Zachary's Restaurant at Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa in Knysna has been awarded an "Award of Excellence" by the 2005 Diners Club International Winelist of the Year Award.

The Award of Excellence is the highest award given in three categories, which also include Gold and Platinum.

The 2005 Diners Club International Winelist of the Year Awards, which have always been highly regarded by both the restaurant and wine industry, were officially re-launched in June this year after a break of two years to encourage food and wine-serving establishments to consistently improve the standards of the wine lists they offer their patrons.

Winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel (now know as The Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays) this week.

Zachary's, which opened officially in February this year, is the only new restaurant to have received this award amongst a number of top establishments in the Western Cape including La Colombe, Bosmans @ The Grande Roche Hotel, Le Quartier Français, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and The Cape Colony Restaurant at The Mount Nelson.

According to the convenor of the awards, Michael Olivier, the judges looked at restaurateurs "who go the extra mile in compiling their wine lists, creating lists which are in harmony with the food style of their enterprises, offering a variety of
cultivars and breadth in terms of wine of origin areas including wines not only from the respected large companies but also from boutique and small production wineries."

The panel of judges included Clive Torr, Cape Wine Master; Lannice Snyman, a well known restaurant judge, food writer and publisher; Arnold Vorster, Sommelier; Angela Lloyd, wine judge and wine writer; John Maytham, restaurant judge and broadcaster; Roy de Gouveia, a board member of Fedhasa; Catherine Bouttell-Coackley, senior wine judge and wine trainer; and Liam Tomlin, an internationally trained Irish chef who was Chef of the Year 2002 in Australia.

Chairman of Pezula, Mr Keith B Stewart said that this award is the highest possible recognition given to a winelist in South Africa. "We are particularly pleased to have achieved this recognition so soon, having only been open for just on seven months," said Stewart.

(Source: Pezula Media Release, September 2005)


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