Van Ryn's Distillery Stellenbosch

Hundreds of wineries in the Cape Town region keep wine lovers busy, but there are only a handful of those who have locally made brandy on sale. The Van Ryn's Distillery and Brandy Cellar offers excellent quality brandy in a beautiful and memorable environment. There are a few brandies on offer for tasting and buying. Out of those, I liked the 12 years and 20 years old the best. The tasting was paired with chocolate, which complemented the flavors of the brandy. All in all, a first class experience.

While in the Winelands, visit one of the original brandy distilleries in Stellenbosch, definitely worth a visit. A brandy tasting consists of a 12, 15 and a 20 year old, the are paired with dark chocolate, the 15 was my favorite

If you like brandy, it’s worth giving the place a visit and having the tour where you can see the different rooms and how they make barrels. The brandy itself, you get to taste a 12,15 & 20 year yet as much as I like brandy, it wasn’t good tasting for me. Worth the experience though

The tasting was phenomenal. The brandy pairing was spot on. We could not help to stop to buy some bottles. Best brandy I have tasted. Stunning property!

Wonderful! Friendly staff. Excellent experience if you like Brandy. If you don't, they have Amarula. They also offer tours. They have brandy tasting paired with either chocolates or convectionaries.

A great way to start the new year, with some refinement. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, operational brandy distillery in the country. No longer novices to visiting Van Ryn’s it still is something special when you step inside the cool interior of the old building, greeted with a welcome drink. Be warned though, the juice DOES contain brandy. I do recommend you start with the tour because it adds a little something extra to the experience; from seeing the awesome copper stills up close, seeing the cooper rhythmically hammering out a new barrel to standing in the middle of the Angel’s Share in the maturation cellar. When you then settle into the oversized couches for the brandy and chocolate tasting, it’ll make that first smooth sip of the 12-year-old brandy so much more fulfilling.

Definitely the best brandy I've had the pleasure of tasting... And they have all the awards to prove it too! Of the 10 yr, 15 yr and 20 yr old brandies, the 15 has the smoothest palette with a hint of Christmas nuts. The 20 yr was my favourite, also with a heavenly smooth palette, but smells a bit like a port. The tour or the distillery was very interesting, by favourite part was the sweet smells wafting around the aging cellar. The demo on building a barrel was also very interesting.

On our arrival we were each presented with a welcoming drink of Brandy in peach and apricot juice. This was very nice. We went on the tour and was amazed at the skill display by the barrel maker. Truly a great experience overall with the tastings as well.

Very good brandy, chocolate tasting very nice. Service could be better and more customer focused. We were received a bit cold, not warm and welcoming. Information not readily shared.

This was a travel through time to a destination of sophistication and elegance. The staff were very informed about the processes and history of brandy distillation and the "kuiper" did a detailed demonstration of how casks are made, with a touch of humor. Forget the commercial wine farms and go and experience a sens of quality and refinement at Van Ryn's.