Ernie Els wins gold at Decanter World Wine Awards 2012

Ernie Els won six medals, including two golds, for his Ernie Els wines at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2012.

The former Major winner entered six wines into the world's largest wine competition at the London International Wine Fair.

He picked up a medal for each of the wines he entered, and his Proprietor's Syrah 2010 and Merlot 2010 won prestigious Gold medals, which were awarded to the top 2.6% in the world this year.

Els has been making wine with award-winning winemaker Louis Strydom at his vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa since 1999 but this is the first time he has picked up a Gold medal.

"The Decanter World Wine Awards recognise quality and with all the wines tasted blind, our experienced judges focus on what's in the bottle, only awarding medals to wines which really stand out - to win Gold is high-praise indeed," said Christelle Guibert, director of Decanter magazine, who curated the competition.

Wines from all over the world were tasted at the London-based competition.

They were judged by region and price by a panel of over 200 judges, including 54 Masters of Wine and 11 Master Sommeliers.

Ernie Els' Award winning wines 2012

• Ernie Els Merlot 2010 - Gold
• Ernie Els Proprietor's Syrah 2010 - Gold
• Ernie Els Proprietor's Blend 2010 - Silver
• Ernie Els Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - Bronze
• Ernie Els Big Easy 2010 - Bronze
• Ernie Els Signature 2008 - Bronze