published on: Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Cape Town's Convention Square was abuzz last week with the ninth RMB
WineX at the CTICC, where wine producers, accessory suppliers, cheese
and olive producers - some 100 exhibitors - showcased their wares at
South Africa's premier wine show.
With Twitter tweets and Facebook postings attesting to the show’s success, innovations such as GREAT DEALS, SLOW in the City lounge, Meridian Master Classes and tours-around-WineX led by Cape Wine Masters added dollops of value to these fabulous nights on the town.
However, the stars of the show were the wines themselves and, accordingly, the Best Wines on Show ballot - voted for by over 10% of the show's visitors - continued to provide a meaningful barometer of popular appreciation of the achievements of the Cape wine industry. This year’s results confirm the show's status as the benchmark showcase of premium wines, presented by top South African producers to a discriminating audience. Many of the cellars included in the Top 10 line-up have consistently featured through the years and so there are not many surprises in 2011 results - which are as follows:
RMB WineX 2011 – Best White Wine on Show 2011: Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay 2010
2nd place: Springfield Life from Stone Sauvignon Blanc 2011
3rd place: Vrede en Lust Viognier 2011
Other wines featured in the Top 10 white wines ranking (including tied positions, in alphabetical order): Ataraxia Chardonnay 2009, Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh 2010, Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Idiom Viognier 2009, Meerlust Chardonnay 2009, Springfield Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Springfield Wild Yeast Chardonnay 2009, Thelema Sauvignon Blanc 2010 and Vrede en Lust Sauvignon Blanc 2010.
RMB WineX 2011 - Best Red Wine on Show 2011: KWV Café Culture Coffee Pinotage 2010
2nd place: Diemersfontein Pinotage 2011
3rd place: Meerlust Rubicon 2007
Other wines featured in the Top 10 red wines ranking (including tied positions, in alphabetical order): Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2010, Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009, Nederburg Ingenuity Red 2008, Raka Quinary 2006, Reyneke Organic Reserve Red 2008, Rupert & Rothschild Classique 2009, Tokara Director’s Reserve Red 2007 and Vrede en Lust Boet Erasmus 2008.
Lower visitor numbers - but (according to exhibitors) the most discerning crowd to date - confirm the value of the strategy to price admission tickets higher to filter attendance and deliver a super-premium audience to exhibitors. Further evidence of the benefit of this approach is to be found in the more than R150 000 of wine purchases transacted through the Shop@Show facility partnered by PicardiRebel. One of the GREAT DEALS, the Rustenberg John X Merriman 2008, was the top seller by volume.
Said WineX director Michael Fridjhon: "We're very pleased with the success of the new look/new feel RMB WineX Cape Town. Without having lost its sense of fun and enjoyment, it has matured into what is clearly the most sophisticated of the wine shows in the Mother City. In a mail after the show Anthony Hamilton Russell observed that WineX in Cape Town "is the best chance we get in the year to show our wines directly to a large number of affluent consumers in an extremely important market."
The 12th RMB WineX Sandton takes place at Sandton Convention Centre from 26 to 28 October. See www.winex.co.za; book at Computicket.
