John Platter's awards

Wine from South Africa & Portugal – offers, information, news, recommendations

John Platter: South Africa's number one wine guide

For decades, the John Platter Wine Guide has been the epitome of quality and expertise in the South African wine world. As the country's first and most comprehensive wine guide, it is an indispensable companion for wine connoisseurs, experts and new discoverers alike.

Every year, an experienced team of experts evaluates thousands of wines based on strict criteria and awards the coveted Platter stars. These awards are regarded as a reliable benchmark for top quality and help wine enthusiasts to discover the best wines in South Africa - from elegant white wines to powerful red wines and exceptional dessert wines. The highlights of the guide are the coveted 5-star wines, which stand for absolute excellence.

Only the very best wines make it into this category, making the Platter Award one of the most prestigious accolades in the South African wine industry.Authenticity, diversity and enjoyment - these are the core values of the John Platter Wine Guide. With its in-depth knowledge of the wine scene, the guide not only showcases the outstanding wines of the year, but also recognises the winemakers, regions and stories that make South Africa's wine world so unique. For anyone who wants to experience and understand South Africa's wine diversity, John Platter remains an indispensable source of inspiration!

More information on Platter's rating system:

South Africa's first and still best-selling annual wine guide, John Platter's south african wine guide is the comprehensive, up-to-date and authoritative guide to "who's who?" and "what's what?" in the South African wine world. With hundreds of producers, brands and thousands of wines, Platters wine guide packs everything you need to know about the South African wine scene into an informative and entertaining format.

The idea for the Platters Wine Guide was conceived in 1978 by wine lovers and journalists John and Erica Platter after reading Hugh Johnson's ground-breaking pocket wine guide. The couple now ironically recall their first edition (1980) - an attempt to create a domestic version of this pocket guide with as much wine-related detail as possible - which was dismissed as "boring" and "a waste of money" by the very company commissioned to print the book! Three decades later, however, with two awards for "Best Wine Guide Worldwide" and well over a million copies sold, you would think that the Platters had the right instincts. They have since handed over the reins to a new team, who are determined to keep John Platter's Wine Guide as South Africa's favourite wine guide.

Platters rating system:

Star system
5 stars	Superlatives, a South African classic
4.5 stars	Outstanding
4 stars	Excellent
3.5 stars	Very good / promising
3 stars	Full of character / appealing
2.5 stars	Good for everyday enjoyment
2 stars	Pleasant to drink
1.5 stars	Simple / palatable
1 star	Simple and unpretentious

The Platter Wine Guide also awards the titles "Red Wine of the Year" and "White Wine of the Year" every year - a particularly prestigious honour for South African wine producers.

5 star wines - Awarded by John Platter