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NATIONAL treasures
Battling it out with their compatriots, these are the producers deemed to be shining brightest in their respective home nations
national producers
SOUTH AFRICAN WINE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY, SUPPORTED BY
DAVE HUGHES:
KANONKOP WINE ESTATE
No consideration of the great historic estates of the Cape would be complete without mentioning Kanonkop.
With a name derived from a cannon placement in the 17th century, when firing was used to signal the arrival of
trading ships in Cape Town harbour, this is a property rich in history, and one that has become famous for its great age-worthy reds. In particular, the producer is renowned for creating the world’s finest expressions of Pinotage, a grape that may divide opinions but, as Kanonkop has proved, is capable of producing wonderful results in the right soils and with careful handling. It also helps that Kanonkop, located on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, has some of the Cape’s oldest commercial plantings of the variety, with Pinotage vineyards now more than 50 years old.
Aside from Pinotage, Kanonkop is also revered for its blends made using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Today, Kanonkop is not only recognised for its distinctive cannon emblem but also respected for both the quality of its wines and exceptional value for money.
GERMAN WINE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY, SPONSORED BY HELLMANN BEVERAGE LOGISTICS: WEINGUT HORST SAUER Weingut Horst Sauer is a Franconian estate nestling in the wine village of Escherndorf, close to the great Escherndorfer Lump.
It became a VDP estate in 2012 and is
managed by father-and-daughter team
Horst and Sandra Sauer. Covering 20.5 hectares, it has vineyards on the Grosse Lage Escherndorfer am Lumpen 1655, the Escherndorfer Lump and Ersten Lagen Escherndorfer Fürstenberg in Franken.
The estate grows Silvaner, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Scheurebe, Spätburgunder, Domina and Weißburgunder. The estate is today known for both its noble sweet wines and its elegant dry expressions. Among several medals awarded to Horst this year was a Gold for its Weingut Horst Sauer Escherndorfer Lump Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 2015, which judges noted for its “rich, ripe aromatic lemon and honey on the nose” and “streak of acidity, showing masterly balance”.
As Horst Sauer states: “We promote the best features in all our wines, from the basic Qualitätswein to the noble sweet wines, from the start of their development in the vineyard to the point of bottling. We just can’t help giving our best for them, because we love all our children.”
South African Wine Producer shortlist
 Kanonkop Wine Estate
 Plaisir de Merle (Distell Ltd)  Nederburg (Distell Ltd)
 Jordan Estate
 KWV
 Stellenrust Wines
German Wine Producer shortlist
 Weingut Horst Sauer  Hiestand
 Belsazar GmBH
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