The Michelangelo International Wine Awards was created in 1997 by Lorraine Immelman, a wine lover and marketing/public relations consultant, when she identified a need in the wine industry for the creation of an international wine competition for South Africa: an international jury from Europe, the USA, UK and Asia judging local wines. Up to then local wine competitions were run and judged by the wine makers themselves, and were under scrutiny for not being objective or fair.

Since its inception there has been increasing support for the competition among local producers and today it is considered one of the top three wine contests in South Africa.

With this international competition the organisers aim to annually identify South African wines which will fare well in international markets, hence the appointment of an international panel. The organisers endeavour to invite only one judge for a particular country, including South Africa. Early days

In October 1997 the first international jury, consisting of 10 international and two local judges, arrived in South Africa for the first MIWA, then held in Johannesburg. For this first competition, only 146 entries were received! Although this was a small number, the organisers were confident that it reflected the local wine industry's endorsement of the new competition and what it stands for. Entries have since increased steadily by an average of 30% per year to 187 the following year, 301 in 1999, 423 in 2000 and a staggering 1 056 entries in 2003!

The competition is a vibrant, exciting annual project which endeavours to be alive not only for a few weeks of the year, but in future to offer opportunities and prospects for the top winners throughout the year, and to a bigger audience.

The 2003 competition also marked the start of a new era for the competition when the Michelangelo International Wine Awards was moved to the Western Cape, the main wine producing area of South Africa.

The organisers also introduced two new trophies, namely the Sue van Wyk trophy for the best Pinotage and the 2003 Swiss International Airlines' Trophy for the best Garagiste wine entered into the competition.

As from 2004 Good Taste magazine and the Wine of the Month Club have joined forces with the organisers of the Michelangelo International Wine Awards for the promoting of the competition's winning wines in general and the winner of the Garagiste trophy in particular. This exciting development will offer these small wine makers a platform to also promote their wine to passengers on Nationwide Airlines, of which Good Taste is the official on-board magazine.

The organisers continue to seek new opportunities for the competition's top wines and our 2003 Grand Prix winner, Pierre Wahl of Rijk's Private Cellar, spent a week in Finland where he attended various wine tastings as well as the Helsinki Food and Wine Show in March 2004. He also had the opportunity to talk about his wine and his work at the Rijk's cellar, while at the same time promoting the other wines awarded Grand Gold medals in the 2003 competition. The organisers seek to continue offering the winners international opportunities and will endeavour to identify further opportunities abroad for future winners.

In 2003 the organisers were approached by a number of foreign producers, and as a result the competition was opened to international entries. Sixteen foreign wines were entered, among them the Australian Wilson's Oak Chardonnay 2001 which was awarded one of only 19 Grande D'Or medals. A further three international entries, namely from Italy, France and Australia were awarded silver medals.

With the five star Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg as venue sponsor from 1997 to 2002, the competition was off to a good start. However, since the competition's organisers' decision to move from Johannesburg to the Cape, the venue has changed to the beautiful Spier Wine Estate outside the picturesque old village of Stellenbosch. The estate is the competition's title sponsor until 2005 (inclusive). Here, in the Cape winelands our foreign judges are close to the vineyards and the wine estates where South Africa's top wines are produced, and can exchange ideas with local winemakers. The organisers choose the judges carefully, ensuring that they are of both international standing in the wine industry as well as having credibility and experience as wine writers/editors for international food and wine and travel publications. This ensures that the competition, as well as its sponsors and award-winning winemakers and estates receive good publicity. The Michelangelo International Wine Awards is a totally independent competition with no interest or claims whatsoever in or from the wine industry. The competition is mainly self-funding, through sponsors, the sale of award labels for winning wines and the payment of entry into the competition.