This is not a review, but if it was to be one, I’d say we’ve spent most of 2024 and the start of 2025 in a steady, unpretentious tasting relationship with the Olive Brook range. It’s been the wine you bring to a friend’s house for a casual series binge watching session without overthinking it. The bottle you open on game day with your picnic treats. The one that quietly holds its own when paired with food, conversation, and long afternoons that turn into evenings. We’ve paired it, gifted it, poured it generously, and kept coming back.
Across that time, the Olive Brook whites were where we lingered longest. We moved back and forth between the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc, depending on mood and menu, but always within that same easy register of accessibility and consistency. So when news landed that the Olive Brook Chardonnay had been crowned Best Product of the Year in the Wine category at Europe’s consumer-driven Best Product of the Year Awards in the Netherlands, it felt less surprising and more… affirming.
To be clear: we’ve only never tried one in the Olive Brook range, the Rosé, and maybe it has everything to do with me wanting to explore the Rosé’s in a different country. All in all, Olive Brook does exactly what a good entry-level wine should do. No drama, no bravado, just an honest starting point. Which makes this Chardonnay accolade all the more worth noting. It speaks to where Olive Brook really shines: well-made, everyday wines that don’t ask to be over-explained.
The award itself is significant. Best Product of the Year is consumer-led, judging wines on price-to-quality ratio, presentation, user experience, repeat purchase intent, and overall satisfaction. In other words: how real people actually drink and live with a product. That Olive Brook Chardonnay came out on top says something important about South African wine travelling, not as a spectacle, but as something quietly dependable and enjoyable.
Developed in collaboration with local winemakers and supported by SPAR, the Olive Brook portfolio has always positioned itself at the intersection of accessibility and quality. This recognition reinforces that intent, and highlights what happens when local production, retail backing, and consumer trust align.
This win was a satisfying read, seeing a wine you’ve explored, fully, not just tasted, and receiving international recognition is such a cool thing. The Olive Brook Chardonnay is available exclusively at TOPS at SPAR and selected SPAR stores. If our past year with it is anything to go by, the award makes sense.
