Leading wine and spirit company, KWV, was the recipient of 29 top awards at the internationally acclaimed Michelangelo Wine & Spirits Awards – a major industry competition which attracted a record number of 2 255 entries this year.

KWV Winemaker Izele van Blerk at the Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards

Illustrating KWV’s appeal to both local and international markets, KWV secured commendation from the competition’s local and international judges across its various beverage categories. 

Organisers of the Michelangelo Wine & Spirits Awards reported on KWV’s “formidable performance,” citing the company’s award tally which included a trophy, a Platinum Medal, five Double Gold Medals and 13 Gold Medals.

This 100-year-old company took the Michelangelo Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy for its The Mentors Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Platinum for its KWV Classic Collection Cape Tawny, Double Golds for its The Mentors Noble Late Harvest 2015, The Mentors Pinotage 2016, Classic Collection Cape Full Cream, KWV Heritage Cognac XO and IMOYA brandy. The balance of KWV’s medal count is for its highly celebrated brandies, the KWV 12, KWV 15, KWV 20 and KWV 5 Potstill Brandy all claiming Gold, as well as its Classic Collection Cape Medium Cream, Roodeberg White and The Mentors Grenache Blanc, The Mentors Orchestra and The Mentors Petit Verdot.

This year, the Michelangelo Wine & Spirits Awards celebrated its 22nd year of continuous operation and has grown into the “biggest southern African-based Wine & Spirits competition” in the number of entries received. The key differentiator of the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards is that wines are judged by a panel of esteemed local and international judges, who taste the wines blind and rate the wines according to the internationally accepted 100-point system. Wines and spirits are only awarded a medal if they rank among the top-scoring third of wines entered.

Lorraine Immelman, founder, and CEO of the Michelangelo Awards indicated that judges in this year’s competition were impressed by the quality of South African wine - said to be the finest in the country’s history - which is further “complemented by a diverse and exciting component of top-quality spirits.”

Commentating on KWV’s performance, Liandra Kotzé, Marketing Executive of KWV’s wine portfolio, said, “KWV has an established local and international reputation as a brand that houses some of the liquor industry’s most recognised brands. It is encouraging that the brand is attracting such positive industry feedback in a year that we are celebrating 100 years of excellence. This performance further follows an equally impressive performance at last year’s Michelangelo Awards, and shows that we are living up to our motto of rewarding the consumer with ‘fresh consistency.’”