Terms and Conditions
Fine Wine Awards
Fine Wine Awards Terms and Conditions
1. Important dates
Online entries open on 31 October 2024 and close on 29 January 2025.
Judging will take place from 28 April to 16 May 2025.
Winners will be announced on 15 June 2025.
2. Entry fees and payments
The entry fee is R99 (VAT excluded) per entry.
After completing the online entry form, you will receive an invoice for payment.
Payments for all entries are due immediately. Please send proof of payment to meagan@finewineawards.co.za.
No refunds will be processed for wines withdrawn from the awards.
3. Entry procedure
After submitting your entry online at www.finewineawards.co.za you will receive a confirmation email.
Wine sample deliveries will be scheduled from 12 February to 29 March 2025. Please check your confirmation email to see on which day you must deliver your wine samples.
Wine samples can be delivered from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 16:00 at this address:
Unit 1 Southern Cross Village, Capricorn Boulevard South, Capricorn Business Park, Muizenberg, 7945. (Wine-of-the-Month Club is also on these premises.) https://goo.gl/maps/2o9o68mBVWXVoda78
Each entry must consist of 4 bottles of 750 ml, with seal codes matching the wine certification.
Submit each entry in a separate box.
Include 1 copy of the entry form per sample as well as proof of payment inside the box.
Put labels with the wine producer’s name and the name of the wine on the wine sample bottles that will be packed inside the box, and also put these labels on the outside of the box.
The analysis information captured on the entry form must correspond with the information on the certificate, eg the alcohol percentage on the bottle must be the same as that on the certificate.
Should a producer plan to bottle and market a particular product under more than 1 name or label, they must enter each product individually as a separate entry.
Wines entered do not have to be market-ready.
You must declare that the wine you've entered as well as the sample thereof have been made according to the regulations of wine production in South Africa and that no flavourings have been used during its production.
Tank samples are not accepted.
Award stickers may only be displayed on wines that were awarded a medal or trophy on that specific brand name or label.
4. Judging process
All wines will be blind-tasted by an independent panel of judges, as selected by the convener of judges, Malu Lambert.
Wines will be judged according to the cultivar to which they belong and the category in which they have been entered.
The international 100-point system will be used.
Medals or stickers will be awarded as follows:
(i) Trophy award: Top-scoring wine in class
(ii) Gold: 95+ points
(iii) Silver: 90 to 94 points
(iv) Bronze: 85 to 89 points
Wines winning awards may be submitted to the Wine & Spirit Board, and/or a private laboratory to confirm that the wine submitted is the same as the certified wine.
Top-scoring wines chosen by the panel and at the discretion of the wine writer and critic, Malu Lambert, will qualify to be re-tasted for the trophy winners.
The judges' selection of award-winning wines is final.
5. Award stickers
An email with the link to order the stickers online will be emailed to the qualifying winners.
The winners can order these stickers online and collect them from Unit 1 Southern Cross Village, Capricorn Boulevard South, Capricorn Business Park, Muizenberg, 7945.
If the winners rather want to receive these stickers by courier (courier cost for your own account), they must indicate it on the order form.
Deadline for sticker orders: 23 June 2025.
Bottle sticker orders can be accepted in batches of 1 000 stickers only.
Once collected or mailed, no stickers will be returned for a refund and the named wine estate or producer will be responsible for paying for the stickers.
To collect the stickers, winners must show their proof of payment or they must have emailed the proof of payment before collection.
Stickers may only be applied to the wine that has won the Fine Wine Award.
6. Sticker cost and payment
Each sticker costs R0.50 (excluding VAT).
Winners will receive an invoice once they've ordered the stickers. Winners must send their proof of payment for the stickers to meagan@finewineawards.co.za.
7. Reproduction guidelines
Any reproduction or representation, either total or partial, of the Fine Wine Awards medals, logo, name, or any part whatsoever of the website is strictly forbidden without prior written agreement from the organisers of the awards.
Digital or printed reproduction of medals may not be made without authorisation, and the graphic representation may not be modified or adapted in any way whatsoever.
8. Results
The judges and organisers decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into by entering this competition.
All contestants and producers must adhere to this criteria. Results will not be sent to entrants with outstanding invoices.
Producers who win trophies must share 36 bottles of their trophy-winning wine free of charge to be used for the Fine Wine Awards announcement event.
9. Unused and unopened entries
The organisers will donate any unopened entries to charity, or they will sell them and donate the proceeds to charity.
10. Event organizer
Fine Wine Awards is the sole organiser of this competition. All responsibilities related to the management and execution of the event, including participant entries and overall event conduct, are solely held by the Fine Wine Awards.
11. Dispute resolution and prize fulfilment
Fine Wine Awards assumes full responsibility for the resolution of any disputes arising from this competition, as well as for the fulfilment of all prizes and awards.
The sponsors, including American Express, will bear no liability in relation to such disputes or for the awarding and delivery of prizes.
By completing the online entry application, you confirm that you accept the terms and conditions of the Fine Wine Awards and acknowledge that you are responsible for and have authority to proceed with the entry.
Thank you and best of luck!