In a bid to assist loyal customers to enjoy and keep its premier wines for longer, Kanonkop Wine Estate has introduced a recorking service for owners of older vintages. The first Kanonkop Recorking Clinic is to be held in Johannesburg on 12 October, and 22 November on Kanonkop Estate where proprietor Johann Krige and cellarmaster Abrie Beeslaar will personally oversee the recorking of bottles dating back to the 2005 vintage and older.
According to Krige, the recorking of older bottles of premium wines is a familiar practice in the wine fraternities of Burgundy and Bordeaux, allowing owners to give the wine a longer life by reconditioning the contents of the bottle and closing it with a new cork.
“It is a process requiring skill and care, but we owe it to our customers who go to the trouble of storing our wines for decades,” says Krige. “When the moment arises for enjoying that Kanonkop wine that has been cellared for 10, 15 years and more, we want it to be in the condition it deserves to be in.”
The recorking entails inspecting the ullage – the space between the surface level of wine in the bottle and the cork – to determine how much air has entered the bottle, which could have affected the wine itself. “If the wine is still in a suitable condition, the old cork is removed and the wine covered with Argon gas to prevent oxidation. After the wine has been tasted to assess its condition, the level in the bottle is topped up with wine from the current vintage. A brand new cork from Amorim is then used to seal the wine, as well as a new capsule.”
The owner of the respective wine is given a certificate guaranteeing the recorking on that specific date.
Krige says that besides lengthening the life of the wine, people intending to buy older vintages of Kanonkop from collectors or at auctions will have greater peace of mind if the purchase is accompanied by a guarantee of recorking.
“Buying old wines can be a bit of a gamble,” says Krige, “as the purchaser has little proof as to how the wine was stored – where and at what temperature. The recorked certificate states that the wine in question has been tasted, deemed worthy of recorking and sealed with a new closure on a certain date. This traceability offers an indication of quality to purchasers as well as improving the enjoyment of the older Kanonkops that our loyal customers are keeping in their collections.”
The service is free of charge for any Kanonkop wine from the 2005 vintage and earlier, excluding the Kadette range. This will be done at Summer House at Summer Place on 12th October from 17:00 to 20:00, and on the Kanonkop Estate on 22nd November. Recent vintages of Kanonkop wines will be available for tasting while people wait for their bottles to be recorked. Please RSVP to [email protected] your name, which event you will be attending and the number of bottles of wine you will be bringing for inspection.
