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Home cellars: Geoff and Tanya Kroon

June 23, 2011
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An awkward space at the back of the Kroons? home was transformed into a particularly special cellar carved into the mountain.<br /> Photograph by Toby Murphy” /></p> <p>Literally carved into the slopes of Table Mountain, Geoff and Tanya Kroon’s Fresnaye cellar is almost as breathtaking as the views from their home over the Atlantic ocean. But “it didn’t always look like this,” says Geoff Kroon.</p> <p>“When we built the house it was just a storeroom, a dead space, as it is at the back of the house with no windows. The perfect space for a cellar really! Over a couple of years we worked on it, starting with waterproofing the back wall which seals the house from the mountain, closed off the roof as the floor for the level above and created the rough framework structure. We did not want to blast the bedrock away and instead used it to give character to the space. This was followed by designing the shelving made from solid Canadian maple, which was far more complex than I had anticipated.” But what a fabulous job they did, completing the cellar in 1997.</p> <p>Fighting for first to impress is the bare bedrock of granite forming the base of the floor in the cellar, followed shortly by the wall-to-wall wine bottles. These are accompanied by wooden cases stacked as the base of a table around which eight to 10 people can sit. “This is where we tend to start our evenings, serving tapas and having fun in the cellar with a glass of wine with friends,” says Geoff. Other pieces of interest in the cellar that caught my eye were a beautiful ceramic on the wall which Geoff brought back from San Gimignano in Tuscany, and a 1973 Mouton Rothschild print “which was the year Mouton Rothschild was promoted from Second to First Growth,” admires Geoff.</p> <p>The shelving on the back wall is actually a yellowwood staircase from a farm in Graaff-Reinet which has been restored. Alongside that, stacked with Champagne from top to bottom, is a rustic wine rack which Geoff made from the wood of wild olive trees while he was at university.</p> <p>“That’s how far my love of wine dates back,” jokes Geoff. He literally started collecting wine in 1977, the year he left school in the Karoo and came to the Cape. “I remember visiting Backsberg and tasting a 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon with Sydney Back. It changed my world,” he sighs. He started buying cases of wine and plenty of books to read, and so his hobby developed.</p> <p>Tanya and Geoff share the passion and refer to themselves as “winophiles”. She admits that she has always loved wine but her knowledge has been enhanced tremendously since meeting Geoff. Their meeting was “written in the stars” and took place over a bottle of Cristal ‚ they followed the theme by enjoying another bottle on their engagement.</p> <p>Their cellar stocks about 3 000 bottles of wine, of which 90% is international (France, Italy, Spain and Germany) and 10% local. “I’ve enjoyed the exploration of finding wines in other countries,” says Geoff. “I am captured by the spirit of travelling, meeting new people in new lands. Going to Salon in Champagne was like going to the Holy Grail. And Burgundy, Burgundy is my favourite! It has always held a mystique and I have worked hard to understand it.</p> <p>“We’re doing a great job in South Africa and I believe local wines have certainly improved a lot. We do still find some local wines too high in alcohol and over-extracted, but we have some firm favourites in Kanonkop, Thelema, Hamilton Russell, Paul Cluver, Vriesenhof and Keermont, all great ambassadors for South African wine.”</p> <p>Geoff says he is now very astute in terms of his buying, making use of suppliers in London as well as local importers such as Wine Cellar, Great Domaines and Caroline’s Fine Wines, or the estate itself for local wines. “I know what I like and that’s what I buy. Wine is romantic, and I am a romanticist,” jokes Geoff. “Opening a bottle brings to life the romantic memories from places visited. It’s not about the pomp and ceremony!”</p> <p>The couple do not belong to a wine club although they do take part in several tastings. They believe that going to tastings is important when you are learning. It’s great to taste a wine, but there is nothing better than working your way through a bottle and seeing how it changes with each pour.</p> <p>Geoff is quite adamant that the foremost purpose for their cellar is not entertainment ‚ it was built for the wine. If you collect wine and want to enjoy aged wines, you need to store them properly. In the cellar the wines are stored between 13.5 and 14¬∫C by making use of a proper refrigeration unit. With the room at the base of the mountainside, the sealant has helped to prevent any moisture or dampness but there is also no need for a humidifier.</p> <p>There is no doubt that wines would like to rest in this cellar, and owning a cellar like this would require a lot of patience. Thus, the biggest hurdle the couple has faced with the cellar is self-restraint. “I’ve had to learn to stop pressing the button that says ‚go’,” muses Geoff.</p> <p>Asked to pick their favourites out of the wines they currently have in their cellar, Geoff swiftly pulls out a Salon Blanc de Blanc Brut, a Gevrey-Chambertin First Cru from Clos St Jacques and a La T√¢che. I am amazed how he finds his way through the bottles with such ease and ask about his cataloguing system. “I have a hard drive,” he says tapping his head. “It’s all up here and I have a feel of where I store each particular bottle.” With this system, probably not ideal for the amount of wine being stored, they admit to sometimes having drunk something of which they thought they still had a couple of bottles remaining. Or, more excitingly, finding a bottle of something they had forgotten about entirely. So, what could possibly be missing? “I would love a Leflaive from Montrachet to add to the cellar, among others,” comments Geoff.</p> <p>Tanya concludes by saying, “Cellars are not storerooms. You can live in them, have a lot of fun in them. Wine is alive in the bottle so make sure you drink it. Don’t question the occasion and, importantly, share it with friends.” They love introducing friends to wine and seeing their appreciation grow, all the way to requiring cellars of their own! “I wish I’d started earlier,” says Geoff. “This life of wine has been a journey and I will never stop exploring. Keep your mind open and dream.”</p> <p><strong>TIPS FROM THE KROONS</strong></p> <ul> <li>Don’t restrict yourself. Move beyond what you know, exploreoutside your normal terrain tobroaden horizons and read a lotof wine books. Don’t be driven byprice, look for quality.</li> <li>Look for ‚anchor tenants’ (i.e. nicecollectables) but make sure youhave a good storage space and give them plenty of TLC.</li> </ul> <p class=Tagged

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