Michelangelo Takes the Spirit of South African Brandy to the World

Top image caption: Bernhard Schäfer, Germany spirits expert.

The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirit Awards provides one of most comprehensive platforms for judging South African brandies. Not only in terms of entry numbers, but also due to the fact that this is the only local wine and spirits competition judged by panels consisting primarily of international wine judges.

According to Winnie Bowman CWM and convenor of the brandy panel for the Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards, the international judges think extremely highly of our brandies. “So much so that often in international competitions, judges request to be on the panel on the day that the South African brandies are being judged!” she says. “Having judged for several years on various spirit competitions, I know that international judges always recognise the quality of our brandies and you can see this is in the scores the brandies accumulate.”

Bowman says the Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards plays a major role in promoting the excellence of South African brandy. “Being judged by experts from around the world, the word on our brandy quality most definitely gets out into the greater drinks arena, as each judge is a terrific ambassador for the competition as well as the products scrutinised. Here proactive communication and social media play a major role and with the support of the Michelangelo organisers and the sponsors, South African brandy gets major exposure.”

South African brandies enjoy a reputation as the best in the world, predominantly as a result of consistent results at competitions like Michelangelo. “This not only applies to pot-still brandies but also the blended products that are truly of superlative quality,” she says. “It is always a very proud occasion to convene the Michelangelo panel and see the reaction the judges from all over the world have for at our brandies. They are stunned.”

The reason for this high quality, says Bowman, is the stringent laws regarding brandy production and its aging which ensure the highest quality and consistency from batch to batch.

And what about the skill needed to taste brandy during competitions like the Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards? “One needs to be able to taste the intrinsics of the product, despite the much higher alcohol levels compared to wine – so it does takes practice,” says Winnie.  “It is very easy to be seduced (or put off!) by the high alcohol content. As far as overall rating is concerned, like in wine one judges for balance, harmony and depth. Off course brandy judging includes products of very different ages – in SA terms from three years to over 30-year old products, and international examples can be even aged for much longer.”

Entries for the 2017 Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards are now open. For more information, see www.michelangeloawards.com