This time, following two hugely successful South African wine judgings, the IWSC will be focusing not only on the country’s wines, but also on its spirits.
The IWSC Wine & Spirits Judging in South Africa will take place on 23-26 June in Stellenbosch with the results announced on 1 July.
Victoria Mason, the buyer at Bordeaux Index, joined the IWSC in South Africa in 2022 and shared, “This trip has increased my understanding and knowledge of South African wine. This immersion in the wines of the country, through producer and vineyard visits, deepens all of our understanding in a way that tasting and judging blind in a room in London can never achieve. I think it encourages us to judge each wine as an individual and think about it in its context”.
The IWSC is excited to be bringing to South Africa another strong panel of international wine judges, all globally renowned for their expertise.
IWSC’s 2024 South African judging panel
- John Hoskins MW – IWSC’s Judging Committee member, overseeing the judging panels. Owner of The Old Bridge, UK-based restaurant, hotel and wine shop.
- Rebecca Palmer – Associate Director and Buyer at Corney & Barrow, one of the oldest independent wine merchants in the UK.
- Matthew Horsley – Wine Buyer at The Wine Society, the world's oldest wine club.
- Vincenzo Arnese - Director of Wine at Raffles London at The OWO, 5 star hotel.
- Libby Brodie - Wine Consultant and Columnist, founder of Bacchus & Brodie Wine Consultancy and City AM’s dedicated wine columnist.
- Xenia Ruscombe-King MW - Wine Buyer at Waitrose, the UK’s leading premium supermarket chain.
The benefits of entering the IWSC’s Global Judging in South Africa include:
- Convenient local delivery in Paarl - alleviating the time consuming shipping process and costly shipping fees and taxes.
- Exposure to the wine industry’s key decision-makers – IWSC judges comprise of key decision makers in the on- and off-trade, Buyers, Sommeliers and Communicators.
- Building industry connections - following the blind tasting, the IWSC reveal the names of the medal winners to the judges. Likewise, they reveal the names of the judges who tasted your wines. This often ignites international collaborations andhelps winners get new listings.
- Potential UK listings - following a successful medal haul at a recent IWSC Global Judging, South African wine producer, Vergelegen Wine Estate secured multiple listings with IWSC judges – including national listings with Waitrose (UK’s leading premium supermarket chain) and Majestic Wine (UK's specialist wine retailer) and on-trade listing with Mason Estelle (London private members club).
- Year-round international media coverage - IWSC winners are regularly featured in key media, from Forbes to Time Out and many others.
- Dedicated year-round promotional campaign – showcasing winners across IWSC’s channels.
- Free entry to the IWSC’s Old Vine Trophy – recognising producers working to preserve and protect old vines and spread awareness of the importance of nurturing heritage vineyards.
- Free entry to the IWSC’s Green Wine Initiative Trophy – shining a spotlight on the myriad of considerate viticulture and wine making practices underway across the world.
Key dates
Discover more information HERE and use the following code for a 5% discount on entries: IWSCWINECOZA24.