Ten of these cellars performed exceptionally well securing more than half of the total number of double gold medals.
With five double golds and nine gold medals, KWV came up trumps as the cellar with the most double gold and gold medals in the history of this competition. “This success is very significant,” says Richard Rowe, chief wine maker at KWV. “From a wine making point of view it reinforces that the many changes we have made in our approach to wine making are paying off. Over the last three years we’ve been paying particular attention to wine style and looking to produce wines which are fresher, more varietal of nature and with a greater emphasis on structure, flavour and balance. To this end we have been writing long term contracts with growers who produce fit for purpose grapes from appropriate regions.”
KWV won double gold medals for their The Mentors Sauvignon Blanc 2009, the 2009 The Mentors Petit Verdot, as well as their Cape Classic Tawny Port and an exceptional 1930 Muscadel LBV. “Our Veritas awards highlight the fact that we are successful across a wide range of wine styles and price points,” he says. “It also indicates that KWV is one of the most prominent players in the South African wine industry.”
Kobus Gelderblom, KWV brandy master was just as ecstatic about the double gold for their 15 year old pot still brandy. “These results added to those from international competitions, clearly confirm our consistently high levels of excellence,” he says. “More important is the fact that we could add these brandy awards to the success of our wines and fortifieds to highlight KWV’s superb quality over a diverse range of products.”
Boplaas Family Vineyards, South Africa’s master port producers, won 3 double gold medals for their Cape Tawny Port, the 2009 Cape Vintage Port, and a 1997 Tawny Port Reserve. Margaux Nel, Boplaas wine maker, acknowledges that it is with pounding hearts that wine makers wait to hear what the Veritas judges thought of their wines. “We are really proud of the fact that our small family run cellar situated way out in the sticks, do so well at Veritas,” she says. Especially the Cape Tawny Reserve 1997 which won a double gold in the Museum Class testifies to the proud tradition of fine Cape fortifieds.
Nederburg cellar master Razvan Macici says their two double golds for the 2003 Private Bin Edelkeur Noble Late Harvest and the 2010 Private Bin Eminence natural sweet wine is the result of team work, passion, inspiration and the attention to every single detail, from the vineyard to the bottle. “It is all about Brand Nederburg!” he says. “Nederburg produced Edelkeur, a wine made from Botrytis-infected grapes, for the first time in 1969. Since then this wine has won more accolades than any other cellar for these styles and has become synonymous with Nederburg and Noble Late Harvest.” Both winning wines are made in small quantities and are exclusively available through the Nederburg Auction. Nederburg also won 9 gold medals.
“The Veritas Awards are immensely important to us,” says Christo Pienaar, wine maker of Nuy Wine Cellar who was on the receiving end of two double gold medals for their 2007 Nuy White Muscadel and a 1989 Red Muscadel. “These two double golds prove that our Nuy Muscadel is exceptional, whether young or aged,” he says. “We always enter a variety of wines and were especially happy about the gold medals awarded to our Chenin Blanc and Colombar wines.” Nuy received a further 7 gold medals.
Distell Brandy also received two double gold and six gold medals. The two double golds went to their Flight of the Fish Eagle and Van Ryn’s 12 year old Distillers Reserve. Marlene Bester, manager at Van Ryn Brandy, says many of their brandies are internationally recognised and Veritas grants them the opportunity to highlight their excellence at home. “The publicity surrounding a Veritas award winner is invaluable to any brand in South Africa as it is a trusted indicator of excellence,” she says. “It is through sheer hard work and team effort that we achieve these results and create brandies people can appreciate and enjoy worldwide.”
Bon Courage was awarded a duo of double gold medals for the 2006 Blanc de Blanc Jacques Bruére and a 2011 Red Muscadel. “It is extremely valuable to be able to measure your wine against those of other good wine makers and to compare your wine with the best in its class,” says Jacques Bruwer, Bon Courage wine maker. “Winning at Veritas goes a long way towards creating awareness for your brand and we are proud to say that we’ve been performing well at Veritas for the past few years.” Bon Courage also won 5 gold medals.
Spier, last year’s top achiever, this year walked away two double golds for their 2010 Woolworths Classic Chenin Blanc and Woolworths The Hutton Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Says Frans Smit, chief wine maker at Spier: “Winning at Veritas reinforces the effort that the wine making team has put into the wines. Spier is committed to creating top quality wines and this is a reassurance of our commitment.” Spier also bagged 5 gold medals.
According to Gerhard Swart, wine maker at Flagstone Wines, they’ve been focusing on establishing themselves as one of South Africa’s premium wine cellars: “By winning Veritas double gold medals we are reaping the benefits of our hard work.” Flagstone was rewarded two double gold medals for their 2009 Music Room Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 Writer’s Block Pinotage. “For both these wines grapes are handpicked and the berries are sorted by hand,” he says. “Fermentation is done in stainless steel open top fermenters and manual punch downs are performed throughout the process.” The wines were matured for 18 months in small 225ℓ barrels. They also received two gold medals.
“It’s a great feeling to do well at Veritas,” says Abrie Beeslaar, wine maker of Kanonkop who won two double gold medals for their 2006 and 2008 Kanonkop Pinotage. “The two winners have many similarities although the vintage variation is quite obvious,” he says. “The 2006 has more complexity and more depth and the 2008 have more upfront fruit but a lighter structure. We’ve used grapes from the same vineyard for both wines but 45 year old vines help to give the wine consistency from one year to the next.”
Delaire Graff’s won two double gold awards for their 2009 Cape Vintage Port and the 2010 Chenin Blanc. Morne Vrey, wine maker at Delaire Graff says: “It is great to be able to work with good quality fruit in a well resourced winery that contributes towards bringing out the full potential of the grapes. Winning the Veritas double gold medals is a fantastic accolade for the entire Delaire team.”
Various public tastings of the Veritas winners are underway throughout the country. Visit www.veritas.co.za for more information about the tastings and full results of the country’s biggest wine competition for market ready wines. The website also has a search facility that has been designed to give browsers Veritas results right from the inception of the competition 20 years ago. Contact Elsabé Ferreira at [email protected] or tel 021 807 3104 for special enquiries.
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Issued by Marlene Truter Communications
tel 083 294 6060Email
[email protected]
On behalf of Veritas Awards
Contact Elsabé Ferreira
tel 021 8073104
Email [email protected]
