The competition was structured in a relaxed manner and required 50 sets of friends to elect the winning wines on the basis of ten real life scenario's. The ten categories were as follows: 1. Braai drinking: sunny day, outdoor, easy drinking to go with braai cuisine 2. The in-laws are coming: something to impress 3. The big date - romance is in the air: wine to compliment the moment 4. Long lunch: girlfriends, gossip and a long lunch 5. Mid-week easy drinking: turn on the TV and kick off those shoes, honey 6. Posh Present: impress and show your true feelings with a posh bottle 7. Kiss and make up: soothe frayed nerves and be friends again 8. Baby it’s cold outside: snuggle indoors with a winter warmer 9. Girls Night Out: fun, light hearted, a party 10. Bubbly: bubbles for a special occasion Though I was not present at the tasting on the 27th of August at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel in Cape Town, I did meet up with the ladies afterwards for the gala dinner and cocktail party. We were hosted by the Victoria and Alfred Hotel in their Forum venue for the event where the food was prepared by Stephen Templeton who is the Executive Chef for the three restaurants (Victoria and Alfred Hotel, The Dock House Boutique Hotel and Spa, and the Queen Victoria Hotel) in the Newmark Hotels portfolio. Our three course meal was expertly prepared (no small feat for a group of over one hundred guests) and paired with three wines from Fleur Du Cap. I was lucky enough to have Clare Mack from Spill.co.za at my table where I was able to quiz her on the competition details. According to Clare the competition was "the most amazing competition I have ever been to". She was especially happy at how well the women, who came from a number of different backgrounds, racial groups and cultural heritages, got along. The whole competition was conducted sighted and the women were allowed to decide on their favourites while in full view of the labels and price tags. Most of the women I spoke to said that it was an extremely exciting event to be a part of as they were happy to be able to recommend their chosen wines to their friends. All 100 women were put up in the Newmark Group's hotels and were treated to all their meals at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel where I was also fortunate enough to spend the evening after the gala dinner. It was also just as well as the women were certainly set to party after judging all afternoon (most of them admitted to not spitting the wine while they tasted). The Fleur Du Cap wines, made by woman winemaker Andrea Freeborough, went down well with the ladies as they enjoyed their three course meal. Contemporary a cappella group Perfect Score made sure the women were well entertained and even relented to performing two encore songs. The competition was also such a hit with the women, many of whom were visiting Cape Town for the first time, that they all enquired whether they'd be able to enter again next year. The success of the competition has already been noted by the number of new sponsors already showing an interest in participating in 2012. The sponsors for 2011 were Destiny Magazine, Tops at Spar, 1Time Airlines, the Victoria and Alfred Hotel, Cape Town Tourism and event organisers Spill.co.za. For a complete list of winners please click here. To view some pictures from the event please click here to visit our Facebook page.