2022 Red Wine Producer Trophy awarded to Kanonkop Wine Estate

We’re proud to award fourth-generation producer Kanonkop IWSC 2022 Red Wine Producer of the Year Trophy.

“Our aim is to remain the top red wine producer of South Africa,” says Johann Krige, KanonkopCEO and the IWSC’s 2022 President. It’s a bold but simple ambition – and one that our judges clearly feel is within reach, with 10 medals awarded this year.   

Located in South Africa’s famed wine region, Stellenbosch, Kanonkop has 95 hectares under vine. Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon account for 85 percent of the varietals planted here, with small areas of Merlot and Cabernet Franc making up the balance.

The focus of fourth-generation owners Paul and Johann Krige is on gently improving quality and encouraging the expression of terroir. “In the cellar, we have recently increased production capacity from 1,200 tonnes to 2,800 tonnes and introduced state of the art optical sorters, cooling equipment and new maturation and bottling facilities,” the team says.

This investment in winemaking infrastructure aims to improve quality rather than efficiency – for example, the introduction of open concrete fermenters which require manual punch downs every two hours. “We believe in preserving what is working; our philosophy could be ‘don’t reinvent the wheel!” they say.

Congratulations to the team at Kanonkop