New at this year’s festival was ‘Cinema Paradiso’, a salon privé area in dramatic, decadent style where a selection of rare, matured brandies could be enjoyed with brandy-inspired ‘nouveau’ canapés such as popcorn with brandy butter.
‘The Artisan Collection’ featured brandies handcrafted by winemakers in such small quantities that they are normally not available anywhere else but at the cellars: De Compagnie, Van Loveren and Grundheim were introduced here.
The show was also the launching pad for two new exclusive brandies from Oude Molen distillery in Elgin. Festival-goers were the first to taste the Solera Grand Reserve, a 14-year-old potstill brandy using the traditional Spanish sherry solera system of feeding the distillate down through several tiers of stacked barrels. The René Single Cask is even more special: just 714 bottles were made from a single barrel of a six-year-old potstill brandy and named in honour of 19th-century French distiller René Santhagens who started the Cape’s historic Oude Molen brand.
‘Raising the Bar’ gave bartending maestros from Bartenders Workshop a stage to demonstrate their showmanship and creativity with brandy-based cocktails. There were new spins on old favourites – the classic Side Car infused with cashew nuts, cherries in Kirsch and lemon juice and the Brandy Alexander with liquidised potstill chocolate and coffee ice-cream.
Completely new brandy-based festival cocktails included the hip ‘boktail’, an authentic, über-stylish South African cocktail offering a ‘green and gold’ take on the perennially popular brandy and cola. Also introduced were Gold Leaf, Eldorado Sunset, Cape Fruits, Mellow Breeze, Peach Marmalade Side Car, Richelieu Thyme and Snuggle. Many reflect the latest trend towards ‘culinary cocktails’ using fresh herbs, floral infusions and spices. Everything from thyme, basil and lemongrass, to peach marmalade and lavender, to ginger and allspice introduced trendy twenty-somethings to the fun and games of the retro cocktail hour.
Other exhibits gave festival guests a greater understanding of the intricacies of winemaking, distilling, barrel maturation and master blending that make for a great brandy. The ‘Journey from Vine to Vat’ sensory pavilion illustrated how brandy is made, while the ‘Brandy Aroma Wheel’ detailed the extraordinary range of aromas and flavours this long and delicate process coaxes out of what is initially a raw, colourless distillate to become the complex, golden elixir that is Cape brandy.
Returning to the festival to great applause was (‘Oom Abie’) Valentyn, a veteran cooper at the Van Ryn Brandy Cellar in Stellenbosch with 36 years in the trade, demonstrated the rare artisanal skill of assembling a French oak barrel from scratch, using traditional, hand-made tools: a living vignette encapsulating over 300 years of brandy-making in South Africa.
‘The Artisan Collection’ featured brandies handcrafted by winemakers in such small quantities that they are normally not available anywhere else but at the cellars: De Compagnie, Van Loveren and Grundheim were introduced here.
The show was also the launching pad for two new exclusive brandies from Oude Molen distillery in Elgin. Festival-goers were the first to taste the Solera Grand Reserve, a 14-year-old potstill brandy using the traditional Spanish sherry solera system of feeding the distillate down through several tiers of stacked barrels. The René Single Cask is even more special: just 714 bottles were made from a single barrel of a six-year-old potstill brandy and named in honour of 19th-century French distiller René Santhagens who started the Cape’s historic Oude Molen brand.
‘Raising the Bar’ gave bartending maestros from Bartenders Workshop a stage to demonstrate their showmanship and creativity with brandy-based cocktails. There were new spins on old favourites – the classic Side Car infused with cashew nuts, cherries in Kirsch and lemon juice and the Brandy Alexander with liquidised potstill chocolate and coffee ice-cream.
Completely new brandy-based festival cocktails included the hip ‘boktail’, an authentic, über-stylish South African cocktail offering a ‘green and gold’ take on the perennially popular brandy and cola. Also introduced were Gold Leaf, Eldorado Sunset, Cape Fruits, Mellow Breeze, Peach Marmalade Side Car, Richelieu Thyme and Snuggle. Many reflect the latest trend towards ‘culinary cocktails’ using fresh herbs, floral infusions and spices. Everything from thyme, basil and lemongrass, to peach marmalade and lavender, to ginger and allspice introduced trendy twenty-somethings to the fun and games of the retro cocktail hour.
Other exhibits gave festival guests a greater understanding of the intricacies of winemaking, distilling, barrel maturation and master blending that make for a great brandy. The ‘Journey from Vine to Vat’ sensory pavilion illustrated how brandy is made, while the ‘Brandy Aroma Wheel’ detailed the extraordinary range of aromas and flavours this long and delicate process coaxes out of what is initially a raw, colourless distillate to become the complex, golden elixir that is Cape brandy.
Returning to the festival to great applause was (‘Oom Abie’) Valentyn, a veteran cooper at the Van Ryn Brandy Cellar in Stellenbosch with 36 years in the trade, demonstrated the rare artisanal skill of assembling a French oak barrel from scratch, using traditional, hand-made tools: a living vignette encapsulating over 300 years of brandy-making in South Africa.
Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival Retrospective A new informed breed of brandy lovers enjoys 2010 SA Brandy Festival
In what appears to be a moment of synchronicity, the now regular international kudos accorded South African brandies as the best in the world is being matched by the long-deserved attention and appreciation of this national treasure by a new breed of local brandy devotee: interested, informed and enthusiastic.
