Investec Trophy Spirits Show adds another major title to an exceptional year for KWV Brandy, while Wild Africa Chocolate Cream takes the Trophy for Best Liqueur.
PAARL, 31 AUGUST 2026 – KWV Brandy has added another major title to an extraordinary 2026 awards season, with KWV XO Cellar Reserve Potstill Brandy (KWV XO) named Best Brandy of Show at the Investec Trophy Spirits Show, further extending its credentials as the World’s Most awarded Brandy
The KWV XO claimed both the Investec Trophy for Best Brandy of Show and the Trophy for Best Potstill Brandy, leading a formidable KWV performance that extended well beyond its flagship expression.
Other potstill brandies from the portfolio with striking performances included the KWV 10, KWV VS and KWV VSOP, which each received Gold medals, while KWV 3 and KWV 5 took Silver. At the Investec Trophy Spirits Show, a Gold medal is reserved for spirits scoring 95 to 100 points, a level the competition defines as “superlative, world-class”.
The result carries particular weight at a show where South African brandies are benchmarked alongside imported grape spirits, including Cognac. As the organisers note, “all pot-distilled grape products, whether from Cognac or the Cape, face each other across the tasting benches.”
That international context is important. The Investec Trophy Spirits Show brings locally produced and imported commercial spirits before the same judging panels, allowing South African producers to be assessed within the competitive set consumers encounter in the market.
Another major result in a remarkable brandy year
For KWV, the trophy continues what has become an exceptional year for its brandy portfolio.
At the 2026 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) South Africa judging, KWV led the brandy results with five Gold medals and the only Gold Outstanding awarded across the entire spirits judging. Its potstills, the KWV XO scored 98 points, the highest-scoring brandy, while KWV XXO followed on 97 points.
That followed another record at the 2026 International Spirits Challenge (ISC), where KWV received six Double Gold and three Gold medals, its best performance to date in the medal phase of the international competition. The awards stretched across the portfolio, from KWV 3 and KWV 5 through to its KWV VSOP, KWV XO, KWV 12, KWV 15 and KWV 20 year-old expressions.
The latest Investec title therefore adds to a striking pattern: different competitions, different judging panels and repeated recognition across different ages and styles of KWV Brandy. “Winning Best Brandy of Show is a significant result on its own, but when you look at it alongside
what the portfolio has achieved this year, it becomes even more meaningful,” says KWV Master Distiller Pieter de Bod.
“We’re seeing recognition across young and mature brandies, across different styles and from different judging panels. That consistency matters enormously to us. And when South African brandy is being assessed in an environment that also includes some of the great grape spirits of the world, it gives us every reason to be proud of what we’re producing here.”
Wild Africa takes the liqueur trophy
Wild Africa Cream Chocolate was awarded the Trophy for Best Liqueur, placing it at the top of its category, while Wild Africa Cream Caffè Latte received Silver.
It is a particularly strong result for Wild Africa Cream, with Chocolate taking top honours in the liqueur category against well established local and international spirits.
The 2026 Investec Trophy Spirits Show attracted 98 entries from 21 producers and distributors, representing 46 brands across eight categories. Now in its eighth year, the competition follows the judging methodology established by the Investec Trophy Wine Show, with products tasted blind by specialist panels.
KWV results at the 2026 Investec Trophy Spirits Show
· KWV XO Cellar Reserve Potstill Brandy – Investec Trophy for Best Brandy of Show; Trophy for Best Potstill Brandy
· KWV 10 – Gold
· KWV VS – Gold
· KWV VSOP – Gold
· KWV 3 – Silver
· KWV 5 – Silver
· Wild Africa Cream Chocolate – Trophy for Best Liqueur
· Wild Africa Cream Caffè Latte – Silver
