Delheim Pinotage Rose: Video

Delheim owners Victor Sperling and Nora Sperling-Thiel take us from their tasting cellar into the vineyard to see Pinotage harvested and then into winery to meet winemaker Reg Holder as they tell us about how they make their award winning Pinotage rosé, in this excellent video made by A Minute of Wine.

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Delheim's Rose - 'A New Favourite'

"A new favorite .......... is this pinotage rose made by Delheim in South Africa. Still lively from the 2008 harvest, it has a spot-on balance of bright berry sweetness and a refreshingly crisp finish that pairs well with light foods. At $11.99, it's a fair price for a mid-winter's sip of Stellenbosch sunshine in a bottle. " -- Craig Laban in The Philadelphia Inquirer 4 January 2009

Beyerskloof wins IWSC Trophy

I've written before about the Beyers Truter Reserve own label made for UK supermarket Tesco. I have bought a goodly number of them myself, and by co-incidence opened a bottle of the 2006 last night.

I'm not the only fan though --- the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2008 recently announced that they'd awarded the KWV Trophy for Pinotage to Beyerskloof for their Tesco Finest Beyers Truter Pinotage 2006.

7000 wines from more than 70 countries were entered into the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2008, the premier competition of its kind in the world, held in London . Amongst the Trophies being announced 15 were open to wines from anywhere in the world. South Africa picked up five trophies and it is remarkable that four of the trophies were won by producers that come from within a radius of ten kilometres. The other three, some from wineries that have appeared on these pages for their Pinotages, are The Mission Hill Family Estate Trophy for Chardonnay presented to Delheim Wines for their Delheim Chardonnay Sur Lie 2007.The Spier Trophy for Merlot presented to Hartenberg for their Hartenberg Merlot 2005. The Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Trophy for Blended Red Wine presented to Kanonkop Wine Estate for their Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2003.

Pictured left to right are Beyers Truter (Beyerskloof), Abrie Beeslaar (Kanonkop), Brenda van Niekerk (Delheim) and Carl Schultz (Hartenberg).

Delheim's latest Pinotage is a Cracker!

It’s a tradition that on our last day in the Cape we have lunch at Delheim. We ordered a bottle of their MCC sparkler in consolation of the forthcoming journey home and I chose the scrumptious Cape Malay Chicken Curry wrapped in a filo pastry parcel. Delheim change the menu in their garden restaurant every month and if I miss the lamb curry served in its individual potjies I always find another favourite.

By chance Nora Sperling-Thiel (owner/marketing/exports) was dining with some guests and she asked Brenda van Niekerk (pictured left) to spare a few moments from winemaking duties to show me her 2008 Pinotage Rosé.

I’d tasted a still fermenting sample previously, but now that wine was complete and had been bottled a few days previously. Brenda told she’d blended in 6% Muscat to give a little sweet lift; there’s 5.5gL residual sugar and the alcohol is a lunch friendly 12.5%.

Delheim Pinotage Rosé 2008
The colour was bluish red with a rose petal bouquet. At first it tastes another easy going pink wine with delicate rose petal flavours and a refreshing pear-drop acidity on the finish. But I returned to it and realised there was more complexity than at first appeared and it’s a rewarding summer’s day drink.

Brenda also brought a sample of the 2007 red Pinotage. This had spent 10 months in 60/40% new/ 2nd fill oak barrels and was now undergoing bottle aging before release later this year. Brenda said she ‘likes the fruit and the big structure.”

Delheim Pinotage 2007
I’ve thought Delheim’s recent Pinotages have been a bit dull, but this one was right back on track. It is lively and interesting with dark plummy fruits to the fore and wood tannins developing on the finish. It shows all the signs of an excellent wine, good for drinking young but with plenty of potential for aging. I'll be looking out for this when its released.

Sad as I was to leave Delheim and to be heading home to a cold England, I was thrilled to see that my book Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape was on sale in Delheim's gift shop at the entrance. The books contains one of my favourite winelabels, which is Spatzendreck, Delheims sweet wine that has such an amusing story behind it.

Delheim Pinotage Rosé

Two weeks ago I posted a picture of Delheim’s first Pinotage grapes being harvested. They were pressed to make Delheim’s popular Rosé and yesterday lunchtime I tasted the work in progress.

It was a neon pink colour and smelt of bread and pear drops. Fermentation hadn’t completely finished and it had yet to be fined, which accounted for its yeastiness being clouded. This was very dry, with just 2 grammes per litre of residual sugar. Delheim’s winemaker, Brenda van Niekerk, will soon blend in a tiny amount of Muscat de Frontignac to round out the wine and sweeten its edges. But it was showing great promise and was right on track to follow the lineage of the 2007 Rosé.

