Stormhoek Pinotage is getting Fresher

Stormhoek are leading the field with a 'best before' date on their bottles. Many people think wine has to age years before it is at its best, but that is a fallacy. The overwhelming majority of wines are at their best on release. And Stormhoek's "Freshness Indicator" shows the time period when the wine will be most enjoyable, or -- as us wine geeks call it -- the "drinking window."

I was intrigued to compare the dates on the 2005 Pinotage back label (pictured above left) with that from the 2006 vintage (pictured below right).

It is recommended to drink the 2005 before January 2008, thus the drinker has two complete years ( 2006 and 2007) plus the few months after the wine was released in 2005, to enjoy the wine.

But the 2006 vintage should be enjoyed by June 2008. That is 7 whole months less than the lifespan of the 2005. Puzzling......

Another thing that puzzles me about the Stormhoek label is that there is no indication where the wine was bottled. One assumes that Stormhoek bottled it at their winery in South Africa, but it doesn't say so. There are increasing numbers of wines being shipped in bulk for local bottling. It saves costs by not shipping glass bottles, but I try not to buy such wines because I just don't trust them.

If you want to check the bottles for yourself, and you live in Britain, then nip along to Tesco's with your camera phone, take a snap of yourself holding a bottle of Stormhoek and email it to them, and they'll send you a £5 voucher. Stormhoek are currently discounted at Tesco's (and Waitrose). See www.stormhoek.com for details