This week again highlights wine and brandy judging in South Africa. Highly skilled international and local judges are at work to closely examine this year’s entries for the Veritas Awards.
Oldest
Veritas is the country’s oldest and most authoritative wine competition for market-ready products of the vine. It has been at it for 36 years already. An outstanding feature of this mammoth wine judging is the involvement of influential overseas judges. This is made possible by a partnership with Dry Ice International, which annually funds these experts’ local visit.
Led by CEO Deon Roux, Dry Ice International is the largest supplier and manufacturer of dry ice in South Africa. “To convert grapes at low temperature into excellent wines is our motto and this motivates us to be a proud sponsor of Veritas 2026,” he says.
Roux stresses the importance of reliable and speedy delivery of dry ice for the wine industry, especially during the harvesting season. The company has more than 30 years’ experience. It boasts numerous manufacturing plants and an extensive delivery network.
Veritas chairperson Christo Pienaar said: “It’s our pleasure welcoming our international judges to the Veritas Awards and having them share their proficiency and know-how with us. Their expert contribution to the stringent judging process is of high importance in supporting our claim to applying the highest judging standards.”
Judges
The international judges are Uli Hoffmann, winemaker and wine consultant, UK; Jason Millar, wine writer and international judge, UK; Jonas Rojerman MW, international wine judge and importer, Sweden; Jeanne van Dyk, sommelier and wine educator, USA; and Joe Wadsack, international judge and TV and radio presenter, UK.
Altogether 19 seasoned judging panels are gathered at the Pavilion Hall, Nederburg in Paarl. They will identify the top entries from 1 300 contenders for the coveted Veritas medals. They will also choose the winner of the Duimpie Bayly Vertex Award for the best wine overall. The award is named in honour of the late Mr Bayly, an undisputable wine industry legend.
The wine and brandy entries are evaluated over five days until Friday 11 September. The seven most competitive categories according to entries received are: Red Blends (148), Sauvignon Blanc (127), Cabernet Sauvignon (110), Chardonnay (107), Chenin Blanc (101), Shiraz (95) and Pinotage (90).
The domestic judging group comprises winemakers, researchers, academics, wine buyers, wine writers and Cape Wine Masters (CWMs). They continuously play a significant role as independent judges. No fewer than 15 CWMs are in action over the five days.
Wine lovers will once again be able to order the winners of Double Gold and Gold immediately following the results at the gala dinner on 10 October. Getwine offers free delivery of 12 bottles or more to your doorstep. The wines can be ordered through the VinoVeritas sales platform sponsored by SA Litho.
Veritas and its partner, Deloitte, will present tastings of the prestigious Veritas Double Gold and Gold winners in the main centres in October and November. “We look forward to share these top wines with our clients, the trade and consumers, in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban,” said Ruwayda Redfearn, Deloitte Africa CEO.
These public tastings are to be held at the Deloitte offices on Wednesday 21 October in Cape Town, Tuesday 27 October in Johannesburg and Wednesday 11 November in Durban. A tutored tasting of some of the awarded wines will be held on Monday 16 November in Gqeberha. More details are provided on the Veritas website. Tickets are available on Quicket from 14 September.
36th year
The Veritas Awards, now in its 36th year, is South Africa’s foremost wine competition. Wine cognoscenti and consumers alike rely on a Veritas award as an unrivalled stamp of quality. This is thanks to the financial support from industry suppliers like Agrimark. The popular agricultural and lifestyle retail group joined the Veritas Awards last year.
Porex SA – a prominent Paarl-based supplier of machinery, winemaking equipment and products – has been presenting tastings of the Vertex and Double Gold winners in London for seven years. The company also flies the recipient of the Duimpie Bayly Vertex Award to the UK.
The illustrious awards function – known as the Oscars of the Wine Industry – is to be presented in the CTICC on Saturday 10 October 2026.
Ulrich Hoffmann studied oenology at the State Research Institute for Wine and Fruit Growing, the LVWO Weinsberg in Germany. This was after completing an apprenticeship as winemaker. He is a winemaker and international winemaking consultant. He draws from 25 years’ experience, including prestigious estates in Germany (Rolf Willy Estate in Baden-Württemberg), France (Chateau de Fieuzal and Château Haut-Gardère, Pessac-Leognan), Italy (Tenuta Casucci, Tuscany), Spain (Artadi and Bodegas y Viñedos Artazu, Navarra), Napa Valley (Cain Vineyard and Winery, Spring Mountain), Lebanon (Sendiana, Mount Leban) and numerous English wineries (eg Bolney Estate, Gusbourne Estate, Albury Organic Vineyard, Hidden Spring Vineyard).
