Kanonkop’s production is centred around two grape varieties – Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Pinotage vines are cultivated as bush vines to provide optimum sunlight, which allows for maximum ripeness and to assist with regulating the crop. These vines are some of the first commercially planted Pinotage to be established at the Cape, and most are over 65 years old.
Pinotage – a grape crossing of Cinsaut and Pinot Noir. It was first crossed in South Africa in 1925 by scientist Abraham Perold. Perold observed how Pinot Noir struggled in South Africa’s climate, so he crossed them with a very productive species: Cinsaut (called Hermitage). Perold’s goal was to create a wine that was as delicious as Pinot Noir but grew as well as Cinsaut. Pinotage is now the 2nd most planted grape in South Africa.