South Africa’s only consumer-generated wine tourism competition, The Klink Awards, is back this Tourism Month. Now in its fourth year, it’s pre-selected 77 nominees across 17 different categories for the public to visit and vote for online, via Facebook, Twitter or email. Hosted in collaboration with Wesgro – the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for the Western Cape – some of this year’s fun categories are:
• Tracks & Trails: the best hikes, runs and bike routes in a vineyard
• The Wild Card: off-the-wall or unusual attractions on a wine estate
• The Tread Gently: most sustainable practices followed by wine labels and estates
• On the Hop: (new category) best craft beer made by a microbrewery on a wine farm or route
Votes can be cast for 10-weeks until 13th November where after they’re tallied and audited to announce the 2015 winners as well as the overall Supanova. Past winners include Harvest at Laborie, The Spice Route and Blaauwklippen.
Well-supported by the public in previous years – over 13 000 unique votes were cast in 2014 – the Klink Awards is a twist on the traditional wine industry accolades which are judged by heavy-weight experts; Klink turns this on its head and, by tapping into the always-on consumer community, invites the public to be the judge instead. The result is a democratic snapshot of which wine estates and routes are trending in Western Cape wine tourism right now.
We have highlighted 12 of our favourite wine estates below to give you an idea of what the Cape Winelands have to offer.
The wine farm that sets the standard for green, planet-friendly farming practices in terms of sustainable viticulture and wine production, biodiversity and conservation initiatives, as well as organic or biodynamic viticulture is celebrated with this award. Waterkloof Wine Estate Untamed winemaking reigns supreme at Waterkloof Estate, recognised for its cutting-edge sustainable endeavours and environmentally responsible […] More
The winner of this category has launched a new winery or winelands experience in the last 24 months. This award is for a new wine tourism offering or a tasting room revamp with new tasting experiences offered to wine tourists. The New Release adds to the full South African wine tourism offering. Laborie’s Taste tapas […] More