THE South African Wine Index (SAWi), an independent wine quality monitoring authority has launched the first edition of the The Definitive Fine Wine Guide. This follows its announcement of the “Grand Wines Collection” (GWC) which is featured in the guide, offering an objective response to the elusive concept “how to know what a high quality wine represents”.
This means wine lovers now have an objective tool to assist them in making informed decisions about which top South African wines to collect and enjoy.
The guide represents a classification of outstanding wines which scored 93+ points over a 10 year multi-vintage window, compiled from blind tasting wine competition results. The outcome is a perfect example of the best of the best wines currently produced in South Africa.
The collection currently includes just over 400 wines or 5.3% of all bottled wines, from 140 wineries. However, the outcome also shows that 50% of GWC wines come from only 50 wineries (including the Distell, KWV and DGB Portfolios – each taken as one), with the majority of these having five or more wines represented. Also included is what is referred to as the “SAWi Ambassadors Club” which consists of the first 50 wines in the collection with the highest scores.
This group of wines have stood the test of time and represent the best in winemaking over multi-vintages, showing a degree of excellence right through. Given this outcome, it is clear wine quality in SA has increased dramatically making for a plethora of fine wines and styles.
Amateur wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs will find much pertinent information in this guide to enhance their personal tasting experience by also discovering wines with which they are not yet acquainted. The GWC could revolutionise the way in which the wine industry promotes its top brands going forward. The Platinum and Grand Gold SAWi bottle stickers are already pursued by everyone looking to add to their enjoyment of such highly regarded fine wine.
This announcement comes with a reworked SAWi website where the guide can be downloaded.