Engelbrecht Els win gold

Date: 08/08/2005

Ernie Els, Jean Engelbrecht and their team at Engelbrecht Els Vineyards (EEV) are celebrating their recent win at a prestigious international wine competition.

Engelbrecht Els proprietor’s blend won gold medal at the International Wine Challenge, the world’s biggest and most influential wine competition.

A unique blend of six varietals, Engelbrecht Els proprietor’s blend is made by the EEV cellar master, Louis Strydom and reflects the owners’ commitment to quality as well as their vision to produce an exceptional South African wine.

The wine represents a first for South African wine-making and symbolises the winemaking partnership between the two friends. The wine pairs Els’ and Engelbrecht’s palates: the former leaning towards a Bordeaux style, and the latter preferring a Rhone or Shiraz-based style.

After six years of being involved in the wine industry, I’m as enthusiastic as day one,” said Ernie Els. Referring to the Wine Challenge accolade, Els said: “This award comes at a good time as the Engelbrecht Els proprietor’s blend is a new wine coming out of South Africa and it is rewarding to see we are on the right track. Els added.

Friend and partner Jean Engelbrecht agrees. “Being the recipient of a wine award always comes as a welcome surprise, and what made this so special was that it was for first vintage of an entirely new blend for this country,” he said.

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) sees almost 40 000 bottles of wine arriving at The Barbican – the venue for the tasting situated in the heart of London. The panel of judges includes about 50 Masters of Wine and top international producers.

Discussing trends in the wine industry the organisers of the IWC say the average quality of wine is rising at an unprecedented rate and as such branding is more crucial than ever. “The most cost-effective way to achieve this is to prove the quality of the wine against its peers in a well-run competition,” maintains IWC Chairman, Robert Joseph.

Engelbrecht agrees with Joseph’s assessment about branding and quality. “At Engelbrecht Els Vineyards we believe quality is the differentiator that is setting our wines apart from the pack and quality is the only benchmark against which we measure our success,” he says.