About Us

The great wines which portray the uniqueness of South Africa’s diverse “terroir”, the French and international term for  specific wine growing terrains, are highlighted at the Novare South African Terroir Wine Awards.

The Novare South African Terroir Wine Awards is the brainchild of Marius Labuschagne, renowned wine writer and marketer from Durbanville. It was created to define the various terroir types of the Cape.

Terroir has been the buzzword among wine aficionados for several years now. The basic concept is to discover wines that best reflect the terroir in which they are produced.

Since all the strict rules of producing vineyards within a quota system in the certain areas were stopped many years ago, a lot of agricutaral sites have come to the fore as prime winegrowing areas.

There is a definite increase in producers who want to portray the unique origins of their wines. In the past years the Wine and Spirit Board has registered various new wine wards and wine districts after recieving applications from producers in those areas.

The Novare South African Terroir Wine Awards honours the wines which truly portray South Africa’s diffirent wine growing areas. All entries must be a certified Wine of Origin from a specific Ward, Estate or Vinyard.

In partnership with the Department of Agriculture in the Western Cape and as an investment in skills development and transformation in agriculture, Novare are also funding a bursary towards a career in the agricultural field. Training courses take place at the Cape Institute for Agriculture Training at Elsenburg, Stellenbosh.