2026 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc top 10 challenge winners announced

Cape Town – Standard Bank and the Chenin Blanc Association have announced the winners of the 2026 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge, recognising ten exceptional wines that showcase the quality, diversity and continued evolution of South Africa's flagship white grape variety. The announcement marks another milestone in a 13-year partnership that continues to celebrate wine excellence while supporting producers access new opportunities for growth.

The 2026 Challenge attracted 150 entries from 97 producers representing 36 Wine of Origin (WO) classifications. Following three days of rigorous blind judging, the Top 10 were selected, with six wines originating from heritage vineyards aged 35 years or older. The results highlight the continued strength and maturity of South Africa's Chenin Blanc category, with the winning wines demonstrating remarkable stylistic diversity, purity of fruit, freshness, elegance and texture.

The Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge 2026 winners are:

• Beaumont Family Wines Hope Marguerite 2025 – WO Bot River, Walker Bay
• City on a Hill Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2024 – WO Swartland
• DaschBosch Mossiesdrift Steen 2025 – WO Breedekloof
• Groot Phesantekraal Anna de Koning 2024 – WO Cape Town (Durbanville)
• Painted Wolf Wines Lightning Chenin Blanc 2024 – WO Wellington
• Stettyn Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025 – WO Stettyn
• Stellenrust ArtiSons Mothership Chenin Blanc 2025 – WO Stellenbosch
• Stellenrust 61 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2025 – WO Stellenbosch
• Wildeberg Terroirs Chenin Blanc 2024 – WO Paarl
• Zoetendal Chenin Blanc 2022 – WO Coastal Region

For Standard Bank, the Challenge represents more than an annual wine competition. It reflects the bank's commitment to supporting an industry that contributes significantly to employment, exports, rural development and economic growth. Through its agribusiness expertise and market-access capabilities, the bank continues to help producers unlock growth opportunities beyond South Africa's borders.

"Agribusiness is at the heart of South Africa's growth, and supporting farmers and the communities around them is an important part of our role in amplifying opportunity," says Stephan van der Merwe, Head of Commercial Banking (Western and Eastern Cape) at Business and Commercial Banking, Standard Bank South Africa.

"The Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge is about more than recognising exceptional wines. It is about supporting an industry that contributes to employment, exports and economic growth, while creating opportunities for producers and their communities to thrive. Through our longstanding partnership with the Chenin Blanc Association, we are proud to help elevate South African Chenin Blanc, creating greater visibility for producers and showcasing the quality of our wines."

The partnership's impact extends beyond export opportunities. Since 2014, the Challenge has also directed meaningful investment into community-based development initiatives in wine-producing regions across South Africa. Each winning producer receives R25,000 dedicated to social upliftment programmes, supporting projects ranging from education and food security to worker wellbeing, skills development and infrastructure improvements. More than R3 million has been channelled into community development projects through the Challenge since its inception.

Ken Forrester, Chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association, says the community focus was fundamental to the Challenge from the beginning. "We wanted the Challenge to be about more than simply winning a cash prize. From the outset, it was important that the prize money was invested back into the farming communities that underpin our wine industry, rather than being spent on an arbitrary item. 13 years on, we are incredibly proud that more than R3 million has gone towards initiatives making a real difference to people's lives."

Chenin Blanc remains South Africa's most widely planted grape variety, accounting for 18.4% of the country's total vineyard area, according to the latest available 2025 SAWIS vineyard statistics. The 2025 statistics record 15,948.58 hectares of Chenin Blanc planted nationally, out of a total 86,524.93 hectares under vine. Its importance is further underlined by the fact that 2,008 of South Africa's 2,176 grape growers – 92.3% – grow Chenin Blanc. Its widespread presence, combined with the diversity of sites, old-vine plantings and winemaking approaches, makes Chenin Blanc a defining part of South Africa's wine heritage and agricultural landscape.

For the first time, the Challenge has partnered with Brice & Burnett as its exclusive retail partner, giving consumers across South Africa access to all ten 2026 winning wines through a single specialist retailer.

Brice & Burnett has secured an allocation of each of the Top 10 wines, making the complete collection available to consumers. The partnership extends the reach of the winning wines and provides a broader consumer platform to showcase the quality and diversity of South African Chenin Blanc.

With the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge now firmly established in its second decade, Standard Bank remains committed to supporting South African producers translate recognition into growth through access to finance, new market opportunities and sector partnerships. Through these types of initiatives, Standard Bank continues to play a meaningful role in strengthening the competitiveness of South African wine producers.