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Kanonkop Estate

Kanonkop Estate

The name Kanonkop is derived from a kopje from which a cannon was fired in the 17th Century, to alert farmers in outlying areas that a sailing ships had entered Table Bay.

In those days the Cape was first and foremost a replenishment station and the farmers would load their wagons, inspan their oxen and set off for the harbour town to barter their produce, mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, to the sailors and travellers who had spent many months at sea.

Kanonkop is a fourth generation family estate, which was originally purchased by JW Sauer, a cabinet member in the parliament of the Union of South Africa. His son Paul Oliver Sauer, also a cabinet minister, who was the Minister of Railways and Harbours and later became a Senator, took over the reins from his father. He was joined by one of the characters of the day, Danie Rossouw. In 1968 former Springbok rugby great Jan 'Boland' Coetzee joined the team as a young graduate winemaker from the University of Stellenbosch.

Mary Sauer, daughter of Paul Sauer, inherited the Estate. She married Jannie Krige, a rugby administrator at the University of Stellenbosch, who took early retirement and together with Coetzee made the first estate bottled wines in 1973.

Beyers Truter joined the estate in 1980 with the departure of Coetzee, and together with Johann and Paul, sons of Mary and Jannie, continued the traditions developed on this highly prized estate. Getting his fingers tinted permanently red is new assistant to Beyers, Stellenbosch viti- and vinicultural graduate Abrie Beeslaar, who joined in 2002. Abrie took over from Beyers in 2004 and the latter still serves as a consultant.

The Estate is situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in the Stellenbosch Region of the Cape. It is between Stellenbosch and Paarl on the R44 and falls in a sub-region called Simonsberg, more commonly known as the "red wine bowl" of South Africa. It has earned a reputation both at home and abroad as an area producing the best wines in the country.

The Estate is on 125 hectares, of which 100 hectares are planted to vine.

Besides the solid foundation on which the estate's winemaking principles are based, it is also blessed with ideal soils, cool sea breezes and long summer days, creating the perfect climate for growing grapes.

The people of Kanonkop make it what it is. They are not just workers or employees - they are the Estate. The majority of the 54 men and women employed on the Estate, live there as well.

The soils are predominantly red decomposed granite and Hutton, with a high clay content, both of which have a very good water retention capacity.

A small portion of about seven percent of the total area under vine is planted on Pinedene type soils, which become very wet in winter, but dry out in summer, necessitating supplementary irrigation.

The Estate has an ideal micro-climate for red wine production, with cooling breezes from the False Bay coast in the late afternoons during summer, significantly moderating warm inland temperatures. Being a Mediterranean climate, the majority of the 605 mm of rainfall is in winter. February is normally the warmest month of the year, though even then the gentle South Easterly cool the nights down.

The vineyards on Kanonkop range between 60 to 120 metres above sea level, with a variety of slopes, the majority of which face south west, considered the most favourable aspect for vines in the Cape Peninsula.

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