12 March 2010

Pinotagio! -- from Temecula, California


Cougar Vineyard and Winery are the first southern California winery to make a Pinotage.
Only 124 cases were produced of this vintage, from grapes grown in nearby Bonsall.
Cougar is a new winery in the Temecula Valley -- which is south of Los Angeles just north of San Diego. It is owned by Jennifer and Rick Buffington and they are specialising in Italian varieties, but they couldn't resist buying a consignment of Pinotage grapes from a local grower and gave it the wine the attractive Italian accented Pinotagio name.
Jennifer and Rick say this wine
"has aromas of raspberries, is light-bodied with balanced tannins, a long finish and and a structure similar to a great Pinot Noir. Great red wine for a picnic or anytime you are looking for a red with light fruity flavours."
Chad and Frank, who tasted the wine for their video website MyDailyGrape.com said
"This is a sexy little wine that..... starts with a nice aroma of raspberries and pretty fruit forward on the palate, has a just enough tannins to let you know it has some Syrah components to it (which I love)and then with a long finish that reminds you of the Pinot noir grape."

3 comments:

  1. I've always maintained that Pinotage makes wonderful "Italian-styled" wines. I can't wait for some Italian growers to start producing some.

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  2. Thank you for the nice write-up on our Pinotagio! We've decided to continue to purchase these grapes since the wine turned out so nice and people really appreciate it.

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  3. Thanks for the post of My Daily Grape wine review!

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