Producers receive results: 6 August 2018
Pricing

The cost of entry is R640 excluding VAT, and stickers will be available to the award winners in rolls of 1 000 at a price of R240 excluding VAT per roll.

Added Value & Auditing

We will also announce our Top 5 EWP (Excellent Wine at the Price) brands. Theron du Plessis Chartered and Professional Accountants will audit the tasting process to make sure tastings are done without any outside influence.

Practical Details

Pertinent information about this competition.

You are not obligated to order stickers, but if you do request stickers you have to accept and pay for them when the winners are announced, as set out in the rules of the competition.

Uncertified wines 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 bottled and has a SAWIS application number, and a current tasting date on the WSR2 or WSR4 form, or a Department Agriculture printout from Wine-on-Line to show the wine has a current tasting date. Unlabelled bottles must have stickers on them showing details such as cultivar, vintage and brand name.

Each wine may only be entered into the competition once (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.

Stickers will 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.

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. Electronic certificates will be emailed to winners.

There will be only one sticker print run; under no circumstances will more stickers be printed. Winners are given ample opportunity to verify the quantities they will need. Contestants are not allowed to print their own stickers.

Stickers may only be used on wines that have the SAWIS application number that was entered and awarded.

For confidentiality purposes, only a list of producers that were designated the Top 5 EWP (Excellent Wine at the Price) will be made public. A list of all the wineries that have taken part in the competition will not be provided, nor the score assigned to any wine.

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 July 30th or 31st, 2018, to the 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. 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

Rules of the Competition

 

1. Only wine that is available in South Africa to consumers at R125 including VAT per bottle or less may be entered.

2. Submission of entries online by the cut-off date for entries constitutes acceptance of all the rules and entry fees will have to be paid for these entries. Entries can be deleted before the cut-off time if necessary, but not afterwards.

3. Tank samples will not be accepted as entries into the competition.

4. Uncertified wine may not be entered into the competition.

5. Each 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 August 4th, 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 sample will not be accepted without this certificate or screen capture.

6. No refunds will be paid if the WSR2 or WSR4 certificate is not current or if a Department of Agriculture printout from Wine-on-Line to show the wine has a current tasting date cannot be produced.

7. Each wine’s category will be determined by the information on the label.

8. There is no minimum quantity needed to enter a wine.

9. There is no limit to the number of entries per producer. Each wine may only be entered into the competition once (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 type but with different vineyard designations 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 wine that received an award in a previous year’s competition may be entered again.

12. Entries and registration will be accepted online from 10th April up to midnight on 24th July 2018. Proof of payment must be emailed to enquiries@goldwineawards.com before midnight on the closing date for entries to be accepted.

13. 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.

14. The wine must be delivered to the drop-off point between 9am and 4pm on 30th or 31st July 2018 to be accepted into the competition.

15. Winners will be notified by email, and stickers will be available for collection about two weeks later. Proof of payment of both the entries (R640 excluding VAT per entry) and stickers is needed before stickers may be collected. Stickers cost R240 excluding VAT per 1000, and come in multiples of 1000.

16. Quantities of stickers ordered that are not multiples of 1000 will be rounded up and invoiced accordingly.

17. By entering the competition, the entrant commits to paying for the number of stickers indicated before the required deadline for the wines that receive awards. The producer may only use the stickers awarded on the particular wine that corresponds with the SAWIS application number that was entered and won the award.

18. The competition logo or stickers may not be displayed on their own for purposes of marketing, but must be accompanied by the name and vintage of the particular wine that was awarded, and may only be photographed on an awarded wine.

19. Any wine remaining at the conclusion of the judging becomes the property of the competition organisers.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. No refund of entry fees will be made, unless a wine is withdrawn from entry before the closing time for entries.

23. By entering the competition, the entrant states that the information provided is factually and legally correct.

24. If a participant does not follow all the rules of the competition or legal requirements as required by SAWIS, the competition has the right to disqualify the particular entry concerned or the entire year’s entries, or ban the producer from the competition.

25. For confidentiality purposes, only a list of the top wineries will be made public. No list will be provided of all the wineries that took part in the competition or the score assigned to any wine.

26. Entries will only be accepted in English.

27. Entries must be completed in full, and entries that were not completed in full may be declared void.

29. This competition can change the rules 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 may withdraw their entries.

30. If an entrant does not comply with the rules, their entries will be cancelled at the discretion of the competition organisers.

31. The producer whose wine is entered must be fully aware of the submission, and must grant the person entering the award the right to enter wines 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.

Get in Touch

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General Enquiries and Administration – Sanet van Heerden (sanet@goldwineawards.com) Tel 084 446 0412

Drop-off point for samples:

Nietvoorbij Experimental Cellar
Klapmuts Road, R44
Stellenbosch
Attention: Michelle Grimbeek
Tel: 082 773 0738
Email: michelle@turnkeyeventsolutions.com


Coordinated by

Turnkey Event Solutions In Association with Theron du Plessis Chartered and Professional Accountants.