KWV has done it again – with another historic performance at South Africa’s biggest wine and brandy competition, the Veritas Awards. For the third consecutive year, this Paarl-based wine and spirits producer was named Best Wine Producer with 11 or more entries, underscoring its exceptional consistency and unrivalled performance across categories. The evening’s highest honour, the Duimpie Bayly Veritas Vertex Award, was also bestowed on KWV The Mentors Perold 2022, recognised as the best wine overall from a “mammoth 1 205 entries”. This marks the third time KWV has claimed the coveted Vertex Trophy – more than any other cellar in South Africa.
In total KWV was awarded a record-breaking eight Double Golds and thirteen Gold medals for its wines and two Double Golds and six Golds for its brandies – outclassing all other brandy competitors on the evening. A historic performance that will no doubt further entrench KWV as pioneers of the South African wine and spirits industry.
KWV’s victory is especially symbolic: the Vertex-awarded wine is named after Professor Abraham Izak Perold, the founding father of Pinotage who worked in KWV’s cellars in the 1920s – and this triumph comes in a year dedicated to celebrating 100 years of South Africa’s homegrown variety. The KWV The Mentors Perold 2022 is a Cape Blend of Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It is the producer’s flagship red blend and underscores the cellar’s deep commitment to the ongoing evolution of Pinotage, both as a single-varietal and as the backbone of its acclaimed Cape Blend.
“Winning this award once in a winemaker’s career is an unparalleled highlight, but to achieve this three times… there are no words,” said Izele van Blerk, winemaker for The Mentors. “I am profoundly proud of our extraordinary team – from the dedicated grape growers and meticulous viticulturists to our talented winemakers, and especially the remarkable Mentors team. This award represents 15 years of relentless passion, precision, and belief. It also pays tribute to Professor Perold and the incredible 100-year legacy of Pinotage.”
This remarkable hat-trick follows KWV’s Vertex wins in 2020 (The Mentors Orchestra 2018) and 2024 (The Mentors Perold 2020), marking KWV as the only producer in Veritas history to have achieved such sustained excellence.
KWV’s performance at Veritas 2025 cements a year already defined by excellence, with the past week showcasing the cellar’s strength and mastery with Pinotage. Following its recent victories at the Absa Pinotage Top 10 and Absa Perold Cape Blend competitions – where The Mentors Pinotage 2022 and The Mentors Perold 2020 & 2022 all ranked among South Africa’s top wines- KWV once again demonstrated that consistency is its signature.
“KWV’s string of back-to-back awards reinforces KWV’s characteristic dependability, a cellar whose winning quality has become a trademark consumers can count on,” said KWV’s Chief Winemaker, Justin Corrans.
KWV Brandy continues to blaze its own trail of excellence, following its recent triumph at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) in London, where it was named Brandy Producer of the Year for a record-breaking seventh time. This year, with Veritas Double Golds for its KWV 12 Potstill Brandy and KWV 15 Alambic Blend Potstill Brandy, along with six Gold medals across the rest of its brandy portfolio, the results further affirm KWV’s status as the world’s most decorated brandy producer.
KWV Master Distiller Pieter de Bod commented: “It is an incredible honour to receive this level of recognition from South Africa’s most respected wine and brandy competition – especially on the back of KWV Brandy’s latest international success.”
KWV CEO John Loomes said the achievement reflects the company’s unwavering pursuit of excellence: “KWV has had a truly exceptional year. In a market increasingly defined by uncertainty, consumers look for brands they can trust, and KWV’s hallmark is consistency. With this performance at Veritas, we once again demonstrate that across our entire portfolio, we will always overdeliver on quality. It’s a commitment that has guided us for over a century, and one we remain steadfastly dedicated to.”
KWV’s Winning Results:
Double Gold – Wines
- KWV The Mentors Perold 2022 (Vertex Award)
- KWV Roodeberg Dr Charles Niehaus 2022
- KWV Roodeberg Reserve 2022
- KWV The Mentors Canvas 2022
- KWV The Mentors Petit Verdot 2022
- KWV The Mentors Perold 2021
- KWV The Mentors Canvas 2021
- KWV Laborie Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2017
Double Gold – Fortified Wines
• KWV Classic Collection Cape Tawny NV
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I usually recommend KWV wines (brandies too) as a good starting point for a “wine beginner” to get to know the classic varietals, in classic expressions – i.e. they do the basics, and they do them well.
Seems I might need a re-visit, and a re-think.
Always food for thought dankie.