Duimpie Bayly Veritas Vertex Trophy: Elsabé Ferreira; Justin Corrans and Izele van Blerk (KWV); and Christo Pienaar (Chair of Veritas).
An evening of exceptional achievements at the stylish 34th Veritas Awards featured 70 Double Gold medals for both established brands and novices, while the Duimpie Bayly Vertex Trophy for the best wine entered went to the KWV The Mentors Perold 2020, a Cape Blend red wine.
The glamorous gala dinner, known as the "Oscars" of the wine industry, held in the CTICC Dance Hall, once again proved to be an unforgettable event for the guests that enjoyed delectable dishes, awarded wines and top-notch entertainment. Veritas’s anchor sponsors, SA Litho and Deloitte, were once again joined by the financial partners KykNet-Ontbytsake, Nashua, Dry Ice International, and Porex SA. At the same time, three "living legends" of the wine world received honorary scrolls for their outstanding service to the industry.
KWV this year achieved remarkable success at the Veritas function and, like last year, was named Best Producer, while the Best Achiever in the class for ten wines or fewer was Flagstone, also a repeat of last year. KWV also won the laurels for brandy, followed by Heineken Beverages.
Furthermore, two wineries excelled with four Double Gold each, namely Diemersdal and Flagstone, while three cellars bagged three Double Gold each – KWV, Perdeberg and Spier. Four cellars each won two Double Gold, namely Alto Estate (which has just celebrated 100 years' winemaking), Neethlingshof Estate, Stellenbosch Vineyards, and Van Loveren Family Vineyards.
The results were received to resounding applause at the gala dinner, where 70 Double Gold and 175 Gold medals in total were handed over.
The major highlight of the event, like in the past seven years, was the handing over of the Duimpie Bayly Veritas Vertex Award – named after this legendary industry role player – for the overall champion wine from 1 265 entries.
The handcrafted glass trophy was won by KWV cellarmaster Justin Corrans and his team for their KWV The Mentors Perold 2020, a Cape Blend of Pinotage/Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah/Malbec. It is the second time that KWV has clinched the Vertex award – the first time was in 2020 with their The Mentors Orchestra (Bordeaux blend) 2018. It was the third time that a Red Blend clinches this top award since its introduction.
The entries were adjudicated by 88 authoritative international and local judges during five days’ blind tasting sessions. The judging panels comprised five members each. The international judges were Michael Franz (USA), Uli Hoffmann (UK), Joe Wadsack (UK), and Jo Wessels (Germany).
See the breakdown of medals for the top wines and brandies below.
Financial boost for international judges and Vertex Award
The Veritas Awards enjoy ongoing support from its financial partners:
- Deloitte as sponsor of the countrywide public wine tastings of Double Gold and Gold winner wines
- SA Litho for their development of the VinoVeritas App and website for online entries
- Dry Ice International as sponsor of the international judges
- Porex which presents the tasting of the Vertex and Double Gold winners in London, while also flying the winner of the Duimpie Bayly Vertex Award to the UK
- Ontbytsake TV on KykNet as media partner
- Nashua as sponsor of the awards function
Christo Pienaar, chairperson of the SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) and Veritas, said the organisation was overwhelmed with the support: "We are thankful to our Veritas partners for their enthusiasm to be part of the wine industry’s most renowned wine awards."
Our financial partners
Lionel Dickens, CEO of Porex:
Being part of Veritas as a sponsor is a great honour for us at Porex SA. Adding to the value of sponsoring the top wine in the country each year and then showing it to the international market are critical exercises. This is our small part of giving back to the wine industry. Thanks a lot to all wineries that supported Porex SA over the last years. We are looking forward to join the winners for the tasting in the UK and showing the best wine for 2024 to the international media and trade.
Deon Roux, CEO of Dry Ice International:
Having expanded our presence in the Western Cape, especially to the benefit of the wine farmers, we at Dry Ice International are confident that it can make a significant contribution to the success of our local wine industry. We are proud to be partnering with Veritas 2024, celebrating our wine industry excellence.
Louis McLaren, owner and executive producer of Ontbytsake:
Ontbytsake’s goal is to promote businesses across all industries in South Africa, including the wine industry. Veritas showcases the best of the best. These winemakers, distillers, researchers, academics and merchants are our people, our pride!
Barry Venter, CEO of Nashua:
At Nashua, our 50 years of operating in Southern Africa has given us the experience to know that technology is an enabler of human potential. With our total workspace solutions, we have all your business needs covered. Whether you need to secure your assets or need assistance with scaling your business for the future, we remain committed as ever to saving you time, saving you money, putting you first. We are proud to partner with Veritas again and look forward to paving the way with solutions for sustainable wine farming.
