Vergelegen in top 100 list of the World’s Best Vineyards 2022

The World’s Best Vineyards 2022 extended list of wineries has been revealed! The list includes legendary wineries in France, Italy, USA, Portugal, Spain and South Africa, as well as this year’s continent winner in Asia. It also includes exciting first-time entrants from India, Bulgaria and Greece – and there are more English entries than ever before with Balfour Winery, Gusbourne and Nyetimber joining Ridgeview on the list.

Congratulations go out to our 5 other South African vineyards also recognised on this list. 
- Creation, Walker Bay, South Africa
- Klein Constantia, Constantia, South Africa
- Tokara Winery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Delaire Graff Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Waterkloof, Cape Town, South Africa

Once again demonstrating the class of the South African wine region on a global platform. Terior and Climate in the Western Cape, continue to produce some of the very best grapes in the world. With a history of producing wine as far as the late 1600's, South Africa is a region that absolutely has to be represented in every restaurant and private collectors wine cellar.   

It's notable, that South Africa is the 8th largest wine producing region in the world, and ranked 6th on the list in terms of the most estates being recognized in the top 100 list.

Below is the count of estates, by country, in the top 100.  

- France 11
- Portugal 11
- Italy 9
- Argentina 8
- USA 7
- South Africa 6
- Spain 6
(Other notable regions recognized are: Australia 5, New Zealand 5, Chile 5, Lebanon 5, Germany 4 & England 4)

The Voting System
The World’s Best Vineyards is an annual listing that highlights the very best winery destinations in the world. The list is created after the nominations of nearly 500 wine, travel and wine tourism experts from across the globe are counted and collated. The list, now in its third year, provides an insight into the best all-round winery experiences. There is no pre-determined criteria, apart from being open to the general public, but there are voting rules that must be adhered to. Voters are asked to nominate the overall experiences they deem to be the best in the world and would highly recommend to a friend.

How The Voting Works
The World’s Best Vineyards list and awards are organised and compiled by William Reed Business Media. None of the employees of the organiser, or any sponsors associated with the awards, are part of the voting academy. The list is created from the votes of The World’s Best Vineyards Academy, comprising just under 500 global wine and travel experts. To create the Academy the world is divided into 22 regions, each with an Academy Chair at the lead. The Academy Chair is responsible for recruiting 36 voters that represent the region. At least 25% of the panellists from each region change each year to ensure fresh perspectives.

The panel in each region is made up of sommeliers, wine journalists, travel experts and lovers of wine who travel frequently – each of whom have 7 votes. Some regions contain more than one country. The decision as to how the world is divided up is left to the organiser and Academy Chairs and is debated annually.

Voting Rules
With the exception of Academy Chairs, Academy members should remain anonymous with regard to being a part of the World’s Best Vineyard Voting Academy
- Academy members must not discuss their voting selections with other members or Academy Chairs
- Academy members must have visited the vineyards they vote for since 1 January 2018 – and are asked to confirm this when voting
- Academy members must submit 7 nominations in order of preference
- Academy members must vote for the vineyard experience, not the winemaker
- Academy members can only vote for vineyards open to the public
- Academy members are not permitted to vote for any vineyard they work for or have financial interest in – and are asked to confirm this fact when voting
- Academy members cannot vote for a vineyard based on a tasting experience that does not take place at the vineyard itself; for example, when a vineyard is exhibiting at an event or a letterbox tasting
- Any voter that does not comply with the voting rules, or does not complete the voting process, is removed from the panel

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#CreationWalkerBay #KleinConstantiaConstantia #TokaraWineryStellenbosch #DelaireGraffEstateStellenbosch #WaterkloofCapeTown