Judging

The mission of the South African Young Wine Show is to judge the quality of wines that are still in their infancy, i.e. within the year of production – and have some way to go before they are finally 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.

Entries are adjudicated by specialist panels of five judges drawn from winemakers or wine experts with a formal qualification and specialist knowledge of specific wine styles. A sixth junior judge per panel has been introduced to train future judges. Their scores do not count.

The South African National Wine Show Association announces the winner of the Genl Smuts Trophy for the best wine, the Pietman Hugo Trophy for the best producer and the 17 SA Champions during a luncheon or dinner and each of the participating regions showcase their top-scoring wines at regional young wine shows.