2011 News

07/05/11 - Cape Wine Masters 2011 Wine Personality of the Year Award

INSTITUTE OF CAPE WINE MASTERS HONOUR SPATZ SPERLING

The Wine Personality of the Year award for 2011 has been presented to wine legend Spatz Sperling by the Institute of Cape Wine Masters at a dinner that was held by the Institute in the Old Barrel Cellar at Delheim on 7 May 2011. Spatz came to South Africa after World War II, in 1951 to the farm De Drie Sprong, which was later renamed Delheim (Del's home) after Spatz's aunt, Del Hoheisen, who was the original owner. Spatz first success was a sweet wine 'Spatzendreck' being Delheim's 'infamous' sweet wine which he perfected in 1961with the very well known history of how the name came about. In 1972, Spatz, together with Neil Joubert of Spier and Frans Malan of Simonsig, established the Stellenbosch Wine Route which was the beginning of wine tourism in South Africa and the start of all the wine routes that followed. He has been honoured also for his contribution in training young wine makers and sharing his practical knowledge and passion with them and many other people in the wine business. He has groomed a number of highly successful present generation of winemakers - Josef Krammer, Kevin Arnold, Jeff Grier, Philip Costandius, Chris Keet, Kevin Grant, Martin Meinert and Conrad Vlok. The Certificate of Honour was handed over to Spatz by the newly elected Chairman of the Institute, Andy Roediger. The Institute nominates a Wine Personality of the year every year at its AGM in May and dedicates it to those wine people that have excelled in amongst others education, marketing, winemaking or spreading the message about wine in various ways.