Kanonkop

Kanonkop is a family-owned wine estate, handed down from generation to generation and owned by brothers Paul and Johann Krige. The name Kanonkop is derived from a hillock on the Simonsberg mountain above the wine estate.

Pinotage was first planted on Kanonkop in 1941, and the estate also grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Grapes are picked by hand into 18kg lug-boxes and sorted in three stages before crushed berries are pumped into 10-ton open-top concrete fermenters. Fermentation includes yeast inoculation and manual punch-downs every two hours; Pinotage ferments on skins for three days, while the other varieties ferment for five to six days. Its wines include a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc named after Kanonkop's patriarch. Kanonkop is accredited by WIETA, and its wine is certified by Sustainable Wine South Africa.