31 August 2013

WOTM - Pelican Ranch 2010 Pinotage


My Wine of the Month for August is this deliciously and plumply juicy single vineyard offering from Pelican Ranch, an artisan winery located near Santa Cruz in California.
 
Owner/winemaker Phil Crews is a professor of chemistry at UCSC’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, a noted expert in marine sponges and teacher of classes on Wines and Wine Chemistry. Hence the nicely informative back label.

It looks to me that the grapes come from John Bree’s 5+ acre Pinotage vineyard at Sutter Ridge in Amador County, planted more than twenty years ago and thus some of the oldest in California.

 
 
 
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23 August 2013

2013 Cape Blend Competition Finalists

Just announced are the ten finalists of the Perold ABSA Cape Blend Competition. Cape Blend rules requires minimum of 30% and maximum of 70% Pinotage in the blend.



2012 Anura LB Cape Cuveé
2011 Clos Malverne Spirit of Malverne
2011 Flagstone Dragon Tree
2011 KWV Abraham Perold Tributum
2011 Namaqua Cellar Door Pinotage/Malbec
2009 Sumaridge Epitome
2011 Viljoensdrift River Grandeur Cape Blend
2011 Warwick Three Cape Ladies
2010 Welbedacht Hat Trick
2012 Windmeul Cape Blend


The three winners and two runners-up will be announced on 20 September 2013.

This year's finalists KWV and Windmeul were winners last year with their 2010 Cape Blends.

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10 August 2013

Pinotage Icewine - World First for Canada

Pinotage grapes have made many styles of wines including red, white and pink, sparkling, dessert and fortified.

Now comes a world first from Canada: Pinotage Icewine.

Stoneboat Vineyards, near Oliver in British Columbia’s southern Okanagen Valley, picked their frozen grapes on 11 January 2013 at minus 11 degrees Celsius (12.2F) and 39 Brix.

The resulting icewine, sold in a frosted half-sized bottles, is a lively pink colour with 8.3% abv and residual sugar of 230g/L, TA 12.3 g/L and pH 3.43.
 
Owner-winemaker Lanny Martiniuk says it “has intense aromas of fresh raspberry and candied apple. Subtle notes of dried cranberry and raisin are nicely balanced by spicy undertones on the palate. Cellar now through 2025”.


Stoneboat Pinotage Icewine 2012 is available at the winery for $74.90 CDN per 375ml bottle.

Congratulations to Stoneboat Vineyards!

See here for videos from my visit to Stoneboat

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01 August 2013

Pinotage Top 10 2013 Finalists

Just released are the 20 finalists for the ABSA  Pinotage Top 10 Competition. The 10 winners will be announced at the end of this month


Producer Name
Description
Vintage
WO
Anura
Anura Pinotage Reserve
2011
Simonsberg-Paarl
Baarsma
Lyngrove Platinum Pinotage
2012
Stellenbosch
Black Elephant
Vintners
The Back Roads Pinotage
2012
Wellington
Diemersdal
Diemersdal Pinotage
2012
Durvanville
Diemersdal
Diemersdal Pinotage Reserve
2012
Durvanville
Fairview
Primo Pinotage
2011
Paarl
Kanonkop
Kanonkop Pinotage
2010
Simonsberg
Stellenbosch
Kanonkop
Kanonkop Pinotage
2009
Simonsberg
Stellenbosch
KWV SA Pty Ltd
KWV The Mentors Pinotage
2011
Kusstreek
L'Avenir
L'Avenir Pinotage
2011
Stellenbosch
Manley Private Cellar
Manley Pinotage
2011
Tulbagh
Moreson
Moreson Pinotage
2011
Kusstreek
Rijk's Cellars
Rijk's Reserve Pinotage
2009
Tulbagh
Rooiberg Winery
Rooiberg Winery Pinotage Reserve
2012
Robertson
Simonsig Landgoed
Simonsig Pinotage Redhill
2011
Stellenbosch
Springfontein Wine Estate
Jonathan Ridge Pinotage
2010
Walker Bay
Waboomsrivier Wynkelder
Edms Bpk
Wagenboom Pinotage
2010
Breedekloof
Wildekrans
Wine Estate
Wildekrans Pinotage
2011
Botrivier
Windmeul Kelder
Windmeul Pinotage Reserve
2012
Paarl
Windmeul Kelder
Windmeul Pinotage
2011
Paarl

 
Among the well known names and previous winners is a name new to me of which I know nothing, - Black Elephant Back Roads Pinotage. Also new to me is the Wine of Origin (WO)  'Kusstreek' which I cannot find on any WO list but according to Google translations  Kusstreek is Afrikaans for 'Coastal'.

Congratulations to all.