Kranskop Wines
Not sure what to taste? Take the Kranskop quiz and find your glass
A small cellar under a rocky ledge in Klaasvoogds, between Robertson and Montagu. Newald Marais has owned Kranskop since 2009 and makes the wine himself. Every red goes through a vintage basket press. The tasting room serves cheese platters with a glass of your choice.
Wine Valley Safari stops here on the Golden Mile.
We book the tasting.
You choose the glass.
In the heart of the Robertson Valley
Kranskop sits in the Klaasvoogds ward of the Robertson Wine Valley, under the craggy ledge that gives the hill its name. The ledge also shaped how the winery looks. The cellar's first vintage was 2001, and local stories put the first vines on the farm around 1792.
Newald Marais first visited on 9 April 2003 and wrote "What a dream!!" in the visitors' book. He grew up on Welgeluk outside Robertson, studied at Elsenburg and at Weinsberg in Germany, and worked at some of the Cape's big cellars before buying Kranskop in 2009. Read the story on Kranskop's own page.
The cellar's Tannat 2017 won Top Tannat at the Novare SA Terroir Awards, and Kranskop lists its other awards on its awards page.
On a Wine Valley Safari
Kranskop is one of the estates we draw from on the Golden Mile. Your host confirms the stops the day before. Meeting points are 10h00 at Blou Pieke Boutique Hotel, 48 Long Street, Montagu, and 11h00 at Four Cousins, 54 Voortrekker Avenue, Robertson.
The Classic Golden Mile is three estates from Van Loveren, Ashton, Bon Courage, Viljoensdrift, Excelsior and Kranskop. From R650 a person, tastings included, Monday to Saturday.
The Golden Mile Deluxe puts Kranskop on the card as a wine tasting with a snack plate: the distinctive reds and characterful whites, in a relaxed mountain setting. You choose three stops from six. From R895 a person.
What to taste
Check out our Kranskop Wine Quiz here.
Kranskop makes four whites, a rosé, seven reds, a Cap Classique and a Muscadel, in small volumes. The whites are Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier. The pink is a dry Shiraz/Viognier Rosé. The reds are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Beekeeper's Block Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, the MCT Selection blend and Tannat. Then there's a Chenin Blanc Cap Classique and a natural sweet Muscat.
Ask for the Tannat. It is rare in South Africa, and Newald planted it beside his Pinot Noir. Your host will say what is open on the day. The full list, with tasting notes, is on Kranskop's shop.
Platters in the tasting room
Kranskop doesn't run a restaurant. The tasting room serves cheese platters with a glass of the wine of your choice. On the Golden Mile Deluxe a snack plate comes with the tasting. If lunch is on your safari, the host will plan it around the stop.
Basket presses, cellar and biodiversity
Every Kranskop red is pressed in one of two vintage basket presses whose age nobody knows. A basket press lets the winemaker set the pressure by hand and follow the colour and taste of the wine as it comes off. The tasting room is beside the cellar.
Kranskop is a member of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI), and makes its wine without harm to the land around it. Bring binoculars: the vineyards have plenty of birdlife.
Hours, and how to find them
Tasting room and wine sales: Monday to Friday 10h00–16h30, Saturday 10h00–14h00. Closed on Sundays.
Kranskop Wines, Klaasvoogds, Robertson. Telephone 023 626 3200. Email info@kranskopwines.co.za.
After the tour
If a bottle stayed with you, order it from the Kranskop shop. Online orders have a 12-bottle minimum, and you can mix wines. There are ready-made Summer and Winter mixed cases.
If you want the same stop again, write to info@winevalleysafari.com or call +27 81 740 0145.
