Diners Club Winemaker of the Year 2006 is named

The annual Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award, for which the judging category this year was chardonnay, has been presented to Franschhoek winemaker Gottfried Mocke for his Chamonix Chardonnay Reserve 2005. His ‘standard’ Chardonnay 2005 came second in a taste-off.

According to the organisers, 127 wines were entered of which 58 made it to a second round and 13 wines were involved in the final taste-off from which the top ten were chosen.

Francois Agenbag of Wolseley was named Young Winemaker of the Year for his Mountain Ridge (previously Romansrivier) Seven Oaks 6 + 1 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2004. The competition attracted 62 from producers aged 30 or younger for the category dry red.

The highest-scoring chardonnays in the competition, apart from the winner, were:
Chamonix Chardonnay 2005 (Gottfried Mocke)
De Wetshof D’Honneur Chardonnay 2005 (Danie de Wet)
Haut Espoir Reserve Chardonnay 2005 (Nikey van Zyl)
Jordan Chardonnay 2004 (Gary Jordan)
KWV Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay 2005 (Tania Joubert)
Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2005 (Mike Dobrovic)
Quoin Rock Cape Agulhas Chardonnay 2003 (Carl van der Merwe)
Sterhuis Chardonnay 2005 (Johan Kruger)
Tokara Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2005 (Miles Mossop).

In the Young Winemaker competition, the other high scorers were:
Diemersfontein Pinotage 2006 (Francois Roode)
Fairview Shiraz 2005 (Erlank Erasmus)
Groenland Antoinette-Marie Reserve 2004 (Piet Kleinhans)
Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Bartho van der Westhuizen)
Lategan Family Reserve Touriga Naçional 2005 (Daniel du Toit, Bergsig)
Quoin Rock Syrah 2004 (Carl van der Merwe)
Saxenburg Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2003 (Edwin Grace)
Scarborough Red 2004 (Duncan Savage, Cape Point)
Spruitdrift Merlot 2005 (Johan Weideman).