Kanonkop

Paul Oliver Sauer served in the South African parliament for forty-one consecutive years (1929 to 1970). His father, JW Sauer, bought the Uitkyk farm, just up the road from Kanonkop, in 1903. When his mother Mary sold Uitkyk to Baron Hans von Carlowitz in 1929, the lower part of the farm, about 85 hectares of virgin land with no buildings or agriculture, was left out of the transaction and became Paul Sauer's property, making him the first owner of the farm known today as Kanonkop. Fruit trees came first; with the declaration of World War II the land was cleared and vines were planted, and a cellar built in 1942 remains the basis of the winery. By the 1960s Kanonkop harvested 1,400 tons of grapes a year from some 110 hectares, and every grape vinified in its cellar was sold to Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW). Persuaded by his son-in-law Jannie Krige and winemaker Jan 'Boland' Coetzee, Sauer allowed a limited amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage from the 1973 vintage to be bottled under the Kanonkop label, and the first estate wines were released in 1974. Paul Sauer (d. 1976) was succeeded by his daughter Mary, who inherited the property and managed it with her husband Jannie. In the early 1980s the family decided to concentrate on red varieties, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, as well as Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and from the small 1986 harvest Kanonkop stopped making wine for SFW. Their sons Johann and Paul Krige, Paul Sauer's grandsons, now own the estate and oversee its daily operations.

• Paul Sauer became the first owner of Kanonkop in 1929, the same year he was elected to Parliament.
• The cellar built in 1942 remains the basis of the winery; grapes are still fermented in the same open concrete tanks used for the original vintages.
• First Kanonkop-labelled wines: Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage from the 1973 vintage, released in 1974.
• From the small 1986 harvest every drop was bottled under the Kanonkop label; the estate says it became the first South African wine farm to sell wine futures that year.

Brothers Johann and Paul Krige own Kanonkop. Johann, the elder, earned a BA LLB degree from Stellenbosch University, began an MBA in 1981, worked as export marketing manager at the KWV and joined the family business in 1990; he is Kanonkop's CEO. Paul, ten years younger, studied at Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute and went to live and work on the farm in 1984. Francois van Zyl grew up in Robertson, studied at Elsenburg Agricultural College and became winemaker at Laibach Vineyards in 1999, with European vintages in Rioja, Margaux, Slovenia, Serbia and Pomerol. He joined the Kanonkop team when Kanonkop acquired Laibach in 2022 and was appointed Head Winemaker in November 2024, succeeding Abrie Beeslaar. As of July 2025 the team also included viticulturist Michael Malherbe and winemakers Christelle van Niekerk and Suzaan Krige, Paul Krige's daughter. Jan 'Boland' Coetzee joined in November 1968 as the estate's first official winemaker; in 1980 he prepared to leave for Burgundy. Beyers Truter took over the keys to the cellar in 1980, arriving ahead of the 1981 vintage. Abrie Beeslaar joined in 2002 and took over the reins in 2003; the 2024 harvest was his 23rd and last at Kanonkop before he left to concentrate on his own brand, Beeslaar Wines.

• Johann Krige: joined the family business in 1990; CEO and co-owner.
• Paul Krige: has lived and worked on the farm since 1984.
• Francois van Zyl: Head Winemaker since November 2024; winemaker at Laibach from 1999.
• Frikkie Elias began working at Kanonkop in 1971, spearheaded cellar operations, and retired in 2016.

Kanonkop's vineyards lie between 180 m and 365 m above sea level, from lower-lying flat ground at the farm entrance to undulating slopes at the foot of the Simonsberg mountain, most with an easterly aspect. The planted area is 136 hectares (336 acres): Pinotage 37%, Cabernet Sauvignon 34%, Merlot 17%, Cabernet Franc 10% and Petit Verdot 2%. Pinotage, Professor Abraham Perold's 1924 crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, was first planted on Kanonkop in 1941. The bulk of the soils derive from granite broken down by time, dominated by the Oakleaf and Tukulu forms; these red soils on the eastern slopes carry the bulk of the Pinotage vineyards, and their clay retains enough water for unirrigated bush vines. The paler Kroonstad soils on the lower, flat parts of the farm have been ridged and fitted with sub-surface drainage and now host the vineyards of the Paul Sauer. Vilafontes, Westleigh and Hutton soils also occur. Annual rainfall averages from 600 millimetres in dry years to 800 millimetres in wetter years, and 40 percent of the vines are unirrigated bush vines. The farm lies 40 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean and 30 kilometres from False Bay, whose cool south-western breezes slow ripening during summer afternoons. Yields are kept to 4 to 6 tons per hectare, and all pruning is done by hand. In 2022 Kanonkop acquired Laibach, directly across the road, and rebranded it as Ladybird Vineyards; the Kadette range is to have a dedicated production facility there.

• Altitude 180 m to 365 m; planted area 136 hectares (336 acres).
• Varieties: Pinotage 37%, Cabernet Sauvignon 34%, Merlot 17%, Cabernet Franc 10%, Petit Verdot 2%.
• Soils: decomposed granite, chiefly Oakleaf and Tukulu on the slopes and Kroonstad on the lower flats, with Vilafontes, Westleigh and Hutton.
• Pinotage bush vines are planted at 3,600 vines per hectare (3,300 on the higher slopes); Cabernet Sauvignon blocks have as many as 4,000.

