South Africa’s national team of top wine tasters, comprising wine lovers from across the country who qualified via the South African Wine Tasting Championships (SAWTC) earlier this year, will be departing African shores at this end of this week to compete in the World Blind Tasting Championship (WBTC) in Bezier, Languedoc, in France, on 13 October.

South Africa’s team is sponsored by the Nederburg winery near Paarl, one of South Africa’s most awarded and admired names in wine.

This quest for the best by way of a blind wine tasting, will challenge wine tasters from all over the world to correctly identify a wide range of aspects, from cultivar, wine-growing area and vintage, to winery and country.

Nederburg Team South Africa 2018 includes:

- Anita Streicher-Nel (the fourth time she participates)

- Anton Swarts (the third time he competes)

- Welma Smith (her first qualification)

- Pieter de Klerk (his first qualification)

- Cyril Meidinger (substitute) (his first qualification).

Nederburg’s assistant red-wine maker, Heinrich Kulsen, will be joining the team on their trip to Europe, where they’ll be visiting a number of prominent wineries in Spain and France while they undergo vigorous training in the lead-up to the WBTC.

“The competition will be tough, that’s for sure, but the team is so excited and ready to make South Africa proud. This will be the sixth time a South African team partakes in this competition,” said Nederburg Team South Africa 2018 principle and coach, Jean Vincent Ridon. An accomplished winemaker, sommelier and chef, he is also the head of the Sommeliers Academy, the first and only local school providing formal training in its own, as well as South African Sommelier Association (SASA) and Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) accredited programmes.

The annual WBTC is organised by French wine publication, La Revue du Vin de France.

To show your encouragement and support for Nederburg Team South Africa 2018, follow them on Facebook and Twitter:@SAWineChampion.

Interact with Nederburg on social media using the hashtags #NederburgTeamSA2018 #OnceUponaNederburg #SAWTC #WineTasting #Wine