KWV also led the wine Double Gold tally, collecting 12 Double Golds and 12 Golds, and was named Best Wine Producer for the third year running. The awards, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, drew 1 293 entries, with judges awarding 95 Double Gold and 196 Gold medals across wine and brandy categories.
KWV’s previous Vertex winners were The Mentors Orchestra 2018, which won in 2020; The Mentors Perold 2021, which won in 2024; and The Mentors Perold 2022, which won in 2025.
The seven categories attracting the most entries were red blends (148), Sauvignon Blanc (127), Cabernet Sauvignon (110), Chardonnay (107), Chenin Blanc (101), Shiraz (95) and Pinotage (90).
The Museum Class red wine category took the most Double Golds (12), of which eight were from the 2017 vintage.
Chenin Blanc earned 11 Double Golds, comprising six for unwooded wines and five for wooded wines. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cap Classique each earned seven, with the latter tally including one rosé. Bordeaux blends, Cape Blends and Pinotage, each won four Double Golds, while Heritage Vineyards took three.
In the Gold medal stakes, Chenin Blanc led with 17, followed by red blends with 16 and Cabernet Sauvignon with 13. Sauvignon Blanc, Museum White, Certified Heritage White and potstill brandy each earned 11 Golds. Museum Red received 10, Pinotage nine, and Shiraz, Cape Style and dessert wine eight each.
In brandy, KWV received Double Golds for its 15 Years Brandy and XO Brandy, while Van Ryn’s matched the feat with its 12- and 20-year-old single potstill brandies.
Judging involved 88 local and international experts working in five-member panels over five days of blind tastings.
The ceremony also honoured four industry figures with the 2026 Living Legend Scroll of Honour: consultant Loftie Ellis; retired Stellenbosch University cellar technical officer Edmund Lakay; former Boland International managing director Altus le Roux; and wine and spirits retailer Mark Norrish.
Public tastings of the Double Gold and Gold winners will be held at Deloitte’s premises on 21 October in Cape Town, 27 October in Johannesburg and 11 November in Durban.
