Van Ryn's Brandy Cellar and Distillery Reviews

This is one of my favorite stops. I love van Rhys 20year pot stilled bandy. Beautifull place, great tour. Must visit.

Awesome brandy and amazing setting... Very lucky to have a place like this around

Our second visit and definitely a must see for the winelands. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The chocolate tasting is great especially in the tranquil garden under the ancient marsh cypress, with cicadas singing in the distance.

Good Brandy, friendly staff, but got denied a tasting even though we arrived prior to the last tasting start time of 15:30. I was under the impression that "last tasting at 15:30" means that they want to have guests to leave around 16:00 or 16:30.

It was absolutely amazing experience. Our guide was only recently employed but he has done amazing job. He made the whole experience so nice for us. I would recommend to anyone who likes things done differently. I love the fact that they also show you how to build a new barrel.

Made a reservation for a Sunday afternoon tasting only to arrive to a locked gate - apparently van Ryn's is closed on a Sunday! This happened despite the online booking system allowing me to make a booking on Sunday, and receiving not one, but two notifications asking me to confirm my reservation for Sunday!! I spoke to a security guard at the premises and apparently there are a lot of people who had already been caught out by this. Fix your online booking system van Ryn's!!

A classy venue which exudes the sophistication and aura of a different era. It is elegant, upmarket and very worthwhile visiting. The selection is available to test before you buy, and well trained staff are in hand to assist. Consider doing the tour, and perhaps a bottle of their fine brandy to take home.

Tried 3 brandies with the chocolates. Everything is delicious and cheap. Nice service staff.

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.

Beautiful venue with friendly staff and excellent brandies.

Visited for the full tour and tasting. Unfortunately the distillery was not in full operation. Just viewed empty tanks. Still had informative demonstration on coopering. Plan to go Mar - Jun to see the distillery in action.

Nice tour with decadent tasting, friendly staff, great experience, bought a bottle to take home

They have a short tour of the brandy making process. The tasting was professionally presented. It does not feel like they are just trying to get as many tastings done as quickly as they can.

Very intriguing experience. Staff very friendly and bandy very good. Bit expensive, but a must do.

The variety of tastings were brilliant, there was even juice and chocolate tasting for our under age kids, and they always feel left out but not here.

Very professional and well thought out tasting experience. If you're a fan of brandy or have ever wanted to try a tasting, this is right up there with the best

Amazing Brandy selection.
Great Atmosphere and presentation.

This place will rock your socks off. Magnificent interior, historical story with old bottles and cut outs, working fermenter and very good brandy with selected chocolates to make you beg for more. Highly recommended for friends and brandy connoisseurs alike.

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.

A good guide, after the Brandy tasting, is a good experience.

The best place to taste brandy and learn more about the moisture!

One of my favourite places. Classy, good brandy, and a very interesting tour!

"Fully booked" on a Saturday for some CPUT "uitstappie". Ridiculous

Brilliant and very professional. A great experience for anyone liking Brandy, even if you are like me a novice in regards to Brandy this is still the best place to go and experience the goodness. There 20 year old Brandy is phenomenal. Please visit them and also be amazed.

Had great time here. Would highly recommend it. Recieved useful information. Staff was very friendly, accomodating and patient.

The operating times on their page cannot be trusted. Sitting in front of a closed gate when it shows they are open. Disappointing as we drove all this way.

World renown brandy, fantastic tours, tastings and pairings! A great place for groups.

Drove all the way. Arrived at 12:15 and they were closed. Google says they open till 3:30

Fantastic experience. Do the tasting! It is worth it!

Phoned continues on the 26 and no answer! Wanting to visit distillery with guests.

Lovely tasting experience and tour. Tried and truffle pairing and chocolate pairing. Worth a visit!

In my opinion, the best brandy distillery in South Africa

Me: "I see you guys are very packed, do you have space for us? ". VanRyn: "Sir, we always have space for family". Enough said.

Was double charged on a tour and asked to send proof in order to receive my refund. Proof was sent, and I was told the refund would be processed. No refund and my emails and calls go ignored. This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Van Ryn have some of the greatest brandy and a visit to them was alwayse a good experience. What is very dissapointing is that a well known supposed to be professional company like Van Ryn cannot update their web site to reflect correct business hours. We all plan our days to make the most of it but then you arrive at Van Ryns to find out they are now closed on Mondays and not open as advertised on their website. This to me is unprofessional and poor business management.

It's a very nice place to taste brandy and they offer good value for money. Would definitely recommend a tasting and tour bundle. They explain the whole process and the person who explains how barrels are made was very entertaining

Very Informative brandy pairing experience. Interior design is beautiful. Thanks Vuyo.

