Sentinel Vineyards

As producers and négociants of fine Wine Coppoolse & Finlayson are uniquely positioned to satisfy the needs of a wide spectrum of distributors and consumers throughout the world.

Coppoolse and Finlayson was founded in 1991 by Rob Coppoolse, an engineer by profession. The rationale was at the outset simple, and still remains so - Rob had the disciplined and technical mindset to be able to visualise a gap in the market for someone supplying large volumes of good wines at a fair price, and most importantly being able to do so on a continuous basis of reliable delivery. Wine quality was equally critical and for this side of the operation he enlisted Walter Finlayson, one of South Africa’s most respected cellarmasters with years of experience and a multitude of acclamations to accompany.

As they say, the rest is history – Coppoolse & Finlayson has grown to become the largest South African wine exporter to the Netherlands and one of the largest South African wine exporters overall.

Our branded wines go under the names of “Sentinel” and “Kaya”. Sentinel is in the upper quality range as befits a “serious” wine, whilst the Kaya wines are more accessible because of the pricing, and with a packaging that would appeal very much to the younger generation. The 2002 London Wine Challenge once again granted several awards to these wines, an essential endorsement in the highly competitive UK market.

Over and above their own wines, Coppoolse & Finlayson are very active in the négociant field, and produce a variety of “own label” and “joint label” wines for leading European supermarket chains. The size of the cellars, the versatility of mindset, and the expertise of Walter Finlayson enable them to blend wines to match client specifications. Once again, the ability to ship speedily and efficiently has enabled them to establish ongoing relationships with all of these clients.

The company attributes its success over the years to good products, the ability to listen to it’s customers, and most importantly to delivering the goods – again and again.

PINOTAGE 2003

Fairbairn Capital Trophy 2004: Trophy – Best Pinotage, Discovery of the ShowABSA "Top Ten" Pinotage 2004

SENTINEL MERLOT 2001

Double Gold Veritas Awards 2002

SENTINEL CAPE SNORT 1999

Silver Medal – Veritas Awards 2003

SENTINEL CHARDONNAY 2002

Silver Medal – Michaelangelo Awards 2003

SENTINEL SHIRAZ 2002

Silver Medal – Michaelangelo Awards 2003

Silver Medal – Veritas Awards 2003

SENTINEL CHARDONNAY 2001

Bronze Medal – Fairbairn Capital – Trophy Wine Show 2002

SENTINEL PINOTAGE RESERVE 2001

Bronze Medal – Fairbairn Capital – Trophy Wine Show 2003

Bronze Medal – Veritas Awards 2003

SENTINEL MERLOT 1999

Bronze Medal – Veritas Awards 2003

SENTINEL MERLOT 2002

Bronze Medal – Veritas Awards 2003

SENTINEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2000

Bronze Medal – Veritas Awards 2003