This ‘aha’ moment, for both South African brandy and brandy lovers, came during the recent 2010 Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival held at the Sandton Sun. The third of these annual events, the festival was a showcase of Cape brandy organised by the South African Brandy Foundation to give consumers and the trade (on- and off-consumption) the opportunity to explore the extensive range of world-class brandies produced by South African distillers. And they came in their droves: wine and brandy lovers – novices and connoisseurs alike – looking to learn more about South Africa’s biggest-selling spirit, a distilled wine that offers exceptional versatility in style, range and ways of enjoyment.
Says Riaan Marais, chairman of the South African Brandy Festival: ‘There is clearly an incredible thirst for knowledge about brandy in this country and the festival will continue to aim to answer this need.’
Not only does the event celebrate the modern status of South African brandy as a world-acclaimed product. Adds Marais: ‘The festival also recognises its role as supporting what is an important part of the South African wine industry as a whole, an agricultural and commercial sector that employs nearly 260 000 people.’
Says Dave Hughes, a distiller and international wine and spirits judge who was on-hand throughout the event to share his brandy knowledge with festival-goers: ‘I had a far more “informed” set of visitors than ever before, asking far more “technical” questions, eager to learn more about brandy and how it is made’.
Festival director Michael Fridjhon, a South African wine and spirit expert and connoisseur of world repute, was thrilled with the turnout. ‘Not only was the festival well supported by trade visitors, the number of consumers was substantially higher than before. This is significant as ticket prices for this exclusive event is higher than at any other spirits show in the country!’
Hughes and Fridjhon were equally impressed by the high calibre of visitors attending and a marked increase in ‘high profile’ people clearly enchanted by the modern image of brandy as the refined, sophisticated, complex drink that it is. This was unequivocally reflected in the lay-out and presentation of the festival, described by guests as ‘stylish’ and ‘elegant’.
The highlight this year was undoubtedly the ‘Walk of Fame’. In keeping with the festival’s theme of ‘South African Brandy: the World’s Finest’, the exhibit showcased the 12 Cape brandies that have won the coveted trophy for ‘Best Worldwide Brandy’ at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London, one of the global industry’s most established and prestigious competitions. Local brandies have been thus lauded no fewer than eight times in the last 11 years alone. This reflects not only a remarkable consistency in benchmark quality but a rare achievement in being so recognised, year after year, by various expert palates from around the world. And this year’s festival showed that, for local brandy lovers, the penny has finally dropped.
A range of other exhibits and demonstrations served to illustrate the different styles of brandy produced in South Africa and the vast array of different brands and ways of enjoying them. From smooth, rich potstills to toasty oaked vintages to fruity blended brandies; all were there, crafted by South African distillers and winemakers to the highest, most rigorous of local production standards, based on and matched only by those in Cognac, the home of the finest copper-pot, double-distilled, barrel-matured brandies.
This ‘aha’ moment, for both South African brandy and brandy lovers, came during the recent 2010 Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival held at the Sandton Sun. The third of these annual events, the festival was a showcase of Cape brandy organised by the South African Brandy Foundation to give consumers and the trade (on- and off-consumption) the opportunity to explore the extensive range of world-class brandies produced by South African distillers. And they came in their droves: wine and brandy lovers – novices and connoisseurs alike – looking to learn more about South Africa’s biggest-selling spirit, a distilled wine that offers exceptional versatility in style, range and ways of enjoyment.
Says Riaan Marais, chairman of the South African Brandy Festival: ‘There is clearly an incredible thirst for knowledge about brandy in this country and the festival will continue to aim to answer this need.’
Not only does the event celebrate the modern status of South African brandy as a world-acclaimed product. Adds Marais: ‘The festival also recognises its role as supporting what is an important part of the South African wine industry as a whole, an agricultural and commercial sector that employs nearly 260 000 people.’
Says Dave Hughes, a distiller and international wine and spirits judge who was on-hand throughout the event to share his brandy knowledge with festival-goers: ‘I had a far more “informed” set of visitors than ever before, asking far more “technical” questions, eager to learn more about brandy and how it is made’.
Festival director Michael Fridjhon, a South African wine and spirit expert and connoisseur of world repute, was thrilled with the turnout. ‘Not only was the festival well supported by trade visitors, the number of consumers was substantially higher than before. This is significant as ticket prices for this exclusive event is higher than at any other spirits show in the country!’
Hughes and Fridjhon were equally impressed by the high calibre of visitors attending and a marked increase in ‘high profile’ people clearly enchanted by the modern image of brandy as the refined, sophisticated, complex drink that it is. This was unequivocally reflected in the lay-out and presentation of the festival, described by guests as ‘stylish’ and ‘elegant’.
The highlight this year was undoubtedly the ‘Walk of Fame’. In keeping with the festival’s theme of ‘South African Brandy: the World’s Finest’, the exhibit showcased the 12 Cape brandies that have won the coveted trophy for ‘Best Worldwide Brandy’ at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London, one of the global industry’s most established and prestigious competitions. Local brandies have been thus lauded no fewer than eight times in the last 11 years alone. This reflects not only a remarkable consistency in benchmark quality but a rare achievement in being so recognised, year after year, by various expert palates from around the world. And this year’s festival showed that, for local brandy lovers, the penny has finally dropped.
A range of other exhibits and demonstrations served to illustrate the different styles of brandy produced in South Africa and the vast array of different brands and ways of enjoying them. From smooth, rich potstills to toasty oaked vintages to fruity blended brandies; all were there, crafted by South African distillers and winemakers to the highest, most rigorous of local production standards, based on and matched only by those in Cognac, the home of the finest copper-pot, double-distilled, barrel-matured brandies.