The dynamic winemaking duo at Simonsvlei has been responsible for a significant boost to the company’s trophy cabinet this year with numerous medals. The dream team of Francois Van Zyl and Ryan Puttick also walked off with a gold medal for the 2011 Hercules Paragon Sauvignon Blanc at the prestigious Veritas Awards this weekend.
“I joined Simonsvlei fairly recently and have been encouraged to explore innovative winemaking processes with Francois and to work with new techniques. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were sourced from our producers in Durbanville and have obviously benefited from the cool ocean breezes to give it a lively freshness with aromatic gooseberry flavours threaded with tropical fruits and a juicy dry finish. As a winemaker, you can only do well in the cellar if you’re working with good product from the vineyards,” mentioned Puttick.
The rest of the team’s medal haul include the only South African wine to receive a double gold at the 2011 international Mundus Vini Wine Award for the 2008 Hercules Paragon SMCV, gold medals for the 2011 Hercules Paragon Sauvignon Blanc and the 2008 South Atlantic Shiraz at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards as well as a silver medal for the 2010 Ja-Mocha Pinotage at the recently staged Mundus Vini. Simonsvlei’s latest South Atlantic range also received silver Veritas medals for the 2008 Shiraz and Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Four other wines in the Simonsvlei wine portfolio were awarded bronze medals.
Simonvlei’s recently launched eco-friendly packacing for their Lifestyle Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon has also been nominated for the prominent IPSA Gold Pack competition, which honours companies for innovation in the field of packaging.
According to Simonsvlei marketing manager Danie Terblanche, they are delighted with these performances. “We posed a challenge to our winemaking team to confirm that Simonsvlei can still create award-winning wines and they have proven this convincingly,” explains Terblanche.
