The Michelangelo International Wine Awards

A short history and background

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. This competition would be unique in South Africa, in that all judges would be from abroad, with one South African judge on the panel only. 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 to select the cream from the crop. From the first year the panel was represented by a variety of countries around the globe, and during the following 12 years (2009 marks the 13th Michelangelo International Wine Awards) the international juries would boast wine judges from not only the wine-making regions of Europe, but also the USA, Australia, the UK and Asia. Up until then all wine competitions in South Africa were run and judged by the wine makers themselves, or local wine personalities. Since its inception in 1997 there has been increasing support for the competition among local producers and today it is considered one of the top wine contests in South Africa with high credibility, transparency and post-event marketing value both locally and abroad.

Early days

In October 1997 the first international jury arrived in South Africa for the first MIWA, then held in Johannesburg. For this first competition, only 146 entries were received – compared to the 1 438 entries received in 2008! Although this was a slow start, the organisers were confident that the support reflected the local wine industry's endorsement of the new competition and what it stood and still 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. In 2003 entries broke the 1 000-mark with 1 056 entries in that year!

Achieving new levels of challenge:

The 2003 competition also marked the start of a new era for the competition when the Michelangelo International Wine Awards was moved to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, the main wine producing area of South Africa. During 2003 the organisers also introduced two new trophies, namely the Sue van Wyk trophy for the best Pinotage and the Swiss International Airlines' Trophy for the best Garagiste wine entered into the competition. With the demise of Swissair a number of other companies stepped in to sponsor trophies and today a total of eight trophies are up for grabs in a variety of categories:

1. The CCL Labels Grand Prix Trophy for the highest scoring wine in the competition
2. The RX South Africa Trophy for the runner-up to the Grand Prix award
3. The Laker & Le Roux Trophy for the Most Innovative Wine entered
4. The Golden Oldie Trophy, sponsored by Stellenbosch Wine Routes
5. The Organic Trophy, sponsored by Wine Tourism News
6. The Sue van Wyk Pinotage Trophy for the highest scoring Pinotage entered
7. The Wine of The Month Club Good Taste Trophy for the best Garagiste entry (small winemakers)
8. The Spiegelau Brandy Trophy for the highest scoring trophy entered

In addition the Michelangelo International Wine Awards awards silver, gold and double gold (Grand d’Or ) medals (no bronze). Winners receive a medal and certificate to hang on the tasting room or cellar wall, and are authorized to purchase silver, gold, double gold and trophy labels to stick on their award-winning wines.

Around the wineworld there is a saying that goes, “Stickers sell wine”, and this certainly rings true when one considers that just over 2,8 million of these were purchased in 2008 to stick on wine bottles for sale in the retail sector and for export.

Opening up to international entries:

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 Grand D'Or medals. A further three international entries, namely from Italy, France and Australia were awarded silver medals in that year.

During the years that followed, international producers continued to enter small volumes of wine in the Michelangelo, although it became increasingly expensive to send wine to the southern tip of Africa in small volumes for entry into wine competitions.

As a result we have been targeting importers of foreign wine into South Africa to provide entries from overseas wine already in the country. However, the Michelangelo International Wine Awards remains on a par with other foreign wine competitions where international juries judge local wines, and should therefore be an option for producers wanting their wine adjudicated by foreign authorities.

Sponsors and judges:

With the 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 historic town of Stellenbosch. Here, in the Cape winelands our foreign judges are now close to the vineyards and the wine estates where South Africa's top wines are produced, and can exchange ideas with local winemakers.

Judges are hand-selected and sit on the panel by invitation only, ensuring that they are of both international standing in the wine industry as well as having credibility and experience as wine makers/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 world-wide, and articles on the Michelangelo International Wine Awards have appeared in magazines as far as Japan!

The Michelangelo 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 entries into the competition. As we enter our 13th year, our objective remains to support local wine makers who are targeting international markets for exports.

We are confident that a wine which has been awarded a top medal by 15 international wine experts, should be well received in international markets, and this remains our strength and our claim to uniqueness and viability.