He has been judging wines internationally for almost as many years as a panel chair at the International Wine Challenge, the IWSC and the Berlin Wine Trophy. Hoffmann lives in Sussex, England. He runs Hoffmann & Rathbone, a boutique winery producing fine English sparkling wines and an international winemaking consultancy, Vivid Wines, servicing clients around the globe.
Jason Millar is a London-based wine writer, judge and industry professional. He is a contributing writer to Decanter on South Africa, where he works regularly across editorial and blind panel tastings. He also writes for Harpers Wine & Spirit, Drinks Retailing and The Buyer. He has his own Substack publication at jasondrinks.com.
Sustained
South Africa has been a sustained focus of his work for more than fifteen years, first as a buyer, now as an independent writer and consultant. He has visited extensively across the Cape winelands, written about the country’s wines in depth, and built close relationships with many of its leading winemakers. In terms of judging experience, Jason has over ten years of industry blind tasting experience, including leading judging panels. He currently serves as a DWWA Regional Chair and previously judged for the IWSC and on other industry and trade panels. He holds the WSET Diploma with multiple distinctions and the highest mark globally in his graduating year.
Jonas Röjerman MW is the founder and managing director of DNA Wines, a wine importer specialising in off-trade sales. He is one of only three Masters of Wine from Sweden. With over 30 years of experience in the wine industry, Jonas has been involved in various facets of the business including Horeca, wine writing, education, off-trade and on-trade.
Notably, he served as head of quality control at Systembolaget (2007-2021). There he developed quality processes for procurement and led the tasting panel. This ensured selection quality prior to distribution to more than 400 outlets. He joined Systembolaget in 2007 as a category manager for the Fine Wine division, after previously serving as the Head Sommelier at the five-star Grand Hôtel in Stockholm.
In 2001, he obtained the WSET Diploma and began lecturing at various wine and sommelier schools in Sweden. He also co-authored wine literature and wrote for wine magazines. His successful career as a sommelier earned him several Swedish and Scandinavian titles. He also achieved high rankings in international championships. This provided him with opportunities to judge at various wine competitions around the world. He is a regular judge at the DWWA and previously judged at the Veritas Awards in 2023 and 2007.
Dr Jeanne van Dyk is a professional interpreter and translator with a huge interest in wine as a part-time occupation. She is a Certified Sommelier and Wine Educator from the European Wine Academy in Paris, living in Washington, USA. She is an accredited French and Italian Wine Scholar at the Wine Scholar Guild of the Bourgogne Masters. She also completed the CCAVF Diploma (Certificate of In-depth Knowledge of the Vineyards of France). She recently qualified as a Certified Etna Wine Ambassador at the Mount Etna Wine School. She has commenced her study on sparkling wines from around the world in view of specialising in Classic Method Sparkling Wines. Her interest in sparkling wine grew naturally from her love of Cap Classique. She has been fascinated by the many ways this style is interpreted around the world.
Van Dyk completed both high school and university studies in Pretoria. She then spent five years studying in France. She returned to South Africa, where she completed her PhD in Translation Studies. Since 2021 she has been based in Washington, DC as a senior interpreter and translator for the IMF. She speaks seven languages fluently – English, Afrikaans and five European languages.
Joe Wadsack studied chemistry at Manchester University and obtained a winemaking diploma in Bordeaux. He was a buyer for the supermarket chains J Sainsbury and Waitrose. He co-presented a TV show on BBC’s Food Channel, Great Wine Walks, taking him to South Africa, Australia and the fine wine districts of France. He later co-authored the Richard and Judy Wine Guide. He was co-presenter of the flagship TV show BBC Food & Drink.
He has been a panel chair and senior judge at The International Wine Challenge for 30 years. He also regularly judges at wine competitions throughout the world, including South Africa at Veritas since 2017. He was named International Wine Challenge’s Personality of the Year in 2015 and IWSC Wine Communicator of the Year 2016. He is Owner and Presenter on The Drinks Coach UK on YouTube.
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