The Veritas Awards results announced on Saturday 14 November to spontaneous applause, reflected the mood of winemakers, viticulturists, marketers and other industry role players during a particularly difficult year – conveying a new sense of excitement and trust in the future of the awarded wines and brandies. The results were announced at an informal luncheon in Paarl, instead of the customary annual gala dinner, where three wineries clinched three Double Gold awards each, while seven excelled with two Double Gold awards. At the same time, a record number of 36 wineries each received one Double Gold and several Gold medals among altogether 70 Double Gold and 128 Gold medals awarded. A total of four Double Gold and 15 Gold medals were awarded to the top fortified wines and South Africa’s leading brandy producers won seven Double Gold and four Gold medals. The Veritas Vertex Award for the overall champion wine from almost 1 300 entries for Veritas this year, was won by KWV The Mentors Orchestra 2018 (a Bordeaux style blend) – representing the climax of proceedings at the scaled-down awards function under strict Covid-19 protocols at the Polo Club at Val de Vie Estate in Paarl on Saturday 14 November.