All grapes are picked by hand into 18 kg lug-boxes, de-stalked and put through three stages of berry sorting: a sorting machine, a vibrating table and a computer-controlled optical sorter. Crushed berries go into open-top concrete fermenters holding 10 tons each, with manual punch-downs every two hours, and metallic coolers on the tank floors keep the temperature from rising above 29°C. Beyers Truter developed the two-hourly punch-downs, which replaced punch-downs every six to eight hours. Pinotage ferments on the skins for 3 days, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc for 5 to 6 days. After malolactic fermentation of 2 to 3 months, the wine goes into new or second-fill 225-litre French oak barrels for 12 to 24 months, depending on the wine; the cellar holds more than 5,000 barrels, and crushing, fermentation, maturation, bottling and labelling all take place on the estate. Kadette grapes are worked by an automated punch-down machine and matured in older French oak barrels for 12 months. All Kanonkop wine is certified by Sustainable Wine South Africa (SWSA), the estate is accredited by WIETA for ethical trade, and a 156 kWp solar plant completed in September 2018 supplies close to 50% of its daily power. Animal-based fining agents are no longer used, and the wines are suitable for vegans, vegetarians and pescatarians.

• Hand-picked into 18 kg lug-boxes; three-stage berry sorting including a computer-controlled optical sorter.
• Open-top 10-ton concrete fermenters; manual punch-downs every two hours; temperature kept below 29°C.
• Malolactic fermentation of 2 to 3 months, then 12 to 24 months in new or second-fill 225-litre French oak barrels.
• SWSA-certified; WIETA-accredited; 156 kWp solar plant completed in September 2018.

The Estate range uses grapes solely from older vineyards on the Kanonkop estate. The Pinotage, first made in 1973 with a production volume of 12,000 x 6, comes from bush vines on the estate and matures for 18 months in 80% new and 20% older French oak barrels. The Cabernet Sauvignon was also first made in 1973, with a production volume of 12,000 x 6. The Paul Sauer, named after the estate's patriarch, was introduced under Beyers Truter with the 1981 vintage: a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc aged 24 months in new French oak, with a production volume of 7,000 x 6. The 2023 blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot, released on 1 July 2026. The Black Label Pinotage comes from a single vineyard of dry-land bush vines planted by Paul Sauer in 1953; first made in 2006, it ages for 18 months in new French oak, with a production volume of 1,150 x 6. Jannie Krige came up with the idea of a second label, Kadette, in the mid-1980s, when newer plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage had yet to reach the maturity the estate wines required; Kadette grapes no longer come from the Kanonkop vineyards. The range comprises the Kadette Cape Blend (first vintage 1985), in which Pinotage is rounded off with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot; the Kadette Pinotage Rosé (first vintage 2010); the Kadette Pinotage (first vintage 2012), aged in used French oak; and the Kadette Cabernet Sauvignon (first vintage 2018).

• Paul Sauer: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc; first vintage 1981; 24 months in new French oak; production volume 7,000 x 6.
• Black Label Pinotage: single vineyard planted in 1953; first vintage 2006; 18 months in new French oak; production volume 1,150 x 6.
• Estate Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon: first vintage 1973 for both; production volume 12,000 x 6 each.
• Kadette Cape Blend: first vintage 1985; production volume 250,000 x 6; the Cape Blend category requires a minimum Pinotage component of 30%.

Decanter has called Kanonkop the Stellenbosch estate 'widely regarded as a South African ‘first growth’'. The Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015 received South Africa's first 100-point score from Tim Atkin MW. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon was named Decanter's 2023 Classic Red Wine of the Year. At the IWSC, Abrie Beeslaar was named Winemaker of the Year in 2015 for his work at Kanonkop, having received the award previously in 2008.

• Paul Sauer 2015: South Africa's first 100-point score from Tim Atkin MW.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2019: Decanter's 2023 Classic Red Wine of the Year.
• IWSC Winemaker of the Year: Abrie Beeslaar, 2008 and 2015.

Kanonkop speaks of 'the ethos of traditional old-school winemaking' and sets the goal plainly: 'The biggest challenge for the winemaker is not to manipulate the wine but to still be able to show the characteristics of that specific vintage 10–20 years later.' The estate presents its Estate range as 'Wines made in a complex, age-worthy style for extended maturation' and its Kadette range as 'Wines made in a softer, fruit forward style for earlier consumption'. Johann Krige puts the focus on site: 'Our Simonsberg terroir provides the canvas and lies at the heart of everything we do.'

• Estate range: grapes solely from older estate vineyards, manual punch-downs, 18 to 24 months in French oak.
• Kadette range: grapes from contract growers, automated punch-downs, 12 months in older French oak.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://kanonkop.co.za/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/paul-sauer/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/jan-boland-coetzee/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/beyers-truter/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/abrie-beeslaar/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/francois-van-zyl, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/the-brothers-krige/, https://kanonkop.co.za/our-story/the-people-of-kanonkop/, https://kanonkop.co.za/viticulture/vineyards/, https://kanonkop.co.za/viticulture/soils/, https://kanonkop.co.za/viticulture/climate/, https://kanonkop.co.za/viticulture/topography/, https://kanonkop.co.za/winemaking/, https://kanonkop.co.za/wines/, https://kanonkop.co.za/wines/estate-range/, https://kanonkop.co.za/wines/kadette-range/, https://kanonkop.co.za/wines/product-information/, https://kanonkop.co.za/the-story-of-kanonkop-pinotage/, https://kanonkop.co.za/introducing-kanonkop-paul-sauer-2023/, https://kanonkop.co.za/kanonkop-once-again-voted-onto-top-50-most-admired-wine-brands-2026/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Malu Lambert: last updated 15 January 2024; published 22 July 2025), https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/abrie-beeslaar-of-kanonkop-set-to-depart-the-iconic-estate-520863/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/south-africas-kanonkop-announces-new-head-winemaker-561492/, Decanter's Stellenbosch winery listing, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/south-africa/stellenbosch-and-franschhoek-wineries-to-visit-284034/, and The Drinks Business (27 November 2015), https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/11/iwsc-reveals-2015-award-winners/. Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.