Top 100 SA Wine Spot Plus Double Golds for Orange River Cellars

Orange River Cellars from the Northern Cape put in another great performance at a leading South African wine competition, taking a Top 100 spot as well as two Double Gold medals in the Top 100 SA Wines/National Wine Challenge held in Cape Town last week.

The coveted Top 100 slot went to Orange River Cellars’ acclaimed Straw Wine of the 2015 vintage, while the red blend Lyra Vega 2013 and Red Muscadel 2015 won Double Gold medals.

According to Koos Visser, having a wine recognised as one of the Top 100 in South Africa is a tremendous honour for any winery. “Our country has never produced as many wines of such exceptional quality as is currently the case,” says Koos Visser, marketing manager at Orange River Cellars. “With some 8 000 various brands in South Africa alone, to see your wine adjudged among the top 100 is a tremendous achievement for our wineries, our team of viticulturists and the winemakers.”

The Orange River Cellars Straw Wine, a natural-sweet made from air-dried Chenin Blanc grapes, has built-up an enviable reputation having won a Veritas Gold Medal as well as receiving 91 points from the International Wine Review.

Visser said that the National Wine Challenge Double Gold Medals for the Orange River Cellars’ Lyra Vega red blend and Red Muscadel represented a glimpse into the current vision of this Northern Cape winery.

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“We have always enjoyed acclaim for our Muscadel wines due to the perfect vineyard conditions for growing Muscat de Frontignan,” he says. “And for a long time Muscadel was deemed as one of the few wines that Orange River Cellars could really excel at. However, the National Wine Challenge Double Gold Award awarded to our Lyra Vega 2013 shows that the situation has changed in the Northern Cape and that we are now able to also produce dry red wines of serious quality.”

The Orange River Cellars Lyra Vega is a blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Shiraz, all grapes in the blend originating from the Orange River wine region.

“Despite the geographical challenges attached to making premium wine in the Northern Cape, the producers, viticulturists and winemakers have shown in the past few years that they are up to the task.

“And with this wine, the Lyra Vega, they have truly shown what we are capable of as a winemaking unit. To create a blended red wine that shines in front of a team of wine experts who judge at the National Wine Challenge holds great significance for us, and I can assure everyone that the international and national wine markets now see Orange River Cellars in a new light.

“The fact that we are located 800 km from the traditional winelands of the Cape means that Orange River Cellars has to work hard to confirm our image as a quality region in the eyes of the consumer,” he says. “Besides awarding our products, awards such as the Top 100 SA Wines/National Wine Challenge are important in acting as an indication of where we are in terms of quality as measure alongside our peers. The latest results have once again shown that the time for Orange River Cellars and the Northern Cape wine region have arrived.”