Online sales app on a roll
The use of the Veritas app for wine lovers to easily purchase awarded wines online, is in full swing. Veritas vice-chairperson Bennie Howard said he was delighted with the phenomenal success of the VinoVeritas App by CTP. “We introduced it in 2020 so consumers can order the awarded wines directly online for delivery to their doorstep by our partner, GetWine. Wine lovers are pleased with this service – the ideal app to use at the public tastings while tasting one’s favourite wines.”
This means that the wine and brandy buying public can download the app on their smartphones or computers for direct access to the results to order any of the 245 products that won Double Gold or Gold at the 2024 Veritas Awards. You just register for this purpose on Android or Google with the words “VinoVeritas by CTP”.
Dawrian Salies General Manager of SA Litho says, “SA Litho label printers believe that great wine deserves exceptional packaging. Our partnership with the Veritas Awards reflects our dedication to showcasing the quality and craftsmanship of South Africa’s finest wines. As leaders in premium label printing, we’re proud to celebrate excellence in the wine industry.
Public wine tastings countrywide
Good news for consumers is that the regular public wine tastings presented under the Deloitte banner, are again to be held in the main centres. Ruwayda Redfearn, Deloitte Africa’s CEO, said,” We look forward to share the fantastic selection of top South African wines crowned at the Veritas Awards at the tastings with our clients, the trade and consumers.”
The public tastings will be held on 24 October in Cape Town, 31 October in Johannesburg and 6 November in Durban – all taking place on the Deloitte premises in these cities. Further information is available at veritas.co.za.
Three living legends honoured
The Veritas tradition since 2009 to honour industry leaders, is being continued. Thereby, three eminent personalities received the 2024 Living Legend Scroll of Honour for their dedication to and enthusiasm about the local wine and brandy industries, namely Philip Jordaan, Tim Hutchinson, and Dr Johann Rupert.
Veritas medals strictly monitored
Consumers can acquire the Veritas medal winners with confidence, as all the entries are monitored by SA Wine Industry Information and Systems (Sawis) to comply with the competition’s strict rules. This includes verification of the relevant documentation, as well as their bottling and labelling as Wine of Origin.
The top acheivers
Wine
Diemersdal Estate – 4 Double Gold (and 4 Gold):
- Diemersdal The Journal Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
- Diemersdal The Journal Pinotage 2022
- Diemersdal The Journal Pinotage 2020
- Diemersdal Syrah 2023
Flagstone wine cellar – 4 Double Gold (and 3 Gold):
- Flagstone Treaty Tree Classique White 2023
- Flagstone The Surge Sauvignon Blanc 2023
- Flagstone Word of Mouth Viognier 2023
- Flagstone Writers Block Single Vineyard Wine Pinotage 2021
KWV – 3 Double Gold (and 6 Gold):
- KWV The Mentors Perold Pinotage/Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec 2021
- KWV The Mentors Perold Pinotage/Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah/Malbec 2020
- KWV Cathedral Cellar Triptych Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot/Malbec/Shiraz/Tempranillo 2021
Perdeberg - 3 Double Gold (and 6 Gold):
- Perdeberg Endura Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2022
- Perdeberg The Dry Land Collection Courageous Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc (Old Vine) 2023
- Perdeberg The Dry Land Collection Rossouw's Heritage 2015
Spier – 3 Double Gold (and 4 Gold):
- Spier Creative Block 2 Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon 2023
- Spier Seaward Chardonnay 2023
- Spier Private Collection Chenin Blanc (Woolworths) 2023
Alto Estate – 2 Double Gold (and 2 Gold):
- Alto Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
- Alto Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot 2022
Van Loveren Family Vineyards – 2 Double Gold (and 2 Gold):
- Christiena Trousseau Chardonnay 2023
- Christiena Trousseau Brut Rosé MCC NV
Neethlingshof Estate – 2 Double Gold (and 1 Gold):
- Neethlingshof Chardonnay 2024
- Neethlingshof Gewürztraminer 2024
Stellenbosch Vineyards – 2 Double Gold:
- Stellenbosch Vineyards Credo Chenin Blanc 2023
- Stellenbosch Vineyards The Flagship Cabernet Franc 2018
Brandy
KWV excelled among brandies with six Double Gold and one Gold. Heineken Beverages was second with three Double Gold and two Gold.
