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[title]Welcome to Mother Sippy, where we shine a light on the talented winemakers, brewers, distillers and mixologists that make sure the Mother City never goes thirsty! From new wine releases to taprooms pouring perfect pints, Mother Sippy is your guide to all that’s good and great in Cape Town’s world of drinks.
We all know that the Western Cape winelands produce some of the world’s finest wines, available at a fraction of the cost you’d pay for similar quality in the Rhône, Rhine, or Russian River.
But did you know that, with an easy drive out of Cape Town, you can also tap into the world’s finest brandy? And that’s no empty superlative either. At the 2025 International Spirits Challenge in London, Paarl-based KWV was named Brandy Producer of the Year for – wait for it – the seventh time.
Perhaps even more impressive, the KWV XXO 20-year-old took home the Trophy for Best Potstill Brandy (11 years and over) in the world! But that wasn’t the only silverware returning to the Paarl winelands. KWV VSOP claimed the Trophy for Best Potstill up to five years, while Double Gold awards were awarded to KWV 15 and the KWV XO, along with Gold across the rest of the range (KWV 3, 5, VS, 10, 12).
In a nutshell? It means some of the world’s very best brandy is made less than an hour from the Mother City.
What’s the secret? For KWV’s Master Distiller Pieter de Bod, it all begins with a firm sense of what’s needed when the bottle is uncorked and the amber spirit swirls into the glass.
“We’ve got a very good tasting panel within the blending cellar,” says De Bod, who brings decades of distilling experience to the KWV cellars. “Our tasting philosophy is quite clear: we like a product that smells good and tastes good… it must be soft on the palate, long and velvety. But remember, brandy is a spirit, so it must still have a bold mouthfeel as well.”
That sounds straightforward, but in practice, it means De Bod and his team produce dozens of different blends for a single bottling, tweaking components and percentages until the profile clicks.
And unlike many brandy producers that rely on a ‘mother tank’ of spirit to ensure consistency from year to year, De Bod is adamant about retaining the identity of a KWV brandy by working his magic with the barrels he has available at any given time.
“At KWV, I have a different approach,” he says. “I’ll keep the style the same, and there’s always a thread that this is a KWV brandy, but it will be from different components each time. Each year’s blend is never exactly the same as the one before.”
That means each brandy has the signature traits that keep fans coming back, while allowing the nuance of the vintage to shine through. Because remember, brandy is made from wine – typically Chenin Blanc and Colombard – and that sense of vintage should be reflected in the spirit as much as in the wine.
Age doesn't (always) mean quality
And while it’s easy to associate age with quality, for De Bod the skill lies in recognising that time alone isn’t a guarantee of greatness. In fact, he warns that simply parking the spirit in barrels for too long can diminish its fruit character.
“After each spirit has been in barrel for three years, I’ll take it out, smell it, evaluate it… if it’s got enough fragrance and the right compounds to mature, I’ll leave it. Then taste it again. And again, until I get the right age. Only then do we look at it for blending,” says De Bod. “That’s the major art of putting a good brandy in a bottle: the final blending stage.”
Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in the KWV XXO 20, which won the top accolade this year.
The XXO stands for ‘Extra Extra Old’ and is a relatively recent classification introduced for Cognac in 2018, signifying that the distilled spirit has been aged for at least 14 years in oak barrels. With KWV’s latest award-winner, they go further, with a minimum age of 20 years… and some components much older than that.
“Normally, the older the product gets, the more it loses its original flavours… and it takes on more of the characteristics of the casks,” says De Bod. “The difference between our 20 and the others is that if you smell it, it actually smells like a younger brandy – citrus, banana, honey – but if you taste it, you will see how complex that brandy actually is in the oak character, the long lingering aftertaste.”
He's not wrong. In the glass, the XXO 20 lands with dried apricot, vanilla and a hit of smoky cigar box on the nose, then slides into layers of stone fruit, honeyed figs and roasted nuts. A dusting of spice keeps things lively, while a velvet finish brings toffee, dark chocolate and seasoned oak. Even a whisky-drinker like me was soon ordering a second.
Unsurprisingly, the XXO 20 comes with a price tag to match: R1599 if you buy it straight from the cellar. It’s still good value, but there are other options that won’t do as much damage to your credit card.
The KWV 15 – which picked up Double Gold – and brings a nose full of cinnamon and citrus, goes for just R849. KWV’s VSOP also generated plenty of buzz, winning the Trophy for Potstill Grape Brandy up to 5 Years old. Sadly, the VSOP is export-only, but here’s a Time Out insider tip straight from the distiller’s mouth.
“The VSOP is almost exactly the same blend as the VS brandy available locally,” says De Bod. “It’s mostly marketing that decides the labelling, and a slight difference in alcohol. Export bottlings sit at 40% ABV to align with global standards, while KWV’s potstills are bottled at 38%.”
That VS sells from the cellar for just R339. What a bargain.
But if all this talk of brandy still makes you mentally throw in ‘and Coke’… those times are a changing, says De Bod: "So many people have never tried potstill brandy because of the bad reputation the spirit has from some cheaper blended brandies. But if they taste proper potstill brandies, I think there will be a big shift in mindset. They will really see just how good our local brandies are."
Happily, you don’t have to travel far to find out either. Just 45 minutes from Cape Town, the KWV tasting centre – which was recently refurbished – offers easy access to the complete range, while around the corner, the KWV House of Fire is an immersive brandy experience, ending with a tasting of four premium KWV brandies – including three ISC medal winners – paired with bespoke chocolates.
It’s all presented in a two-storey multi-sensory visitor centre that explores the history, craft, and maturation of the spirit. All the way back to 1672, when the first distillation of brandewijn – meaning ‘burnt wine’ in Dutch – took place on a ship in what is now Table Bay. We’ve come a long way since then, and the range of burnt wines from Pieter de Bod’s cellar is a great place to start exploring.
KWV revamps their tasting rooms!