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A NUMBER of local wine businesses were singled out for attention at the inaugural Financial Mail Wine Business Awards, held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, last week.

The event celebrated the exceptional performance of the category winners in terms of best business practise, innovation and leadership.

Bruce Jack of Flagstone Winery, situated on the AECI property, was named Personality of the Year while Lourensford Honey Liqueur, a product of Lourensford Wine Estate, won the Design & Packaging category. A little further afield, The Company of Wine People near Spier claimed the prize for Best Launch, while Kleine Zalze cleaned up in the Business Awards division for both the Wine Company of the Year and Export Star categories.

Awards convenors John Woodward of Frogitt & Vonkel Private Wine Merchants and founder of the Joburg Wine Show, and Alluvia wine estate owner Delarey Brugman, were unanimous that the awards met their initial goal. "The rationale behind the awards was to shift the industry's focus away from the content in the bottle and instead concentrate on the contributions of those role players throughout the value chain. We felt that is was important to acknowledge the unsung heroes of the industry," says Woodward.

A panel of independent international and local industry experts in finance, retail, marketing and advertising, brand building, packaging and design as well as logistics and distribution reviewed the entries in fifteen different categories.

Bruce Jack was recognised for his "dynamic and vocal impact" on changing the traditional face of the wine industry.

The Wine Personality of the Year award is presented to one person who has significantly contributed to the wine industry. Judges looked for exemplary leadership, business acumen and major deal broking achievement.

Jack was recognised for the Constellation deal, which saw Constellation Europe - the largest producer of wine by volume in the world and one of the top multi-national premium drinks companies - acquire Flagstone Winery.

Stellenbosch-based champagne importer Inke Gouws, was crowned Young Achiever, while Stellenbosch American Express Wine Route CEO Annareth Jacobs was voted as the Brand Manager of the Year.

In the marketing category, agency Jack Russell Design won both Best Trade Campaign for Lourensford and in conjunction with Peace of Mind Advertising Consultancy won Best Consumer Campaign for Avondale. Lourensford Honey Liqueur won the Design & Packaging category.

Kleine Zalze's awards came in the light of the company's aggressive growth figures.

The award for the Best Launch went to the Company of Wine People for the launch of their Welmoed 4-pack.

The judges found that this made good strides into difficult, but key markets. The clear and tangible impact that this launch delivered with an immediate 63% increase in sales clinched the award for them.

Other winners included Stormhoek for Best Low Budget campaign; Vineyard Connection for logistics; Makro as Retailer of the Year; Winesense as Independent Retailer award; The Winery of Good Hope for the Sustainable BEE Deal of the Year; and, restaurateur Alan Pick as On-Trade Business Person.

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