The highlight of Saturday night’s Veritas Awards was the induction of the first batch of Living Legends of Wine into the National Cellar of Fame at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Living Legends waiting to be Immortalized

Each recipient of the prestigious award was handed a commemorative scroll by chairman of the National Wine Show, Duimpie Bayly, who was himself inducted into the cobwebby cavern by his predecessor Danie de Wet. What a pity the Van Riebeeck regalia of velvet drapes and mop wig usually hauled out and dusted-off for such events were missing, but at least the first governor signed the scroll along with his successor, Helen Zille.

There are 28 Living Legends to date:

1. Duimpie Bayly (70 years young today, happy birthday, Dumpie)
2. Gunter Brozel (invented Nederburg Edelkeur)
3. Nino Costa (of olive fame)
4. Jacob Deist
5. Ritsema de la Bat (crazy name, crazy guy who used to run KWV)
6. Piet Goussard
7. Tim Hamilton Russell (Anthony’s dad who invented SA Pinot Noir)
8. Phyllis Hands
9. Hennie Heyl
10. Gerhard Hofmann
11. Dave Hughes (Lorna’s husband)
12. Lourens Jonker (another retired KWV chairman and Philip’s dad)
13. Christo Kok
14. Prop Lategan (he flies a plane, hence the aeronautical nickname)
15. Julius Lazlo (honored in a Fleur du Cap red blend)
16. Ernst le Roux (the genius who revitalized Klein Constantia)
17. Swepie le Roux (who can do more things with an ostrich feather than you can think of)
18. Wilhelm Linde (who singlehandedly invented Nuy muscadel)
19. Hans Losch
20. John Platter (the father of SA wine writing)
21. Norma Radcliffe (sic, should be Ratcliffe and one of only two female legends)
22. Pietman Retief (the father of SA brandy and local historian of Stellenbosch)
23. Dawid Saayman
24. Dassie Smit (a terrific character from the wrong side of the mountain)
25. Spatz Sperling (Mr. Delheim)
26. Gys Steyn
27. Charl Theron (offers the best course on how to taste wine in SA)
28. Joel van Wyk (retired University of Stellenbosch prof)

Of course the thing about lists is the people they omit and the most glaring omission is Jean Parker, matriarch and pioneer of wine at Altydgedacht in Durbanville. Her GS 66 Cabernet is arguably the finest red ever made in SA. Towering Paul Cluver III is also conspicuous by his absence – after all, he invented Elgin wine along with Living Legend Ernst le Roux and Paul remains the most effective BEE transformation pioneer in SA.

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