What is Pinotage? Why do we care?
Most countries have their signature grape variety, for better or for worse. Think Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand, Malbec from Argentina, Tannat from Uruguay. South Africa too has signature grapes, Chenin Blanc for white wines and Pinotage for red wines. But, the South African situation is somewhat different. Firstly, Chenin Blanc plantings do not overwhelm all other varieties. No, Chenin is iconic in South Africa because of its potential and realized quality, because of the plethora of styles, because of the experience of winemakers with this varietal, because of the availability of old vine material in almost every growing area and because of the work being done by South Africa’s hottest winemakers with the variety. It is fair to say that in South Africa Chenin Blanc finds its way into every style of wine from dry to sweet, fortified, sparkling, even brandy; in fact everything except red wine! Oh, and by the way, there is more Chenin planted in South Africa than in France! Secondly, Pinotage, South Africa’s signature red wine is not a French or Italian transplant but a home-grown variety. Pinotage plantings are not large, not even the largest plantings of red wine grapes but, like it or not, Pinotage is iconic.
In 1925 Professor Abraham Izak Perold of the University of Stellenbosch made a crossing of two vitis vinifera varieties; the Pinot Noir of Burgundy and the Cinsau(l)t of the Southern Rhone. Some surmise that the idea was to make wine of the quality of the best Pinot Noirs but with the prolific bearing capacity and relative ease of viticulture exhibited by Cinsault. In those days, even in some quarters to this day, Cinsault was called Hermitage or Hermitake in South Africa, hence the name Pinotage was chosen. So what came out of this crossing? Was the goal fulfilled? Well, Pinotage tends to be darker in color and, organoleptically, more tannic than either of its parents. Viticulturally, it tends to favor its notoriously fickle Burgundian parent; it does not generally produce high quality when made in volume, it is sensitive to terroir and it punishes winemakers who do not care sufficiently.
Pinotage has had a checkered career. It shot to prominence when, in 1961, a 1959 Pinotage was champion at the Cape Wine Show. A flurry of plantings followed but generally, with some notable exceptions, the resulting wines were mediocre to disappointing. In many ways, the trajectory of Pinotage parallels that of Zinfandel in California. It fell out of fashion, wound up in supermarket blends, found a lease on life as rose and gradually built a reputation for fine red wine in the hands of dedicated, passionate believers. The top Pinotage producers such as Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof and formerly Kanonkop, Danie Steytler Sr. and Jr. of Kaapzicht, and Francois Roode and Lauren Hulsman from Diemersfontein, are passionate about Pinotage and bring to it the same kind of zeal on display in Burgundy. Many of the top producers plant Pinotage on their best sites, and plant it as a bush vine (gobelet). This is a serious commitment to quality as tending the vines and harvesting are laborious and most of the work must be done by hand.
Pinotage has been criticized as being too tannic, having a flick of almond bitterness at the back. Tasters have decried it as medicinal with notes of acetone and something akin to brettanomyces. Some South African producers did not help the situation by publically criticizing not just the wine but the grape, calling it a noxious weed, deleterious to the image of fine South African wine, almost an act of sabotage.
A good deal of work has been done on Pinotage by the faithful and it is paying off. Plantings are increasing again and Pinotage is finding new customers. The average standard is much higher and the best are world class and delicious; full raspberry fruit, velvety mouthfeel and tamed tannins. One measure of Pinotage’s increasing global importance is the fact that Pinotage now regularly appears in the practical section of the annual Master of Wine examinations run by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Many more wine lists offer Pinotage and many retailers have it and it sells! So, to answer the question, we care because very fine Pinotage is readily available, it is largely affordable and it broadens the spectrum of tastes and food pairing options for us wine lovers!
Want to try a world class Pinotage. Click on the bottles below
Selected by Peter Koff MW
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