ENTRIES OPEN FOR
SECOND DU TOITSKLOOF WINE WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN ASSOCIATION WITH STANDARD
BANK
Entries are awaited
from published wine writers and bloggers for the second Du Toitskloof Wines
Wine Writer of the Year competition, in association with Standard Bank.
Entrants have to submit an unpublished, researched
article on “The role and/or history of design in contributing to the uniqueness
of the South African wine industry.”
Marius Louw, Chief Executive Officer of Du Toitskloof
Wines, said it was only natural for this year’s topic to link directly to Cape
Town as the World Design Capital for 2014.
“Cape Town is inextricably linked to the history of
wine and winemaking in South Africa and these days also to wine tourism. The
design of wine labels, restaurants, cellar buildings and tasting rooms has
played a pivotal role in creating an image for the South African wine industry.
Today creative designs are incorporated in more and more wineries and wine
labels not only as a marketing tool locally but also to distinguish brands
overseas and create memorable experiences for tourists visiting wine farms and
estates in South Africa.
“Our wine writer
competition aims to inspire writers, capture the essence of the South African
wine industry and to offer a platform for wine journalists to be recognized for
providing fresh insights to those working in the industry. And we are very
excited to see the result of entries flowing from our choice of topic for this
year’s competition.”
Entrants are
encouraged to identify their own area for discussion within the topic, but
these could include aspects of architecture, packaging, interior design and
technology that have contributed to the character of Brand South Africa.
Articles must be thoroughly researched and referenced, but the judges are also
looking for a sense of creativity in keeping with the topic.
Alayne Reesberg, CEO for Cape Town World
Design Capital 2014, says by recognising the role of the wine culture in
contributing to the aesthetics and culture of the Cape, the Du Toitskloof Wine
Writer of the Year Competition, in association with Standard Bank, will create
an exciting narrative to add to this year's World Design Capital activities.
"Design and wine are both about creativity, and getting creative minds -
such as wine writers - to contribute to the theme of wine, design and the Cape
culture will create a lasting legacy. Their stories inevitably will be about
more than just the wine – they are about the people and communities that plant
and harvest and the skills and palates of the winemakers. All these things,
together, constitute the legacy. The combination of South Africa's talented
wine writers and a city and region with a 355 year old wine culture has the
potential to create riveting journalism. We look forward to what these creative
minds come up with and wish each entrant the best of luck."
Standard Bank has
continued its commitment in supporting the competition for a consecutive year
and Willie du Plessis, Head of Business Banking in the Western Cape comments
that “the wine industry remains a very important player in the South African
economy and the sustainability of the industry is key to Standard Bank. We
subscribe to the research done by wine writers about the industry as a value
adding and rewarding initiative co-sponsored by Standard Bank.”
Entries need to be
submitted by 26 September at 16.00 and professional services firm PwC
will once again oversee the entries, facilitate the judging process
and reveal the winner at a gala dinner to be held in November 2014. The prize
money for the winning entry is R30 000.
To ensure continuity the judging panel will remain the
same, chaired by Dr Gawie Botma of the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch
University. The judges are Erns Grundling, multi-award winning features and
lifestyle writer; Maureen Joubert, veteran wine journalist and a past editor of Wynboer (today Wineland);
and Prof Ian Glenn who heads the Department of Media Studies at the University
of Cape Town. Entries will be judged based on the quality of the research, of
the writing, its user-friendliness, creativity, credibility of sources as well
as originality and insight.
