SOUTH AFRICA’S first Cap Classique – the iconic Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel – celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The milestone also marks the birth of the country’s Cap Classique category, which has become the ambassador for South African wine excellence at home and abroad.
Kaapse Vonkel was conceived at Simonsig in 1971 from the passion and perseverance of Malan Family patriarch, Frans Malan. Since then, Simonsig and the Malans have proudly continued the pioneering tradition and developed Kaapse Vonkel to an international benchmark of quality and standard bearer for South African-made, bottle-fermented sparkling wine, better known as Cap Classique.
To commemorate this grand occasion, Simonsig makes a dramatic move with the release of Kaapse Vonkel with updated packaging and a stellar new look for the Kaapse Vonkel Satin Nectar and Satin Nectar Rosé.
“I’m also proud at the regularity with which international wine authorities’ recognise the exceptional quality of the category as a whole.”
Malan is excited about South Africans increasingly discovering and enjoying Cap Classiques. “It is a lifestyle wine and fits excellently with the modern wine drinker. It is fresh, fruity, lively, refreshing, elegant, stylish and puts you in a good mood. It is the most versatile wine there is – from breakfast to midnight!”
Reflecting on the 50-year anniversary of the brand, Malan says what stands out for him about the wine is how the learning has continued. “We still see how a sometimes seemingly insignificant detail can make a major improvement in the wine, years later.”
Kaapse Vonkel is not only a blend of three different grape varieties, but also fruit from other regions such as Darling, Elgin and Firgrove, which are well-known for cool climate, and Robertson Chardonnay that grows in lime-rich soils.