Label Design Awards 2024: Judges

Christian Eedes, Editor, Winemag.co.za (all)

After graduating from Stellenbosch University with a BA Honours in philosophy, Christian spent a brief period in the advertising industry as a copywriter. He joined Wine magazine in 2000 and served as editor between May 2008 and December 2009. Christian has completed a wine evaluation course and a small-scale winemaking course under the auspices of the Department of Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University. His experience includes tasting for the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show in addition to various other local and international competitions.

 Sean Harrison, independent designer and branding consultant (all)

Sean Harrison has some 30 years of experience in graphic design and branding. He is currently an independent creative consultant having previously a founded Graft, Whitespace Creative and Code. He is a winner of various national and international awards and has judged at both the Loerie Awards and Cannes Lions Awards.

François Rautenbach, hospitality and wine specialist (wine)

Francois Rautenbach is a wine and hospitality specialist and principal of the consultancy firm Agile Minds.

He’s the erstwhile founding general manager of the Singita Premier Wine Direct programme

He remains invested in hospitality having lived and worked in Africa, France, the UK and Australia – always with the emphasis on food and wine excellence. 

Thelmarie Toerien (all)
Creative Director, Just Design

With 20 years’ experience in the industry, Thelmarie Toerien is a designer and creative director with a particular interest in packaging. Having several awards behind her name, she places great emphasis on shaping packaging design as a specialist industry in South Africa. For the past 7 years, she has hosted an internship programme with students from Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography to promote young talent.

She’s worked on the visual identity of some of the most iconic mainstream and craft brands on SA’s shelves which include: Amarula, Bain’s Whisky, Lanzerac, Drostdy-Hof, Savanna, Hunter’s cider, Three Ships, Dalkeith Wines, Cavalli… and the list goes on.

Lucy Corne, beer writer and judge (beer)

Lucy Corne is an award-winning beer writer and educator. She is the founder of Brewmistress.co.za and writes for numerous international beer publications.

Lucy started South African National Beer Day in 2016 and co-founded the African Beer Cup with her husband, Shawn, in 2018. She is Africa’s first advanced Cicerone and runs a range of workshops and training courses on all things beer related. She has judged in prestigious competitions around the world, including the World Beer Cup, Aro Rojo, National Homebrew Competition (USA) and the Brussels Beer Challenge.

Lucy lives in Cape Town with her husband and son and can usually be found at a local taproom, chilled IPA in hand.

Troye May, beer judge, homebrewer, host of #Beertime podcast (beer)

Troye May is a certified beer judge, award-winning homebrewer, and host of South Africa’s biggest beer podcast, #Beertime. He has also produced a documentary on craft beer in South Africa called, Brewing the Republic.

Caroline Rillema, owner of Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar (wine)

Caroline Rillema has over 40 years of experience in the wine industry. In 1997 she opened her first specialist wine shop called Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar and today has two stores, one in Sea Point and the other in Tokai.