Winemakers from across South Africa are invited to enter this year’s Diners Club Winemaker of the Year and Young Winemaker of the Year awards.

The call for entry opened last week and the clock is ticking towards the announcement of these sought-after honours at a gala ceremony in November.

The Winemaker and Young Winemaker awards focus on quality and the recognition of excellence and are among the country’s most prestigious and respected wine industry competitions.

While most wine industry awards focus on winning wines, these awards celebrate the creators of the winning wines, honouring the skills and talents of the vintners.

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White blends and red wine

The awards are presented to winemakers who produce a wine that the judging panel considers to be the best in the two specified categories for the annual competition.

This year, the category for the 46th Winemaker of the Year award is white blends. The 26th Young Winemaker of the Year award will focus on red wine as the category.

As in previous years, winemakers can be shortlisted for more than one submission and the competition is open to all in the South African wine industry at no cost, affording all winemakers an equal opportunity.

The closing date for entries is Monday 31 August.

Last year’s winners

The winner of the 2025 Winemaker of the Year award was Connie Snyman of Rock of Eye Wines. The category focused on for this award was cabernet sauvignon, with Snyman’s Rock of Eye Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 winning over the judges.

The Young Winemaker of the Year award for 2025 was awarded to Marnich Aucamp of Stellenbosch Vineyards. This category focused on white wines, with Aucamp’s Credo Chenin Blanc 2022 taking the first place.

About the awards

Diners Club introduced the Winemaker of the Year award to encourage local winemakers to raise the standard of wines produced in SA.

The Young Winemaker of the Year award was established to encourage winemakers under the age of 30 to develop their skills, express their individuality and add to the future prestige of South African wines internationally.

The finalists for both awards, to be announced in due course, will be invited to a black-tie gala dinner on Saturday 21 November, where the winners will be revealed and presented with their trophies.

The winning Winemaker of the Year and the Young Winemaker of the Year receive a cash prize of R75 000 and R45 000, respectively, as well as a return air ticket to visit any wine-producing region in the world.

For more information or to enter, visit www.dinersclub.co.za.

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