This was part of my 50th birthday celebration. The brandy tasting was awesome....but the best was the glass of 20 year old brandy for my birthday. Beyond awesomeness. Not even to mention the welcome drink.

we were 15 people that wanted to book for a tour but we needed to start the tour a bit earlier than their 1st official time due to a whole program that we had planned. we were told sorry they only do that for tourgroups with a tourguide. SWAK

It's hard to review a place when your visit was cancelled, but our situation was disturbing enough I felt it should be shared.

On Friday, 02 March 2018, my family scheduled a tasting at Van Ryn distillery. As a former whiskey distiller myself, this was set to be the highlight of our visit to Stellenbosch. We booked online for 16:00 and received confirmation via email. At 14:00 that day we called to confirm our booking since we had scheduled the entire day around this visit; we were told every thing was in order.

At 15:55 we arrived at the distillery and met a couple families exiting -- they were friendly and in good spirits and told us to enjoy our visit. However, the security guard stopped us at the door and told us they were closed. I told him we had a reservation, but he pointed me to a sign saying the distillery would be closed 03-04 March. I pointed out it was the 2nd, but he told us we had to go. He did call the people inside who also confirmed our visit was to be cancelled. Since this visit was important to us, I insisted to speak with someone in charge.

My wife and I entered the facility (which is beautiful by the way) while my parents stayed in the parking lot with our children. This is when things got weird.

We were told that distillery had to be shut down and we had to leave immediately. I explained my situation and asked for an explanation since we had a reservation that had been confirmed 2 hours prior. They refused to give us an answer and eventually said it was a safety issue and we had to go. Safety is a big deal for me, and if the staff were implying that I was unsafe, I think it's appropriate to get information on the situation. I asked what sort of safety issue so we could take appropriate precautions, but they refused to give us any more information. They offered me a brandy bottle (which I did not take) and told us to leave without giving any more details. As I was walking out, I was able to get one person to tell me that the situation may have involved a robbery. The whole thing felt very odd.

I understand the very real concern about crime in Southern Africa and I take safety very seriously. That being said, there are several things that simply didn't sit well with me.

1.) What sort of safety situation would require a 2.5 day shut down? I would be hesitant to visit unless I knew what happened and what was being done in the future to prevent such incidents.
2.) If there was a robbery that forced the shut down of the distillery, then why weren't the police there? Why were the families ahead of us coming out in such good spirits?
3.) If it was safety situation, why not give enough information to ensure that I could protect my family. If there were a robber on the loose, I don't want my parents and children wandering outside. Again, why no police or increased security?
4.) If it was a recent development that required the distillery to be shut down, why was our visit confirmed hours before the actual visit? Plus, how did staff have time to print and laminate sheets announcing their upcoming closure but not notify us of the change. The timing seems very odd.

Looking through the other reviews of Van Ryn Distillery, it seems that a common negative thread is that people who show up towards the end of the day are often turned away or treated poorly. I sincerely hope that the staff at Van Ryn did not fabricate a "safety" situation in order to close early prior to a scheduled shut down.

If there truly was a safety situation, I do not feel that the staff adequately communicated what was going on. The setting (happy families departing, lack of police/security, etc.) certainly did not match the message that was being delivered. Crime (and other safety issues) do occur and I understand that; but in a sensitive situation, communication is key and the staff certainly dropped the ball.

It seems that many people have had great experiences at the distillery, but the situation we encountered was disturbing enough that I would not consider revisiting or encouraging others to visit during their time in the area.

What an great experience, from the moment you arrive till the moment you leave. Brandy is very good. Staff make the the whole tasting an fun and enjoyable time.

Quiet and almost majestic atmosphere! awesome tour which includes getting to watch a cooper doing his thing! Incredible brandy!

Classy place, Great aromas and a beautiful interior design. The peanut brittle is to die for.

Great experience for people wanting to learn more about the brandy industry. Would recommend doing the cellar tour as it is very interesting. Brandy pairings are exquisite as well.

Loved the feel and atmosphere. Great guides. The tasting room is fantastic. Non alchoholic options for kids.

Van Ryn's distillery is truly a great experience and I definitely recommend you to visit. Here you get to sample 10 to 20 year old brandys and also get an opportunity to buy some bottles home. Personally, I thought the 12-year-old was the most affordable, but the 20-year-old was the best.
Unfortunately, it seems difficult to procure this brandy in Europe which is a shame (so watch out and buy)!

More than just brandy tasting! We saw the cellars learnt about the brandy making process from the grape juice to the barrel!

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.