The 2024 LUMO Awards celebrated outstanding achievements in wine and spirits, honouring the Woman Winemaker of the Year, Woman Distiller of the Year, Cap Classique of the Year, and Still Wine of the Year.

Stellenbosch, 6 August 2024 – The LUMO Awards, now in its ninth year, once again lit up the world of wine and spirits with its unwavering dedication to recognising excellence. Held at Lanzerac Estate during the first week of August 2024, the LUMO Awards provided an exceptional platform to honour wines and spirits.

The event continued its remarkable growth with a renewed spirit of celebration. Two wine panels and a dedicated spirits panel embarked on a journey of sensory exploration. The cornerstone of this endeavour was the principle of impartiality—a double-blind tasting process in which each panellist’s judgment was uninfluenced by preconceptions.

A defining feature of the LUMO Awards is its panellists, all distinguished wine and spirits industry specialists. The wine panellists were Fiona Mcdonald (chairperson), CWM Jacqui Henderson, CWM Lieza van der Merwe, CWM Marlee Malan, CWM Lisha de Villiers, CWM Lizette Tolken, Dr Mare-Loe Prinsloo, CWM Dr Caroline Snyman, and Dr Carla Weightman. The annual event aims to find worthy wines, spirits, and liqueurs judged by all-female panels and to award the best products entered.

Despite women representing a substantial portion of the wine and spirits buying public, the industry’s marketing efforts often neglect to address their preferences. Filling this gap, the LUMO Awards emerge as a singular force in Africa. As the sole competition where recommendations are curated exclusively by female judges, it is a testament to female expertise and evolves into an indispensable marketing asset. The LUMO Awards are pivotal in a landscape where the female perspective is paramount.

Every year, the elevation in excellence underscored the industry’s commitment to pushing boundaries and striving for ever-higher levels of achievement.

Still Wine of the Year: Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2021 by Elsa du Plessis.

Cap Classique of the Year: Simonsvlei MCC Brut Rosé by Helena Senekal.

Woman Winemaker of the Year: Helena Senekal from Simonsvlei Winery.

Woman Distiller of the Year: Shanna-Rae Wilby from Time Anchor Distillery.

Cap Classique: It was an enjoyable flight with great complexity, good body, and fruit integration. The wines entered was high quality, with a gorgeous mouthfeel and fine mousse. Simonsvlei MCC Brut Rosé was awarded the trophy and a Double Gold Award.

Chenin blanc: The generous fruit character speaks loudest in this category. The wines were well made and showed clean fruit, with some examples showing honey and yellow stone fruit.

Sauvignon blanc: The wines generally had good acidity, integration, and mouthfeel. They ranged from green pepper and asparagus to tropical yellow fruit. The stand-out wine was Alvi’s Drift Signature Sauvignon Blanc 2024.

Chardonnay: Good fruit-driven wines with citrus notes and excellent wood integration. The 2024 vintage wines were fresh and delicious. The Walker Bay Vineyards Chardonnay 2022 stood head and shoulders above as the best Chardonnay wine. It is complex, balanced, and has a lingering finish.

White blends: This category was small, but the wines had good intensity, complexity, and body. The Simonsvlei Zeffer White Blend 2022 was the favourite.

Blanc de noir and Rosé: The wines ranged from pale coral to salmon to a gentle strawberry hue. The flight truly showed good structure, balance, and acid integration. However, a few examples needed more concentration.

Merlot: The Merlot wines impressed with their upfront fruit expression, good balance, and mouthfeel. The best wines had spicy black fruit and some pepper with grippy tannins.

Cabernet Sauvignon: The 2022 vintage showed well. They were complex with dark fruit and good tannin management. Lozärn Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, the best of the Cabernet wines, was awarded Double Gold.

Shiraz: Some panellists felt that winemakers could pay more attention to the use of oak in Shiraz. The best examples showed spice, pepper and beautiful tannic grip.

Pinotage: Most Pinotage wines showed good fruit on the nose and palate, and winemakers generally made judicious use of oak. The Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2021 showed great intensity and complex flavours. The red fruit, liquorice, and integrated oak made this wine stand out.

Bordeaux-styled blends: Some wines ranged from good to very good. The best examples showed good use of oak and had a balanced mouthfeel and body. The best wine in this class was the Carmen Stevens Petrichor 2022, which narrowly missed out on a Double Gold award.

Cape Blend: Some wines in this flight had good oak integration, structure, and balance. The examples with darker fruit profiles were delightful.

Gin: The lack of a juniper character bothered all three panellists, who all warned against overflavoured and overcoloured gins. However, it was not all doom and gloom in the category. The Mirari Celebration Gin and Mirari Damask Rose Gin were awarded Double Gold, earning Shanna-Rae Wilby a second Woman Distiller of the Year Trophy in three years.

Rum: The category was small, with some impressive entries.

Liqueurs: This category was a mixed bag, with a few being overly sweet. Gingerbread Gin Liqueur from Black Horse Distillery was a stand-out product in this category.

Details about the 2025 LUMO Awards will be announced in the last week of January 2025.