Strauss & co - 26 - 28 July 2020, Online

12 KanonkopWine Estate Owned by four generations of the Krige family, Kanonkop is widely recognised as a South African Grand Cru or First Growth . International awards accumulated over more than three decades have gone a long way to substantiating these claims. Abri Beeslaar is their long-term winemaker and has won International Winemaker of the year an incredible three times. Kanonkop Estate is situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain, between the towns of Stellenbosch and Paarl in the Western Cape. These slopes have earned a reputation, both at home and abroad, for producing some of the finest red wines in the country. The wines are classically styled, and the best vintages require a decade or two in order to show their true potential. If, however, there are two characteristics that stand out and allow Kanonkop to command its status as South Africa’s First Growth, they are consistency and a sense of place. Who was Paul Sauer? ‘Paul Oliver Sauer has passed away. South Africa has lost one of her biggest sons. The wine industry has lost a son, a leader and an honest wine lover.’ AJ du Toit, Groot Constantia, Saturday, 31 January 1976. Paul Oliver Sauer (1898–1976) was Johann and Paul’s grandfather. Besides having a rather colourful life, he was a grape grower, a winemaker and a wine imbiber. His great-grandfather was the renowned Hendrik Cloete, who sold wine to kings and princes. His mother was born on Groot Constantia and the farm was offered to his father, the well-known politician, JW Sauer for £10 000. He however was of the opinion that the price was too steep and rejected the offer. In 1903, JW Sauer bought Uitkyk, a farm located close to Stellenbosch. In 1929 it was sold by his mother, but JW Sauer’s famous farm, Kanonkop, was kept as his inheritance. Paul Sauer had a great influence in the wine industry – he served on one of the industry’s biggest wine wholesalers’ boards, the Stellenbosch Farmers Winery Pty (Ltd) and played a major part in the expansion of this organisation. He was also one of the first farmers to plant pinotage. His love for wine is perhaps best exemplified by his quote: ‘There is an abysmal ignorance, which is Paul Sauer