Each year, three judges, Michael Fridjhon from South Africa, James Halliday from Australia and Bob Campbell from New Zealand, select the best wines in each category from their own country. The judging process is held in Sydney under the auspices of Chairman Robert Joseph. Hannes Myburgh, the owner of Meerlust comments “The Meerlust Merlot 2001 competed against 21 of the best Merlots from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Of the top 5 Merlots selected, three of the wines came from Australia and two from South Africa. We are very proud not only of our Merlot 2001, but that we as South Africans beat fierce competition from Australia and New Zealand in the Merlot category. We had a very good 2001 vintage at Meerlust, with our Rubicon 2001 winning the Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Trophy for Blended Red Wine at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London.” For further information on the Tri Nations competition, visit www.trinationswine.com or on Meerlust visit www.meerlust.co.za