Sommeliers Selection shines
· 2 min read


The 2017 Sommeliers Selection winners were announced at a trendy ceremony and tasting in Stellenbosch on Thursday 27 July.
South Africa’s first wine competition judged only by top South African sommeliers has something to offer for every taste. All wines are tasted blind, and the sommeliers follow a stylistic approach looking specifically for balance and freshness.
These are wines selected for enjoyment and aimed at the everyday wine drinker. The philosophy is reflected in the fact that winners - referred to as “listed wines” - literally appear on a wine list organised according to non-technical categories such as ‘Economically savvy wine by the glass’ and ‘Elegant & classy reds’.
The wine-list approach also means there is a category for craft beer. Who said sommeliers are only interested in wine?
The judging sommeliers all have extensive local and international experience, which assures winners of a well-deserved sense of recognition. “It is quite encouraging to know that my wine has been specifically selected by a top sommelier,” says De Wet Lategan from Bergsig Estate, whose 2014 Icarus was announced as a winner in the category ‘Voluptuous & rich reds’.
The Sommeliers Selection wine list will be passed on to restaurants countrywide and becomes part of a year-long promotional campaign ensuring wide exposure and recognition.
Congratulations to the winners!
More from
People, community and tourism

The Portrait of a South African Winemaker
In James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus resolves to express himself "as freely as I can and as wholly as I can". Joyce's hero refuses to be just one thing. That same many-sided energy is increasingly being asked of the modern South African winemaker, who has to adopt different faces for different places.

Who will drink South African wine tomorrow?
Tomorrow’s wine drinker is already here, standing at the braai with a can in one hand and a phone in the other. South African wine still has time to join the occasion, although it may need to loosen its collar first.

Ice in the Chenin and other South African wine crimes
There is ice in the Chenin Blanc, Cap Classique in an ordinary wine glass and a bowl of curry waiting beside a bottle of something pink. By old wine standards, the afternoon is a small crime scene.

