It seems just like yesterday when we wrote our November 2017 newsletter and so much has happened since then. We made it through one of the toughest harvests while battling with the worst drought in 100 years. The entire team worked incredibly hard around the clock to get in as much grapes as possible and the managing team had their hands full prioritizing between grapes based on their sugars and the condition of the vines. Luckily, while the harvest was much smaller (down 45% of our 2017 harvest), what we lacked in volume we made up in exceptional quality. While the harvest was our main focus, we couldn’t loose

What could be better than combining two of the things we love most - wine and coffee (in no particular order, of course). The final result of this combination is the De Krans Original Espresso – port and coffee all in one bottle. When the winemaking team at De Krans created this style of wine a few years ago, the end result produced a wine with strong flavours of coffee beans, combined with a rich character and perceived sweetness. It has proved to be a resounding success for the team as it has become one of the popular ports in the De Krans range. And no, no coffee beans

With the first Portuguese grapes planted in the 70’s in Calitzdorp, De Krans organically gravitated towards producing exceptional quality port-style wines. Backed up by several top awards for these wines, De Krans has managed to carve a name for itself through the years as being one of the leading port-style wine producers in the country. Their flagship, the Cape Vintage Reserve boasts eleven vintages, being awarded with the sought-after 5-star rating in Platter's Wine Guide, with the most recent Cape Vintage Reserve 2015 scoring 96 points (and earning the title of Best Fortified Wine in South Africa) in the 2017 Tim Atkin SA Wine Report, as well as

Having made it through one of the toughest harvests as a result of the drought, being able to release the first 2018 vintage, seems to be extra special this year. The De Krans Pinotage Rosé, which was released at the beginning of April, is packed with red fruit flavour and a balanced acidity, resulting in a burst of freshness. On the nose you’ll pick up soft elegant rose petals, candy floss and hints of strawberries. Having previously produced a Rosé from other grape varieties, this style of wine has finally found its stride at De Krans in 2016 with South Africa’s signature variety Pinotage. Not only are the Pinotage

Still hot off its big win last year at the Old Mutual Trophy Show where the De Krans Tritonia Calitzdorp Blend 2015 walked away with the trophy for Best Red Blend (Non-Bordeaux), this Calitzdorp blend solidified its status as a top quality red when it was recently awarded a Gold medal at the Six Nations Wine Challenge 2017. This unique competition focuses on showcasing the quality and diversity of new world wines. The other five countries are made up of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Canada and the USA. Judges from each country select their respective country’s best wines to ultimately amount to 600 wines competing against each other.

De Krans is no stranger to winning big with their ports (thanks to the Douro-like terroir and climate). With the annual release of the Top Wine SA Classification, no less than three of De Krans’ award winning Cape ports were placed in this year’s Top 10 Cape Ports list. In essence, the 2018 Top Wine SA Classification is a compilation of all wine and fortified style wines that have achieved very good or excellent scores by judging experts from wine shows and competitions both local and international over a 10-year span (2008- 2017). These include the Michelangelo Awards (SA), Veritas Awards (SA), Platters Wine Guide and the international