Kanonkop Estate is recognized as a South African equivalent of a Premier Cru or First Growth. International awards accumulated over more than three decades have gone a long way to substantiate these claims. Kanonkop is a 4th generation family-owned estate that was originally purchased by JW Sauer, a cabinet minister in the parliament of the Union of South Africa. His son, Paul Oliver Sauer, also a cabinet minister, took over the reins from his father and in 1968 he was joined by Springbok rugby great Jan ‘Boland’ Coetzee. Mary Sauer, daughter of Paul Sauer, inherited the estate in 1976. She married Jannie Krige, a rugby administrator at the University of Stellenbosch, who took early retirement and, together with Coetzee, made the first estate-bottled wines in 1973. Beyers Truter joined the estate in 1980 following the departure of Coetzee, and together with Krige’s two sons, Johann and Paul continued the traditions developed on this highly prized estate. The cellar is currently lead by Abrie Beeslaar, who joined the team in 2002 and took over the reins from Beyers Truter in 2004.
