Tim James tastes 50 years of Meerendal Pinotage

Tim James attended a celebration  at Meerendal Estate to mark the 50 years since the first bottlings under the estate name and visited the old Pinotage vineyard planted in 1955.

Six hectares of bushvines that now provide grapes for the Meerendal Heritage Block Pinotage – the bottles bearing the Old Vines Project Heritage seal. It’s the oldest extant vineyard in Durbanville and one of the oldest pinotage blocks in the country.

Read the full article published at WineMag.co.za here.

To read about my visit last year and to see a video of the winemaker in the old vineyard click here
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Pinotage is a terrific calling card - Steven Spurrier

 

“Pinotage is a terrific calling card for South Africa ­– it can be what Malbec is to Argentina or Carménère to Chile. Pinotage and Chenin Blanc are your door-openers” stated Steven Spurrier in an interview with Anton Pretorius in the January 2019 edition of South African wine industry magazine WineLand.

Steven Spurrier is perhaps most famous for organising the tasting between to French and California wines in Paris in 1976 which became known as ‘The Judgement of Paris’ and later made into the movie Bottle Shock. He’s a respected wine expert, writer, director of The Christie’s Wine Course and consultant editor of Decanter magazine.

Note1: At time of posting the article was not on WineLand's website.

Note2: The film Bottle Shock bears little relation to reality.

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