TA S T I N G |
BRANDY
REVIVAL OF A
NATIONAL TREASURE
SOUTH AFRICAN BRANDY HAS HAD A TOUGH TIME OVER THE PAST DECADE. SALES DECLINED DRAMATICALLY BUT HAVE TURNED AROUND WITH THE GRAPH ON AN UPWARD CURVE, SHOWING 20% YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH. CHEERS MAGAZINE’S INFORMAL TASTING SHOWS WHY CONSUMERS ARE FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN. TASTING PANEL:DR WINNIE BOWMAN CWM, EMILE JOUBER T, SHAYNE DOWLING, FI ONA MC DONA LD
22 w w w .t o p s a t s p a r. c o . z a
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t all began with some trepidation – and ended with glowing praise... and a bit of a whinge! “Locals don’t realise just how good South African brandy is – especially at the entry level,” said brandy expert, Cape Wine Master and panel wrangler Dr Winnie Bowman once the tasting was done. (That was her gentle whinge!) She judges on international panels and bemoans the overall quality of brandy from other nations. “Around 80 to 90% of the entry level brandies we assess at overseas competitions
don’t measure up to the average standard of any brandy you could buy off the shelf locally. South African brandy is good, people!” The country’s best examples from Distell and the KWV regularly shoot the lights out at international competitions but consumers are possibly not aware of how this affects the less premium products on TOPS at SPAR shelves nationwide. Yes, the best barrels are set aside for these ultra-premium bottlings but it means that what trickles down and is blended into the larger volume labels raises
