Wintry weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the KWV winemaking team that collected a haul of trophies – including Champion Shiraz – at the the South African National Young Wine Show annual awards function in the West Coast town of Lamberts Bay on Friday.

The triumph comes within days of the maker of some of South Africa’s favourite wines also being named winner of 10 of the 16 trophies at the Paarl Regional Young Wine Show – an unprecedented achievement in the history of the competition.

For the national event - South Africa’s oldest and biggest of its kind - more than 1 900 leading young wines from the country’s eight wine show regions competed. The aim of the competition is to judge the quality of wines within the year of production before they are finally blended and bottled. In this way, the industry can give recognition to the production capabilities of a wine cellar.
In the final tally, four wines from KWV were chosen as the best in their class: a dry white blend, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Shiraz. Most significantly however, the KWV Shiraz also went on to be named overall champion in a category that attracted one of the highest number of entries this year.

“The trophy displays the unrealised potential of shiraz in South Africa,” said KWV chief winemaker Richard Rowe. “Many people said the 2011 harvest was not a good year, but we’re seeing many textures and structures in the wine that were not immediately evident in the vineyards.”

“These awards not only reveal where our wines rank in relation to those in the competition, but also highlight our strength in wine making across many varieties and styles. And because KWV produces quality wines across a diverse range, it’s very pleasing - our best result ever. Everything we do is focussed on wine style and the requirements of an international market.  There are many things we’ve improved and it’s clearly making a difference in the wine,” he said.

In the regional competition held earlier this month, KWV was named the most successful exhibitor for its performance overall. The silverware it collected includes the Sarel Rossow Trophy as Most Successful Winery; the Boland Bank Trophy for the Champion Sauvignon Blanc; the Kooperatiewe Wynkelders Trophy for the Champion Chardonnay; the Vintec Trophy for the Champion Natural Sweet White Wine;  the Akura Trophy for the Champion Dry White Blend; the Accutec Trophy for the Champion Other White Cultivar (Viognier); the Grotto Trophy for the Champion Pinotage; the World Cooperage Trophy for the Champion Shiraz; the Paarl Wynskou Trophy for the Champion Other Red Cultivars (Cabernet Franc); and the Wintrust Trophy for the Champion Non Muscat Fortified (Ruby Port).

At that event, KWV also won five gold medals for Sauvignon Blanc, a Dry White Blend, Shiraz, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

The roots of the SA National Young Wine Show date back to 1833. Entries are adjudicated by specialist panels of judges drawn from winemakers or wine experts with a formal qualification and specialist knowledge of specific wine styles.