On 21 August at the Percheron Hall at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, a wooded Pinotage from Wellington Cellar was crowned the SA Champion Young Wine of 2026, securing both Best Pinotage and the Genl Smuts Trophy. This is the third time Wellington Cellar has won the top trophy—having previously claimed it in 2018 with a Pinotage and in 2023 with a Cabernet Sauvignon.
This marks only the fourth time in two decades that a Pinotage has taken top honours. The competition celebrated the 75th presentation of the Genl Smuts Trophy in its 194-year history—making it the world’s second oldest wine show.
Top Producers and Regional Breakdown
KWV won the Pietman Hugo Trophy for the highest aggregate across five entries for the second consecutive year (and third time overall). KWV secured three National Trophies:
- Wooded Sauvignon Blanc
- Wooded Petit Verdot (Best Other Red Cultivar)
- Wooded Petit Verdot/Pinotage/Carignan (Best Red Blend)
Montagu Winery earned two National Champions: Champion Dessert Wine (Red Jerepigo) and Champion Muscadel (Red Muscadel/White Muscadel blend).
Regional trophy allocations were led by Paarl with seven National Trophies, followed by Klein Karoo (3), Breedekloof/Worcester (2), Cape Town (2), Robertson (2), and Stellenbosch (1).
Cape Town Region Makes Historic Debut
The SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) expanded the competition from eight to nine regions by adding Cape Town. Demarcated as a Wine of Origin area in 2017—covering Durbanville, Constantia, Hout Bay, and Philadelphia—the area previously competed within Stellenbosch. In its debut, Cape Town yielded two National Champions, four class winners, and five gold medals.
Judging Panel and National Champions
Judging took place over five days at Nederburg Wines in Paarl. A total of 1,387 entries were evaluated by 88 specialist judges across 13 five-member panels, each joined by an uncalculated trainee judge. The panel awarded 52 Class Winners and 117 Gold Medals across 17 classes.
The full list of National Champions:
- Chardonnay: Stettyn Wine Cellar Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc: Groot Phesantekraal Chenin Blanc (wooded)
- Sémillon: La Motte Sémillon (wooded)
- Other White Cultivar: De Wet Cellar Weisser Riesling
- White Blend: Badsberg Cellar Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc
- Natural Sweet: Perdeberg Wines Chenin Blanc Natural Sweet White Wine (wooded)
- Noble Late Harvest: Bon Courage Wine Estate Noble Late Harvest (wooded)
- Cabernet Sauvignon: Alto Wine Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (wooded)
- Shiraz: Diemersdal Wine Estate Shiraz (wooded)
- Merlot: Montagu Winery Merlot
- Cape Style: Boplaas Estate Any Other Cape Style or blend
Viticultural Performance and Industry Support
SANWSA Chairperson Christo Pienaar reported that despite a demanding harvest period that tested technical expertise in the vineyard and cellar, the 2026 vintage demonstrated strong cultivar concentration, balanced sugars and acidities, and deep color extraction in red wines.
Pieter Ferreira: Global IWC Lifetime Award Validates Four Decades of Cape Viticulture
Presented by SANWSA in partnership with Agri-Expo, the event receives financial backing from industry partners Porex, Anchor Oenology, Enartis, Laffort, and Nexus. To maintain identity in commercial channels, the winning Genl Smuts wine will carry the official bottle sticker introduced in 2013. Winning winemakers from Wellington Cellar and KWV will also receive a sponsored six-day overseas study tour from Porex.