'I tasted hundreds of South African wines as a judge - here are my favourites'

It is South Africa’s most important wine competition, established over 35 years ago and is designed to award the very best wines.

Tasting the 1000 plus wines were dozens of South African and international judges, all qualified as professional wine tasters.

We judged blind of course, with no bottles on show, and each flight of 10 wines was brought ready poured in identical glasses.

I was assigned a programme for the tasting, which took place in the mornings only, so my palate was fresh, and for the first day I tasted the Museum class of wines, which showed that South African wines can age and develop for years.

The next two days I worked through hundreds of Cap Classique sparkling wines, followed by another day of Merlots and a final morning of top-rated wines to identify the very best.

Apart from the seriousness of the tasting, the real joy was in meeting some of South Africa’s top winemakers who also take part in this prestigious competition.

They add knowledge and experience to each panel, turning the tasting into a learning opportunity.

When the results were announced, I was delighted to see many of my favourite South African producers listed.

All the wines entered into the competition must be available in commercial quantities, however as soon as the results are announced many sell out quickly.

So, if you are keen to try some of South Africa’s very top wines you may have to resort to mail order from specialist retailers.

However, I am a strong believer that if a winemaker can make a Gold medal winning wine, he will make sure that other wines in his range will be pretty good, too.

Here are some of the medal winning wines from the 2025 Veritas Awards, and a few suggestions of other wines in the range which I rate highly, and which are easily available.

Try them and if you like them, then follow through and order up the medal winners.

Sparkling Wine

Cap Classique is the name used for all South African sparkling wines made in the traditional way, with a second fermentation in bottle to make the fizz.

They must be aged for a minimum of 12 months on the yeasty lees which adds texture and depth of flavour before disgorging and being ready for market.

This is a long, expensive process but it makes the best wines and for many years the name on the best sparkling wines has been Graham Beck.

This is a producer based in Robertson, an inland area of the Cape, where warm sunshine and cool nights produce excellent quality grapes for sparkling wines.

As head winemaker and cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira has been the face of Graham Beck for decades, winning not just South African trophies but international recognition for the superb quality of his sparkling wines. He even has his own project here in the UK.

In the 2025 Veritas Awards Graham Beck won four Double Gold awards, including one for Graham Beck Pinot Noir Rosé Cap Classique 2019.

This is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, and has light, fresh strawberry fruit with a lovely, crisp finish that tastes well above its price of just £22.49 (allaboutwine.co.uk).

Waitrose also stock wines from this producer, and the Graham Beck Brut non-vintage rosé is also made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and it has elegant soft, red berry fruit and a long, stylish finish.

Currently at is £17 a bottle but if you buy it as part of a mix six – see Grapevine for details – then the price comes down to just £12.75.

White Wine

Chenin Blanc is the white signature grape of South Africa. Originally planted for distilling into brandy, it is now valued for the quality of the white wine it produces.

Wine producer Spier won a Double Gold for its 21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2024 with honeysuckle aromas, intense lemon style, and creamy roundness on the finish. This is available from Laithwaites.co.uk by mail order for £27 a bottle.

It is made by Spier’s cellarmaster Johan Jordaan and I spent a day touring the Spier estate with Johan to find out exactly how he manages to get such precision and balance in this wine.

Unsurprisingly, this kind of quality involves a lot of hard work.

“We plan the wine from the soil to the glass,” he said on that very cold, blustery day when we walked briskly through the vineyards.

“The vines were planted back in the 1980’s and we have a programme of soil regeneration to support them over the long term. The whole vineyard is divided into small plots so we can manage each area during the growing season.”

I haven’t been able to find a local source of Spier Chenin Blanc, but Majestic has the new and exciting Albariño from Spier (£11.50 on a mix six deal) which is well worth trying for its soft citrus and peach notes with a minerally finish.

South Africa has about 10 hectares of Albariño, and Spier have most of it. Spier also have a fabulous hotel if you are planning to visit the Cape.

Red wine

Kleine Zalze is not just a wine producer, it is a delightful place to stay, with lovely cottages surrounding a golf course, plus a restaurant and a pool, although I have never been there when the weather has been warm enough to take a dip.

They make a wide range of wines, including the great value, flavoursome Zalze range that appears on supermarket shelves.

The Zalze Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier blend (Waitrose £10, less 25% on the current Waitrose deal) is full of dark plum fruit and is terrific.

Moving upscale, the Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 won a Double Gold in the Veritas Awards, and it really does deserve it. With cherry and cassis aromas, a broad, dark fruit palate and gentle structure make this a wine to enjoy with beef.

Northallerton-based One More Wine Shop (omws.co.uk) has the 2019 vintage at £35. Roberts and Speight also has this wine in stock.