Two Top 100 SA Wine Spots for Orange River Cellars

Tuesday, 2 May, 2017
Orange River Cellars
Orange River Cellars from the Northern Cape put in another sterling performance at a leading South African wine competition, taking two Top 100 spots as well as One Double Gold medal in the Top 100 SA Wines/National Wine Challenge held in Cape Town recently.

The coveted two Top 100 slots went to Orange River Cellars’ White and Red Muscadel, both from the 2016 vintage, while the acclaimed Straw Wine 2016 was awarded a Double Gold medal.

According to Koos Visser, having two wines recognised among 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.”

Orange River Cellars has always enjoyed acclaim for its Muscadel wines due to the perfect vineyard conditions for growing Muscat de Frontignan. “And for a long time Muscadel was deemed as one of the few wines that Orange River Cellars could really excel at,” says Visser. “But the Double Gold for the Straw Wine, a natural-sweet made from air-dried Chenin Blanc grapes, shows we are no one-trick pony and that the Orange River Cellars reputation for diversity is increasing annually.”

Orange River Cellars also won two Double Silver medals for its Lyra red wines, both the Lyra Vega and Lyra Shiraz Reserve taking one of these awards and reaffirming Orange River Cellars growing ability to make quality red wines, too.

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.

 “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.”

Visser says the Top 100 results are an important vehicle for the consumer to use as a guide when making his or her purchasing decision.

“At the end of the day, the customer is king,” says Visser. “By being able to endorse your Top 100 achievement with a prominent bottle-sticker, the customer can be assured of the quality in the bottle. And keeping the customer happy should be the number one aim of any wine producer.”

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Orange River Cellars White Muscadel
Orange River Cellars White Muscadel

Orange River Cellars Red Muscadel
Orange River Cellars Red Muscadel

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