Kanonkop

Kanonkop Wine Estate is situated in Stellenbosch, the premium red wine region of South Africa’s Western Cape Province.

To many, Kanonkop is considered to be the South African equivalent of a Premier Cru or First Growth. For others, Kanonkop is not just a wine estate.

It is a place of natural beauty where hospitality, family values, tradition, history and interesting characters are as integral to our ability to create magnificent wines as the ancient decomposed granite soils, the cool air from the Atlantic Ocean and the old dryland vineyards.

The name Kanonkop is derived from a hillock (kop) on the Simonsberg mountain above the wine estate from where, during the 17th and 18th centuries, a cannon (kanon) was fired to announce the arrival of sailing ships entering Table Bay.

The roar of the cannon would be the signal to local farmers, who were waiting to make the 50-kilometer journey to the harbour, to load up their wagons with fresh fruit and vegetables to barter their produce.

The first wines bearing the Kanonkop label were produced in 1973.

To wine lovers familiar with the centuries old châteaux and domaines of Bordeaux and Burgundy respectively, the winemaking history of our estate may seem surprisingly young.