Chair of the judging panel, Dr Gawie Botma, praised the high standard of entries. Although the winning piece was unanimously chosen as the winner, the judges were equally impressed by the quality of writing, research and interesting arguments presented by many of the entrants.
James is a South African writer with an international writing reputation and acts as local consultant for The World Atlas of Wine. He contributes to both the Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Grapes and is a frequent contributor to the British journal the World of Fine Wine. The University of California Press published his 'Wines of the New South Africa: Tradition and Revolution', this year.
The competition aims to reward in-depth wine writing about topics that affect the industry and offer fresh insights to the wine industry. The winner received a cash prize of R30,000.
Standard Bank has committed itself to the competition for next year and, once a new topic has been agreed upon, Du Toitskloof Wines will announce the opening date for entries for the 2014 competition.
