William ‘Big Bill’ Millar, boxing champ, decorated war hero, Springbok rugby captain and the first General Manager of KWV from 1924 to 1942, is the inspiration behind Big Bill, a new wine brand that offers unusual blend appeal that is larger than life, just as Big Bill was.

Billy Millar passed away in 1948, but his legend lives on with this brand launching 97 years later.

Big Bill comes in two bold blends – Petit Verdot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz red blend with upfront strawberry, cherry and mulberry aromas with hints of peppery spice and dark chocolate and an elegant and refreshing Chenin Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc/Grenache white blend that displays aromas of peach, guava and prickly pear on the nose with hints of pineapple and green figs.

“These unusual blends stand out, and show our innovative approach to winemaking and exploring different varietals and using them skillfully in blends to add depth and complexity,” says Johann Fourie, Chief Winemaker at KWV.

He continues: “The red blend offers a silky tannin structure that is complemented by sweet fruit that contributes to the long, lingering finish while the white blend offers a lively, fresh palate that is complemented by linear acidity and a balanced, seamless finish.”

KWV Global Brand Manager, Tania Joubert, says, “The brand’s great flavour, combined with its vintage look, which is appealing on shelf, has already proven to be successful internationally, particularly in the US and the UK and we soon realized its local potential.”

The wine has already gained acclaim at the recent internationally judged Michelangelo International Wine & Spirit Challenge awards, where the 2015 Big Bill white blend won a Gold medal.

There is only one wine barrel in the world large enough to bear Big Bill’s name, which resides in the KWV cellar. Believed to be the biggest stuk vat in the Southern Hemisphere with an almost 22 000 litre capacity, the French oak barrel dates back to 1843 and even lying on its side, dwarfs all other barrels in the cellar.

Brenden Schwartz, owner and package design specialist at Bravo Design, who personally developed the brand’s retro vintage hand crafted look and feel, says he took his creative inspiration from the colossal barrel and traced the actual lettering from the vat and from that, developed the brand around Big Bill’s incredible life story.

“The result was a brand that is on trend and visually appealing with strong lettering, colour and form, backed by an authentic story,” says Schwarz. “Having a brand with a real life story of a person who was such a legendary character attached to it is priceless.”

Available at Makro and Spar Liquor Shops nationwide, the wine is great value for money, priced at R50 per bottle for the white blend and R58 for the red.

KWV’s Fourie quips: “It’s a big wine, for any occasion, and whatever the occasion is, opening up a bottle of Big Bill will surely evoke the man himself and which will undoubtedly make any occasion a Big one.”