Call for entry: inaugural Nedbank Organic Wine Awards

Competition details

Producers can enter in two categories - Best Organic Wine Award or Best Environmental Practice Award.

Entries for the Best Organic Wine may be from the 2009 or earlier vintages, or blends of various vintages. Wines must be in market-ready condition - tank/barrel samples will not be accepted.

Submissions for the Best Environmental Practice Award must include a certification of conformance to IPW with a 60% rating with an external audit having taken place within the last three years, or relevant organic certification must be supplied along with a comprehensive motivation for entry.

Entries should be submitted by 2 October, or else a late fee of R350 will be charged. The results will be published in the December 2009 edition of Wine magazine.

Entry forms can be dowloaded from: http://www.winemag.co.za/article/organic-wine-awards-2009-09-28

Organic encouragement

"Our aim is to create public awareness around wine growing that takes account of the environment and in so doing to encourage the quality and production of wine from organically grown grapes," explained Wine's editor, Christian Eedes.

Entries will be judged blind using guidelines set out by the Integrated Production of Wine, incorporating the Biodiversity Wine Initiative. The IPW was established by the SA wine industry to provide wine buyers with a guarantee that grapes are produced with due consideration for the environment and the wine is safe for the consumer.

The panel of judges will include IPW auditor Lourens van Schoor, manager of the Biodiversity Wine Initiative Inge Kotze and environmental consultant for Woolworths, Tom McLaughlin.

Nedbank has a long history of involvement in the wine industry, with its involvement in the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Development Trust helping families of farm workers.

The Nedbank Green Trust, meanwhile, has been pivotal in establishing the Biodiversity Wine Initiative, which is aimed at encouraging responsible land usage and farming within the wine industry. Its sponsorship of the Organic Wine Awards further supports its aim to be the leading 'green bank'.