KWV Double Gold:
- KWV 5 Year Old Superior Blend Brandy
- KWV 10 Year Old Potstill Brandy
- KWV 12 Year Old Potstill Brandy
- KWV XO Potstill Brandy
- KWV 15 Year Old Alambic Blend Potstill Brandy
- KWV 20 Year XX0 Potstill Brandy
Heineken Beverages’s Double Gold:
- Richelieu Vintage Brandy 10 Year Old
- Van Ryn's Single Potstill Brandy 15 Years
- Van Ryn's Single Potstill Brandy 20 Years
Fortified wine
Boplaas cellar won two Double Gold medals.
Boplaas – 2 Double Gold (and 3 Gold):
- Boplaas Cape Tawny NV
- Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2019
Two cellars each received one Double Gold:
- Lomond Muscat de Frontignan 2017
- Excelsior Kapelsloot Muskadel 2015
Best achiever classes
The Best Achiever in the class for ten wines or fewer was Flagstone, while KWV was the Best Achiever with more than 11 wines entered. Fortified Wines, Museum and Brandy class medals are excluded for these calculations.
Category winners
The Veritas Awards this year had 1 265 medal contenders and altogether 1 167 medals were awarded – 70 Double Gold, 175 Gold, 248 Outstanding Silver, 473 Silver, and 201 Bronze.
The seven most competitive categories according to entries received were: Red Blends 173, Sauvignon Blanc 134, Cabernet Sauvignon 111, Chardonnay 105, Chenin Blanc 101, Shiraz 92 and Pinotage 70.
The best points scored by Double Gold winners for Wine were Red Blends 9, Chenin Blanc 7, Chardonnay 6, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage with 5 medals each, Shiraz 4, White Blends and Cap Classique 3 medals each and Malbec 2 medals.
A Double Gold each was awarded to Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Petit Verdot and Museum White Wine.
Double Gold went to Fortified Wines for Cape Style 2, with one medal each to Dessert Wine and Red Muscadel.
Potstill Brandy was outstanding with 8 Double Gold, and Vintage Brandy and Standard Brandy 1 each.
Among Gold Cabernet Sauvignon 20 lead the way, followed by Chardonnay 18, Red Blends 16, Shiraz 13, Chenin Blanc and Classique 12 medals each, White Blends 11, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot 10 medals each, Pinotage and Cape Style l 7 medals each, Potstill Brandy 6, Heritage Vintage Wines 4 and White Muscadel 3. Two medals each went to Cabernet Franc, Museum White Wine, Other White Cultivar, Petit Verdot, Cinsaut, Red Muscadel, Rosé, Standard Brandy, and Viognier.
One medal each was awarded to Natural Sweet Wine, Noble Late Harvest, Pinot Noir, Straw Wine, Low Alcohol, Tinta Barocca, Durif, and Muscat de Frontignan.
Photo captions:
1. Vice chair of Veritas, Bennie Howard (left) and Veritas chair, Christo Pienaar (far right) with Living Legends Award winners: Philip Jordaan and Tim Hutchinson (DGB). (Johann Rupert could not attend and will receive his scroll later.)
2. Four Double Gold and Four Gold winners: Reon Richter, Mari Branders, Thys Louw, Juandre Bruwer (Diemersdal), and Christo Pienaar.
3. Three cellars with three Double Gold medals: Bennie Howard, Justin Corrans (KWV), Albertus Louw (Perdeberg), and Johan Jordaan (Spier).
4. Two cellars with four Double Gold: Reon Richter (Diemersdal), Christo Pienaar, and Gerhard Swart (Flagstone).
5. Brandy winners:
Back: Pieter de Bod (KWV), Bennie Howard, Renaldo Fourie (Boschendal).
Front: Marlene Bester (Van Ryn en Richelieu), Christele Reade-Jahn (SA Brandewynstigting), Ilse du Toit (KWV).
6. Anné van Heerden (Lomond), Peter de Wet (Excelsior), Margaux Nel (Boplaas), and Christo Pienaar.
7. Bennie Howard (left) and Christo Pienaar (far right) with top performers Justin Corrans (KWV), and Gerhard Swart (Flagstone).
8. Bennie Howard with senior partners at Deloitte: Nina Le Riche, Marius Alberts, Carike Nel.
9. Glen Witbooi, Ronald Jonathan, Leon Witbooi, Dawrian Salies from SA Litho and Bennie Howard.
10. Christo Pienaar, Louis Mclaren-OntbytSake, Lionel Dickens – PorexSA, Deon Roux-Dry Ice International, Barry Venter-Nashua
11. Ronald Ramabulana, SA Wine; Christo Conradie, SA Wine; Wahed Khan (WoSA); Christo Pienaar.
12. Charles Hopkins, previous chair of Veritas; Siohban Thompson (WoSA); De Wet Viljoen (Veritas); Christelle Reade-Jahn (SA Brandy Foundation).