PIWOSA Flight Club At CapeWine 2018 Stumps Local Wine Professionals

Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA), well-known internationally for their execution of innovative marketing programmes, hosted their inspired Flight Club competition for the first time in South Africa at CapeWine 2018.

64 local sommeliers and wine professionals registered to test their skills in a series of blind comparative tastings of premium South African wines versus some of the very best wines in the world. Highly regarded French wines were hidden in five flights of South African wines from PIWOSA producers, the flights being Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Bordeaux-style red blends/varietals. On arrival the candidates checked in with the head air stewardess, received their passport and boarding passes and proceeded to the respective airport gates, hosted by PIWOSA’s Women in Wine ladies, to begin the tasting. All they had to do was correctly pinpoint the one French wine in each flight, with a great prize up for grabs: an all-expenses paid trip to Burgundy in France for a week. Seemingly simple, however not one of the 64 contestants correctly managed this feat.

“While we are sad to not be sending anyone to Burgundy, we are extremely proud as this result proves that South Africa’s premium wines proudly hold their own in international company”, says Rollo Gabb, Chairman of PIWOSA. “These local results mirror our international experience over the past five years when presenting the Flight Club in the UK, Singapore, Japan, China, Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Canada. The fact that only one participant to date, Zachary Tay, group sommelier for SPRMRKT Singapore, correctly detected the French wine in each of the five flights, demonstrates the incredible quality that South Africa delivers on the International stage. These results are an endorsement of PIWOSA’s mission of helping raise the profile of the premium South African wine category internationally”, continued Rollo Gabb.

PIWOSA Flight Club at CapeWine 2018 Results

The highest number of correct answers were three out of the five French wines with 12 contenders receiving this result. Congratulations to Clark Truter, Daniel Johansson, Debi van Flyman, Eric Botha, Higgo Jacobs, Jean Vincent Ridon, Joakim Blackadder, Manuel Cabello, Marine Point, Miguel Chan, Rene Groenewald and Shirley Muswema. The Chenin Blanc Flight led the way with 67.2% of the entrants spotting the French wine, followed by the Chardonnay Flight (39.1%), Pinot Noir (23.4%), Syrah (20.3%) and Bordeaux-style red blends/varietals (18.8%). For the full set of results, visit https://piwosa.com/piwosa-capewine-flight-club-results/

The PIWOSA Mile High Club competition followed with a sixth flight of five South African wines where competitors had to correctly identify the variety/varieties. Any prospective winner of The Flight Club would have the chance to double up with a second flight to Burgundy by passing the Mile-High Club challenge. Here Sauvignon Blanc stood out with 51.6% of the entrants identifying the varietal, followed by Cabernet Franc (28.1%), Rhône-style red blend (14.1%), Barbera (6.3%), Roussanne (4.7%) and Bordeaux-style red blend (1.6%).

PIWOSA

Formed in 2013 with full support from Wines of South Africa (WOSA), PIWOSA is a collective of eleven likeminded, dynamic, independent wine producers. Operating as a united force, the members travel extensively, hosting ingenious presentations in targeted export markets to capture attention, re-set opinions and build a positive reputation and increased demand for all premium South African wines. 76 creative and dynamic events have been executed internationally over the past five years and a further 20 international events will be taking place by 2020.

PIWOSA Members: Bruce Jack Wines, De Grendel, Glenelly, Jordan, Journey’s End, Ken Forrester Vineyards, Klein Constantia, Paul Cluver, Raats Family Wines, Radford Dale, Springfield

Website: www.piwosa.com · Email: info@piwosa.com