9 things I didn’t know about brandy

Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery in Stellenbosch is over 100 years old and is steeped in history. Taking a tour of the distillery and cooperage, along with a brandy tasting or pairing will have you leaving with a greater appreciation for brandy.

Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery. Photo by Rachel Robinson

Jan van Ryn arrived in Cape Town from Holland in 1845 and opened a bottle store in Rondebosch (the original building is still there today). In 1867 he and his two sons opened another store at 42 Buitengracht Street in the centre of Cape Town, and then in 1905 the Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery was built in Stellenbosch using rocks from the Eerste River. The Stellenbosch distillery is still in the original building and today Van Ryn’s has anything between 2 000 and 10 000 barrels in each of their cellars, with each barrel containing 300 to 400 litres of brandy.

You can take a tour of the distillery, including a visit the cooperage (the largest one in the Southern Hemisphere) and enjoy a brandy tasting and pairing afterwards. While you are there, look out for the Alambic Cognac Pot in the tasting lounge (you can’t miss it). It’s over 200 years old and still produces brandy in small amounts (300 litres at a time). If you visit during winter you may see it in action – it’s only used in winter for two to three months with old staves fueling the fire.

Other things to do in Stellenbosch: old-school wine tasting at Middelvlei

Alambic Cognac Pot at Van Ryn’s.

Some interesting brandy facts

1. The first South African brandy was distilled in 1672 by a chef on a Dutch ship called de Pijl. Apparently it was so popular that pub-owners would accept second-hand clothing as payment for it.
2. To make a good brandy you need good grapes. Varietals include Chenin Blanc and Colombar.
3. It takes five to seven litres of wine to make one litre of un-matured brandy.
4. In South Africa, a minimum maturation period of three years is required by law.
5. Approximately 3% (around 9 litres) of brandy gets lost to evaporation during the three-year maturation period. This is fondly known as “the angels’ share” (their reward for turning the distillate into liquid gold).
6. 100% of the colour and 90% of the flavor of the brandy comes from the barrel. (Van Ryn’s use French Oak barrels and as we can’t grow French Oaks in South Africa that are suitable for barrel-making, the wood comes from Limousin in France).
7. Unlike wine, brandy only matures in the barrel, not in the bottle. So keeping a bottle of brandy for years won’t make any difference to its maturation. Just drink it!
8. What’s the difference between a cognac and a brandy? Not much. Both are 100% potstill brandies, the only difference being that Cognac is distilled using grapes from the Cognac region in France.
9. Most of the world’s Brandy Masters are women.

Coopers and cooperages

1. There are approximately 50 coopers in South Africa and most of them are at Van Ryn’s, who have the largest cooperage in the Southern Hemisphere.
2. All coopers undertake a three year apprenticeship, during which they make all their own tools and make up their own “tune” for when they have completed a barrel.
3. A barrel takes approximately eight or nine hours to make.
4. Reeds from the Eerste River (which runs under the cellars, helping to keep them cool) are used in-between the wooden planks to seal the gaps.

The cooperage at Van Ryn’s.

Take a tour and do a brandy tasting at Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery

When you take a tour of the distillery at Van Ryn’s you’ll witness how the coopers turn planks of French Oak into barrels using handmade tools and you’ll hear about how heads, tails, hearts and the devil have a hand in the making of brandy. Taste vintage brandies and 15 year old potstill brandies, while pairing them with Belgian chocolate or Tuscan biscuits.

Brandy, coffee and chocolate pairing.

It’s one of the most interesting tours you can do in the area (not to mention the delicious brandy itself) and as there is a “no rush” policy at Van Ryn’s, you can take your time in the tasting lounge (or sit outside by the fountain) and enjoy what the angels kindly left behind for you.

Tastings from R35, tours from R50. Visit www.vanryn.co.za for more details.

“Claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.” – Samuel Johnson, English poet, critic and writer (1709-1784)

Van Ryn’s tasting lounge.