Veritas Wine Awards

Benguela Cove was awarded both the Best Producer and Vertex Trophy for Best Wine awards.

Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate is proud to announce its outstanding success at the prestigious Veritas Wine Awards 2023, South Africa's premier wine competition. The estate clinched the coveted Duimpie Bayly Veritas Vertex Award for the overall champion wine, a remarkable achievement. Additionally, Benguela Cove received the Best Achiever award, along with an impressive collection of Double Gold and Gold medals.

The Vertex Award was presented to Benguela Cove's talented cellarmaster, Johann Fourie, and his team, in recognition of their exceptional 2019 Benguela Cove Joie de Vivre Cap Classique. This marks only the second time that a Cap Classique has achieved the highest honour in this competition's history.

In addition to the Vertex trophy, Benguela Cove secured the Best Achiever title in the category for estates with ten wines or fewer. The estate also garnered three Double Gold medals and two Gold medals for the Joie de Vivre Cap Classique and the 2020 and 2022 Benguela Cove Vinography Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Veritas Awards, often referred to as the 'Oscars' of the South African wine industry, involved the blind evaluation of over 1,200 entries by a panel of industry experts. The 33rd annual awards ceremony was celebrated in October at a gala dinner in Cape Town.

Situated alongside the scenic Bot River Lagoon near Hermanus, Benguela Cove combines a picturesque location with a dedication to crafting premium cool climate wines. The estate benefits from refreshing maritime breezes directly off the Atlantic Ocean.

In the winery, Cellarmaster Johann Fourie expertly blends traditional and modern winemaking techniques to produce approximately 350,000 bottles annually across diverse wine ranges. The estate exclusively uses grapes from its sustainably farmed vineyards, processing them on-site in a state-of-the-art 400-ton winery.

Johann Fourie's craftsmanship reflects Benguela Cove's unique terroir. The estate's diverse slopes, soils, and exposure to ocean winds enable Fourie to bring out the best expression from each grape variety.