Cape Town - One of South Africa’s premier tourist attractions, the Stellenbosch Wine Route, has been announced as a 2013 nominee for the international Wine Star Awards.
The route has been selected by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, the world’s largest wine and lifestyle publication, which honours excellence in the wine industry every year.
Nominated in the category Wine Region of the Year, the local nominee faces stiff competition, coming up against Portugal’s Douro Valley, Spain’s Rias Baixas, Paso Robles in California and the Walla Walla Valley in Washington State.
“This nomination is a huge feather in our Stellenbosch cap,” said Annareth Bolton, chief executive of the Stellenbosch American Express Wine Route, which has 180 members.
“Our wine route has been the pioneer of the South African wine industry for many years, and marketing ourselves to the international market has just received a helping hand.”
The Stellenbosch Wine Route has been running for more than four decades, and is immensely popular among locals and international tourists.
South Africa has found itself among the nominations for Wine Star Awards in various categories since the event’s inception in 2000. This is the third year that a South African wine region has been selected for Wine Region of the Year, and the second time Stellenbosch has been nominated in this category. In 2009 it lost the title to Italy’s Valpolicella area.
Last year Stellenbosch, Paarl and Constantia were nominated as a group under the group title, the Cape Winelands. They lost to the Ribera del Duero region in Spain.
Stellenbosch is the largest of the three Cape Winelands wine routes, including 180 wineries. The latest nomination has given South Africa another shot at international recognition.
“There has been an awakening to South African wine in the US,” said Ken Forrester, chairman of the Stellenbosch Wine Route. “There has even been a 16 percent growth in export of South African wines from last year.”
The winners will be announced in the special Wine Star Award edition which will be released on December 31. A black-tie award ceremony will be held for the winners in New York on January 27. - Weekend Argus