SA Terroir Wine Awards 2022: Tulbagh shines among leading Cape wine terrains

Tulbagh’s achievement is marked by Saronsberg Cellar’s National Winners for Grenache, Mourvédre, Shiraz and Viognier, while they also entered four other wines which are also area winners.

This largely contributed to Tulbagh clinching the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Area too. Moreover, the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Producer was also awarded to Saronsberg Cellar, based on achieving the most top quality entries.

Another three cellars also boast entering more than one national winning wine and/or trophy at this year’s SA Terroir Wine Awards. One of these also clinched the overall top wine from all the entries, namely the Flagstone Treaty Tree Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon 2019 blend which received the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine. This Somerset West winery’s other national winner was their 2020 Free Run Reserve Sauvignon Blanc.

Rietvallei in Robertson was responsible for national winners in the Cabernet Franc and Cinsaut categories, and for the second successive year received the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Estate. Stettyn in Villiersdorp boasts national winners of Port Style wine and Heritage Vineyard Wine.

Only wines certified as single-vineyard wine, estate-produced wine, and wine from a ward or district not divided into more than one ward, are in contention.

A single-vineyard wine is the epitome of a specific wine terrain and 53 such wines were entered for this year’s competition. The highly sought-after Trophy for SA Terroir Top Single-vineyard Wine was awarded to Benguela Cove Estate in Hermanus, for its Benguela Cove Catalina Sémillon 2019. From all the single-vineyard wines judged together with all the other entries, five were named as National Winners (about 16%) and 33 as Area Winners (about 60%).

The SA Terroir competition has its origin in the highly regarded Wine of Origin System, which was introduced 50 years ago in terms of Wine, Other Fermented Beverages and Spirits, Act 1957– implemented on 1 September 1973 and amended several times. This system is acknowledged world-wide as one of the best of its kind to verify the integrity of wine in the bottle and of statements made on the label.

The SA Terroir Wine Awards gives authoritative acknowledgement to wineries which passionately express their specific soil and climate, in other words terroir. Financial partners of the SA Terroir Wine Awards are established organisations in the South African wine industry, in collaboration with a new ‘bonus media partner’. WinField United South Africa, SA Litho and DSTV kykNET’s Ontbytsake this year support the SA Terroir Wine Awards financially.

The National Winners from all the cultivars and wine styles entered this year, once again originated from across the Cape winelands. Altogether 32 national winners were honoured. The full breakdown of all the national and wine style winners is set out below.

The selected panel of judges comprised Jeff Grier (chairperson), owner-cellarmaster of Villiera Wines and Cape Wine Master; Elunda Basson, cellarmaster of Steenberg; Brendan Butler, winemaker and manager of Meinert Wines and Cape Wine Master; Samarie Smith, wine writer and wine specialist, and Anton Swarts, senior winemaker and wine purchasing manager at Spier and Cape Wine Master.

In addition to the trophies and national winner wines, the top wines in the different areas are also named. The full results are available on the website www.terroirwineawards.co.za

2022 SA Terroir Wine Awards Trophy Winners

• SA Terroir Top Wine Estate Rietvallei Wine Estate
• SA Terroir Top Producer Saronsberg Cellar
• SA Terroir Top Single Vineyard Wine 2019 Benguela Cove Catalina Sémillon
• SA Terroir Top Area Tulbagh
• SA Terroir Top Wine 2019 Flagstone Treaty Tree Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon

2022 SA Terroir National Winners

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