Judging of the young wines of the 2024 vintage year is well under way this week, with 1 387 entries (12% more than last year) competing for the top trophies, as well as gold, silver and bronze medals in the SA Young Wine Show – being held in the Johann Graue Hall at Nederburg in Paarl.
The SA Young Wines Show is one of the oldest wine competitions in the world, dating back to 1833 and is now in its 192nd year.
The Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society – which established the marketing name Agri-Expo in 1996 – has over the years been actively involved with the SA Young Wine Show since 1833 as owner of this remarkable competition and maintains its commitment as patron until this very day. Agri-Expo has entrusted the SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) since its founding in 1976 as organiser with this impressive collection of gold and silver trophies which are annually awarded to the winning winemakers.
The young wines of 2024 that have been entered, are competing for 17 coveted trophies in the various classes, with only one of them to be crowned as this year’s overall champion wine, thereby to receive the sought-after General Smuts Trophy which has been at stake since 1952. At the same time, the Pietman Hugo Trophy will be awarded to the cellar scoring the highest total points for entries in five categories. Altogether 14 panels with 88 judges are privileged to identify the best young wines of this year.
The classes attracting the most entries this year for white wines were Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Dry White Wines, while under red wines, they were Other Red Cultivars, Red Blends, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Merlot.
Among the 17 competing categories for SA Champion glory for white wines, is Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Other White Cultivars, Dry White Blends, Off-dry White Wine and Noble Late Harvest. Among the red wines, trophies are awarded for best Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz, Other Red Cultivars and Dry Red Blends. The trophies in the fortified class comprise exceptional Cape Port Styles, Dessert Wine and Muscadel.
The comprehensive judging process holds good news for wine lovers in the sense that South Africa has once again yielded an outstanding wine crop. Winemakers agree that wines of particularly good quality were made this year, despite considerably varying climatic conditions during both the growing and harvest periods. Consumers can look forward to enjoying the 2024 vintage wines when bottled and reaching the market.
“Although we experienced a challenging harvest time, this year’s young wines show exceptional quality and this positive industry mood is also reflected in the increased entry of wines from all the areas,”: said SANWSA chairperson, Christo Pienaar.
In the past six years the Young Wine Show boasts major encouragement for the two main trophy winners. A partnership between the organisers and Porex SA – a prominent Paarl-based supplier of machinery and winemaking equipment to the industry – means that the two respective winners of the General Smuts and Pietman Hugo Trophies are sponsored for a trip to overseas wine countries.
The five financial partners who joined the Young Wines Show last year, are all well-known suppliers to the industry, namely Anchor Technology, Enartis, Laffort, Nexus and Standard Bank. Their representatives have all visited the week-long judging at Nederburg.
Said Bennie Howard, vice-chairperson of the SANWSA, “The generous support from all our partners in this remarkable South African wine show that benefits the whole industry, is an example of their client involvement. Thereby, they ensure a bright future for ‘the jewel of the wine industry’, as the SA Young Wine Show is fondly known.”
The awards function will be presented by Agri-Expo on Friday 23 August at Elsenburg Agricultural College, which has celebrated its 125-year anniversary at the end of 2023. The event will be preceded by a tasting of all the Gold medal winners of 2024.
