Schedule of Reports 2026
By Christian Eedes, 13 January 2026
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Winemag.co.za’s Report schedule is here! We’re gearing up for another year of expert panel tastings and both wine enthusiasts and producers can mark their calendars accordingly.
For full details concerning entry dates, download the following: Winemag Full Calendar 2026
How it works
- Category Reports, sponsored by Prescient Fund Services, will be released in four seasonal series: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.
- The entry fee is R1, 495 per wine. Payment is made via our online shop.
- Wines entered must be current release or soon to be released (minimum stock requirement: 100 x 6 bottles). In the event a wine achieves Top 10 status, 18 bottles must be set aside at no charge, these to be served at promotional events.
- We taste blind, labels out of sight and ratings are done according to the 100-point system.
- A Top 10 per category will be released plus scores for all wines entered – Top 10 stickers and regular rating stickers will be available for producers to purchase and consumers are encouraged to look out for these in the retail environment.
- The Top 10 performers will be revealed online and celebrated at various awards events throughout the year. The year culminates in the announcement of the Overall Best White, Overall Best Red and the Winery of the Year.
To join our producers’ mailing list for updates on competitions, click here.
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Donald Griffiths | 14 January 2026
A lot of producers not entering despite the obvious benefit of featuring suggests its a tight ask financially. Would winemag be open to dropping its entry fee (maybe Prescient can pick up the slack) to enable a significant increase in entries? Rising tide floats all boats.
Christian Eedes | 14 January 2026
Hi Donald, Thanks for the comment. It’s a fair question, but the idea that non-participation is mainly about affordability doesn’t quite tell the whole story. For some producers, the hesitation has less to do with cost and more to do with scrutiny – blind tasting means giving up control of the narrative, and when reputation and pricing are on the line, that can be uncomfortable.
From our side, the entry fee isn’t incidental. Running the reports properly is expensive: assembling panels, administering tastings, publishing full results and, crucially, protecting editorial independence all cost money. Sponsorship helps, but relying too heavily on it isn’t realistic (budgets aren’t unlimited) and could risk creating undue influence over the process. Reader subscriptions also play a role, but at this point they don’t come close to covering costs on their own. Importantly, participation remains a choice for producers and can reasonably be viewed as a cost of doing business.
More broadly, the reports help fund the everyday work of keeping Winemag running year-round – publishing regularly, paying contributors and maintaining the site. That has to be funded somehow. Entry fees, alongside sponsorship and subscriptions, are part of how we keep the lights on. Any other revenue-generating ideas welcome!