Pinotage

South Africa’s Most Loved (and Hated) Variety

Pinotage is a red grape variety that splits opinions amongst wine drinkers.

The popularity swings are stark. In 1992 it was the cheapest grape in South Africa, often suppressed by quantity focused producers and the sanctions imposed by against Apartheid. By 1997, post-apartheid, it was the most expensive, and by 2003 it was the cheapest again. It just couldn’t win!

It’s a hardy grape, developed in 1925 by one of the heroes of South African wine, Abraham Perold. The crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsault became known as Pinotage by blending the names of the parents. (Cinsault was called Hermitage in South Africa at the time.)

Pinotage ripens very easily and can produce heavy yields (of up to 120hl/ha) if trained into vigorous pruning systems. But if you get wines made from fruit from low-yielding, old bush vines then you can get some intensely flavoured and complex reds.

Flavour

Pinotage often has a rather sweet, estery pungency, which has led many wine drinkers to dismiss the wines as nearly undrinkable. If the vintage is too hot at the end of the growing season, the unpleasant burnt rubber character is only too prevalent.

But good examples show a vibrant wild fruitiness that, tamed by time and oak, evolve beautifully and develop savoury notes of dark chocolate and black pepper spice.

Style Range

Most Pinotage is designed to drink early. Fermentations are cooler and longer to extract dense fruit, without the harsh tannin.

OAKED AND AGEWORTHY STYLE
French or American oak not only adds a flavour but also rounds harsher tannins. This allows for fuller flavour and colour extraction earlier on in the cellar work.

BLENDED STYLE
Cape blends, particularly in Stellenbosch, can be very high in quality, with Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz all playing a part. These are luscious, intense, full-bodied wines.

Structure

Pinotage can be highly tannic and dismissed as a coarse red wine, but with more gentle extraction and oak maturation, the deep colour and tannic structure can make some of the richest and long-lasting wines in South Africa.

It usually has a lovely vibrant acidity.

Food Pairings

Good Pinotage is one of the best wines to drink with pepperoni pizza

Growing Regions

SOUTH AFRICA
Pinotage’s homeland grows the grape in many areas, both bulk and quality regions.

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD
The variable popularity of Pinotage has limited its spread across the wine world, but there are some sparse plantings in Brazil, California, Israel, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe.