Pinotage
Pinotage is a unique grape variety in the wine world as it’s a man made creation and labour of love, as opposed to having evolved naturally. Starting its life in South Africa in 1925, Pinotage was created by Stellenbosch University’s first Professor of Viticulture, Abraham Izak Perold, who was partial to a glass of Pinot Noir. He took seeds from both Pinot Noir and Cinsault, in an attempt to produce a hybrid variety possessing all the best qualities of each grape – Pinot Noir’s elegance with Cinsaut’s spiciness. The result was something truly exciting and new, bursting with fruity flavours!
Pinotage Tasting Notes
Blackberry
Raspberry
Liquorice
Leather
Tobacco
Pinotage is packed full of black fruit flavours, although younger wines can showcase a lovely red berry hint. Older vines produce vino that’s incredibly rich, spicy and savoury in flavour, resulting in complex flavours of tobacco, smoke, leather and lashings of liquorice! The earthiness comes through on the nose, while dark berry flavours come to life on the palate.
Pinotage Wine Style
Full and Fruity Red Wine
Light Full-BodiedPinotage is a full, fruity and powerful red. It’s generally quite full-bodied, with light to medium tannins and intense flavours. Acidity tends to be on the lower side, making for an all-round easy to drink wine. Grapes are deeply coloured and ripen easily and early in South Africa, where they’re often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and referred to as a ‘Cape Blend’.
Wine Regions
South Africa
Australia
Pinotage is pretty much exclusive to South Africa, as it was developed to suit the hot climate and dry terrain here. In fact, Pinotage is so huge in South Africa, it’s the second most planted grape in the country. Local winemakers take pride in the characteristics and flavours of Pinotage expressing where it comes from, and how the big black fruit flavours, liquorice and savoury nuances are unique to the geography of their wine regions. Although mostly found in South Africa, very small parcels of Pinotage are also grown in Australia.
What Food Goes with Pinotage?
When looking at food matching with Pinotage, you have to consider the weight of the dish. As Pinotage wines can have plenty of body, it’s best to match with rich, meaty dishes that’ll complement the wine’s texture. Great meat pairings are venison, duck, barbecued meat and hearty stews, while the perfect cheese match is a nice strong goat’s cheese.
