Kanonkop - View Wines

History
The estate was originally purchased by JW Sauer, a cabinet member of the union of South Africa. His son Paul Oliver Sauer, took over the reigns from his father and was in 1967 joined by Springbok rugby great, Jan Boland Coetzee. Mary Sauer, daughter of Paul Sauer, married Jannie Krige, a rugby administrator at the University of Stellenbosh. He took early retirement and together with Coetzee made the first estate bottled wines at Kanonkop in 1973. Beyers Truter joined the estate in 1980 as winemaker, and together with Johann and Paul, sons of Mary and Jannie, continues the traditions developed on this highly prized estate.

Viticulture

Kanonkop is renowned for its red wines, with Pinotage making up 50% of all plantings, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Merlot 15% and Cabernet Franc 5%. The Pinotage vines are retained as bush vines to provide maximum ripeness and assist with regulating the crop. Most of these vines are more than 50 years old. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc have been trellised into a five strand hedge.

Except for a small portion of the estate where the soil is slightly sandy, no irrigation is done. Pinotage, Merlot and Cabernet Franc yield approximately six tons per hectare (4 000 lit/ha) while the Cabernet Sauvignon yield is on average four tons per hectare (2 600 lit/ha).

Fermentation takes place in traditional open concrete fermenters, but with a slight difference, in that the tanks are wide and shallow rather than high and deep. This process ensures maximum skin contact. The cap is punched by hand up to once an hour until 6-7% alcohol has been attained. During this period the temperature is fixed between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius, when most of the colour, good tannins and flavours are extracted. Time on the skins is between three and five days. When the wine is dry, malolactic fermentation completes the process in concrete and stainless steel tanks, as well as new 225 litre oak barrels.