.: SAWi Awards at Grootbos

The SAWi trophies

Brett Garner was the able MC for the evening

A harvest of wine people

Hempies du Toit

Head Chef Benjamin Conradie

Michael Lutzeyer, co-owner of Grootbos

Listening intently and wondering “Have we won anything?”

First course: encrusted Salmon

Second course was completely decadent and, yes, some of us managed two. A whole freshly caught crayfish tail in a glass with a rich mayonnaise

Izak Smit, director of the South African Wine Index

More interested bystanders and participants, listening to the awards

Peter Finlayson of Bouchard Finlayson, his wife Gita and Anthony Hamilton Russell. Both won several awards for their wines

A very happy JC Martin and his wife, Carolyn, of Creation Wines hear they have won an award

Peter Finlayson also received the Special Wine Legend Award

There was a huge collection of the SAWi Ambassador wines open for tasting

Brett Garner of The Month publication

Carolyn Martin of Creation wines with Bennet, who helped make sure we had everything we needed

A very rich mushroom risotto topped with cheese

Hempies du Toit presents Peter Finlayson with his awards

Tender baby quail on a potato purée with a rich jus

Hempies du Toit is presented with a special award to Annandale for having been exclusively selected to submit a classic SA Merlot wine for the Royal Wedding in Monaco

Hamilton Russell winemaker Hannes Storm collects the Trophy for the White Wine of the Year for the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay

Dual awards went to two Tulbagh farms that tied for the Red Wine of the Year Trophy: Rijk's Private Cellar Pinotage and Saronsberg Full Circle Shiraz Mourvedre Viognier. Pierre Waal accepts for Rijks and Dewald Heyns for Saronsberg

Izak Smit and Peter du Toit phoning Cederberg winemaker David Nieuwoudt in China to tell him he had won the Trophy for the Winemaker of the Year AND Winery of the year (jointly with Bouchard Finlayson). They had to wake him up, as it was the early hours of the morning in China.