2015Chenin Blanc AssociationChairman’s ReportKen Forrester 16 November 2015

CBA Annual General Meeting: 20

November 2015Chairman’s Report

We are in our 15th year as an Association and I’m so proud of what we have achieved with your support and assistance the past few years. Also, our partnership with Standard Bank has given us the opportunity to take chenin to another level.

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The second annual Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge unlocked the obvious potential of Chenin. KWV, Perdeberg, Simonsig, Spier and Stellenrust once again impressed judges for a second year an indication of these cellars’ reputation for high quality Chenin Blanc wines. New winners included Aeternitas, Boutinot, DeMorgenzon, L'Avenir and Leopard's Leap.

A total of 145 wines were entered into the competition, (15% up from the previous year). The five-person panel included Christian Eedes (chairperson), Jamie Goode from the UK, Higgo Jacobs, François Rautenbach, Cathy van Zyl (MW), as well as associate judges Jaap-Henk Koelewijn and Tongai Joseph Dhafana.

The full list of winners:

Aeternitas Wines 2010Boutinot Tea Leaf 2014DeMorgenzon Reserve 2014KWV Cathedral Cellar 2014L'Avenir Single Block 2014Leopard's Leap Wines Culinaria Collection 2014Perdeberg Winery The Dry Land Collection Barrel Fermented 2014Simonsig Chenin Avec Chêne 2014Spier 21 Gables 2014Stellenrust 49 Barrel Fermented 2013

The awards event took place at Cape Grace on 27th August 2015 and winners again received R20 000 each and the money will be spent on improving the social and economic well-being of the staff on the farm. There were many proud moments earlier this year at the handover of the Challenge 2014 prize winning events.

New collaboration events with Standard Bank also took place in 2015, including participation in the Standard Bank Cheese Festival, the Juliet Cullinan Wine Show and consumer events at Century City. Our sponsor also arranged two Top Billing inserts this year, end of January and also an insert of the Awards event.

We are so proud of category chenin and many other Chenins were rated highly in local and international publications. A few of these accolades:

Botanica Wines Mary Delany Chenin Blanc 2014 Platter 5 starsKaapzicht Wine Estate The 1947 Chenin Blanc 2014 Platter 5 starsKen Forrester Wines Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2014 Platter 5 stars

DeMorgenson Reserve Chenin Blanc 2014 Trophy, IWC Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2013 Best White Wine at Concours Mondial The FMC 2013 Trophy, IWSC Boland Reserve No 1 Chenin Blanc 2014 (unwooded) Winner of the General Smuts Trophy for Best Wine at the SA Young Wine Show

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Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines reviewed over the previous 12 months and select Top 100, based on quality, value, availability and excitement. This annual list honors successful wineries, regions and vintages around the world. Congratulations to Adam Mason with Mulderbosch W Block Chenin at no 63!

The following South African wines also stand out as having received top accolades from the top tasting panels for at least eight vintages during the past 10 years – 2005 to 2014:

Beaumont Hope MargueriteBellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc Kanu KCB Chenin BlancKleine Zalze Cellar Selection Bush Vines Chenin BlancThe FMC

I would like to highlight a few other activities of the past year.

Chenin Blanc tasting with Jancis Robinson Jancis tasted a selection of chenins at Delaire Graff in January and her comment: “One of the most interesting tastings I undertook while in South Africa was of a selection of 27 of the country's finest examples of the most planted grape variety, Chenin Blanc. As witness the history of Malbec in Argentina, Shiraz in Australia and Sangiovese in Tuscany, ubiquity does little to improve the standing of a vine variety in a country, and it has similarly taken time for South Africans to realise and celebrate the potential of their finest Chenin Banc vines, typically old, unirrigated bush vines”.

Chenin Party 14 September 2015 The concept of a Chenin Party was discussed at the AGM last year. The CBA, together with our partner Standard Bank, hosted a first ever Chenin Party on the eve of Cape Wine at The Grand Café & Beach at Granger Bay. The lunch time party celebrated the diversity of South African Chenin Blanc. The 50 participating producers were joined by International Cape Wine guests, local media, local trade as well as some of Standard Bank’s customers.

Jamie Goode also attended the event and published some highlights. His comments: “It’s great that Chenin Blanc is now fully recognized as one of South Africa’s strongpoints. I guess this isn’t anything new, but the change over recent years is the gain of momentum behind this variety. It’s so adaptable, and this stylistic variation is a source of interest, whether the variation is through soils, aspects, climates or even wine making choices. Steadily, this resource of old vines is being translated into interesting vines”.

Many thanks to the sub-committee who worked tirelessly to make this event a success.

Cape Wine 15-17 September 2015

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Cape Wine 2015 was again the Business contact showcase of the SA Wine industry. A very successful event and we showcased the Standard Bank/Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge winners of 2015. ..

Breedekloof launches Chenin Blanc InitiativeI would also like to highlight this wonderful initiative. We had the opportunity to taste these excellent wines earlier this year. Breedekloof Wine Valley has 15% of all Chenin Blanc plantings and supplies 21% or one-fifth of all the wine made from Chenin in South Africa. This has prompted the Breedekloof winemakers to produce small quantities of Chenin Blanc using innovative winemaking methods and expressing terroirs, especially old vineyards, which has resulted in the Breedekloof Chenin Blanc Initiative. Nine wineries, all members of the Breedekloof Wine Route, form part of this exciting collaboration, and have all launched a 2014 vintage into the market: Bergsig Estate/ Botha Cellar/ Breeland/ Deetlefs Estate/ Goudini Wines/ Lateganskop/ Merwida/ Opstal Estate/ uniWines Vineyards.

CBA Social Media The CBA is successfully continuing the exciting social media platform. We have now reached 3302 followers on Twitter and are active on our Facebook page. Links to media articles/blogs are on our Facebook and Twitter pages and we are in process to add twitter and FB live feeds to our website. The value of Social media was again demonstrated clearly after the Awards event with blogs/articles with value in excess of R1, 400 000. During the Awards Event our twitter #topchenin was trending as no 1 in Cape Town – a first for us!

Finances/MembershipThe sponsorship of Standard Bank has made it possible to hold a very successful 2nd Chenin Challenge. However, yet again, our committee worked some minor miracles this year in order to be as active and produce so much other activities. The remuneration of our Manager Ina Smith has been addressed and because of the busy work schedule of the Stellenbosch Agricultural Society, the bookkeeping for the CBA is now managed by Christina Harvett.We now have 110 members. Support PartnerWOSA have again been wonderful supporters of the Chenin Association the past few years and have supported several opportunities to increase our brand awareness, both locally and internationally. There were also theme tables at most international shows, including Prowein and Vinexpo. We worked closely with WOSA to ensure International guests attended our Chenin Party. The CBA also hosted several WOSA guests during this year, including a chenin tasting with Jim Gore – WSET Programme Manager.

Many thanks again to our sponsor – we value your support. Thanks also to all the members of the working committee, Manager Ina Smith, Christina Harvett who manages our finances and PR partner Nicolette Waterford all your input and support

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Kind #chenin regards

Ken

Ken Forrester Wines: 16 November 2015

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