About the SA Young Wine Show

The South African Young Wine Show - presented annually by the South African National Wine Show Association (SANW) - gives winemakers the opportunity to showcase the pick of their current vintage. The eight participating wine regions are Robertson, Worcester, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Oranje-Vaal, Olifants River, Swartland and Klein Karoo.

The mission of the South African Young Wine Show is to judge the quality of wines that are still at the beginning of the vinification process - within the year of production - and have some way to go before they are finally blended and bottled. In this way, the industry can give recognition to the production capabilities of a wine cellar. Very few of these wines are for sale or in their final form at the time of being judged.

Champions are crowned in the following categories

• Chenin Blanc
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Chardonnay
• Sémillon
• Other White Cultivar
• Dry White Blend
• Sweetish Wine
• Noble Late Harvest
• Pinotage
• Shiraz
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Other Red Cultivar
• Dry Red Blend
• Port
• Dessert Wine
• Muscadel

In addition to the 17 SA championship trophies, the General Smuts Trophy, for the overall SA Champion Young Wine, and the Pietman Hugo Trophy, for
the highest score for five best entries, are also at stake.

Entries are adjudicated by specialist panels of judges drawn from winemakers or wine experts with a formal qualification and specialist knowledge of specific wine styles.

The South African National Wine Show Association announces the SA Champions during a luncheon and each of the participating regions showcase their top-scoring wines at regional young wine shows.