Spier recently scooped five Gold medals and one Great Gold at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2010, tying for third place overall in the prestigious competition. 

The awards this year included nearly 7,000 wines from four continents. South African wines won 25 of the 604 gold awards, and two of the 60 great golds, with Spier being the top performer in the country and third top performer in the world.

This achievement follows hot on the heels of the wine farm’s recent victory at Veritas, dubbed the “Oscars of the SA wine world”.  Spier was awarded five Double Gold and six Gold medals.

“We are delighted with the results and believe this is a great accolade for South African wines in general,” says Frans Smit, Spier’s Cellar Master.  “SA ranked sixth this year overall—impressive given that we submitted only 3% of the total samples.

“These results prove that South Africa can produce high-end, premium wines to an international standard.  It is also testament to Spier’s distinctive winemaking style, which aims to balance old-world elegance with a new world fruit-driven methodology.”

Smit says that Spier is particularly proud of achieving a Great Gold for its Private Collection Chenin Blanc 2008.  “We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on creating a distinctive, rich and complex wooded Chenin Blanc from vineyards aged 38- to 42-years. These vineyards produce berries with thicker skins, enabling us to create wines with flavour intensity and great ageing potential.

“Concours Mondial’s Great Gold accolade for our Chenin shows that this varietal can be a top performer on the global stage.”

For more info, visit Spierwines.co.za