And it was a bottle of the Delheim Rosé 2007 that we had with our lunch in Delheim’s garden restaurant. Compared with the tank sample, this was brilliantly clear and pink. The nose was filled with the scent of rose petals and the wine, chilled in an ice bucket, was just the thing for a hot summers day. Refreshingly fruity, interesting and quaffable. And unavailable. Demand for this wine has been overwhelming and Delheim has now sold out of Rosé until the 2008 vintage is bottled, which they are expecting will be some time next month

The lunch menu changes monthly and as usual I was torn between choices. I picked Ostrich Bobotie with rice and home made chutney. The bobotie was cooked in an individual serving dish and really scrumptious – moist with a risen egg custard on top and aromatic spices and almond slivers flavouring the meat . Next time I will have the Cape Malay chicken curry wrapped in a filo pastry parcel which my companion praised, or will I have oxtail cooked in Shiraz or lamb shanks cooked in Merlot?

Choices, choices…..

Delheim in the Pink

Delheim are picking Pinotage in their vineyards today as their Pinotage is picked as the best in Germany.

The picture above, taken this morning, shows Delheim's winemaker Brenda Van Niekerk (second left) and her cellar team standing in front of a hopper full of just picked Pinotage grapes about to be tipped into the de-stemming machine.

Delheim co-owner Nora Sperling-Thiel says "the grapes are perfect for Pinotage Rosé."

And it is Pinotage rosé that Delheim pioneered and have had great success with, further bolstered with the news this morning from Germany where trade magazine Weinwirtschaft reports that Delheim's was voted by the trade as the best rosé on the German market in 2007, beating all other rosés on quality, sales performance, value and image.

Pink Pinotage

Pink wine is now fashionable thanks, apparently, to US rappers taking a fancy to expensive Rose Champagnes. Now us men can at last feel comfortablewith a glass of pink.


And Pinotage makes a great, brightly coloured, pink. Its naturally sweet mouthfeel means wine makers can produce a dry wine that tastes good on its own and slips down easily on a hot summers day.

WoSA organised a pink wine tasting stand at the London International Wine & Spirit Fair this year and I was pleased to see August Pepe was staffing it. August is the welcoming face in Delheim's tasting cellar and leads the winery tours. And it is appropriate Delheim was represented as they were one of the first Cape exponents of pink wines and the pioneer of pink Pinotage, making their first one in 1976.

August's stand was covered in pink bottles and I noticed Pinotages from Swartland Winery, L'Avenir and of course Delheim.

"So what do you think of the Delheim Rose, August?" I ask.

He takes a mouthful and ponders.

"Excellent -- it is the best!", is his verdict.

Delheim is in the Pink

I think one of the hardest jobs for a winemaker is making the final blend from the various wine constituents. Even a 100% varietal wine is a blend from different tanks and barrels.

Delheim Winery pioneered Pink Pinotage, and today I was able to taste this years vintage from three tanks. Winemaker Brenda van Niekerk (pictured) told me that this year they started picking the grapes on 10 January -- very early as a result of the heat wave the Cape was having.

I found the first tank was a beautiful, almost fluorescent pink, quite lively with pear drop flavors, the second a darker pink had some crisp acidity and the third seemed to me just perfect, fruity dry and a good balance of fruit and acids. But, unlike Goldilocks, one can't just pick the favourite. And Delheim's Pink Pinotage is made off dry, and so soon Brenda and her colleagues will be blending and tasting and blending to get a wine better than the sum of its components that matches Delheim's house style and will continue to delight the regulars of this popular wine. And then their job isn't finished because they will make another Pink Pinotage for Woolworths own label and to their specifications.

And the red Pinotage? It is currently undergoing malolactic fermentation and wasn't ready for tasting.

And, off subject, but I also tasted a really cracking tank sample of a Columbar. This is another under appreciated variety (also known as Columbard and French Colombard) and --wow -- if you like a racy crisp mouthfilling white wine with passion fruit and guava flavours this is it. I'd bottle it as is, but Brenda will blend in some Muscat and Chardonnay to make an off dry low alcohol (less than 10% abv) wine for Woolworths South Africa where it will sold under the name Bianca Light.

(note for non SA readers -- Woolworths in South Africa is a up-market store specialising in clothing with a food & wine department. It is the equivalent of the UK Marks & Spencer)

Recent Dinner Wines

Beyerskloof 'Reserve Selection' 2003, WO Stellenbosch, 15% abv -- A not yet
released 'barrel selection' for the UK Sainsbury chain from 20-40 year old
un-irrigated bush vines. Another serious offering from Mr Truter, attractive nose leads into a brooding giant of a wine, there's tobacco leaf and tangy spices on top over unplumbed depths just waiting for time to release them. Beyers told me he made it to be at its best in 10 years but I wonder how many Sainsbury's customers will keep it that long. A 2004 Top 10 finalist.

Deetlefs 2001, Rawsonville 13.5% abv -- Deep garnet, berry nose, intense blueberry and plum flavours backed by medium tannins and a medium long finish. Enjoyable drinkable meal friendly wine.

Delheim Estate 2001, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5%abv -- Closed and shy when first opened, but after 30 minutes it opens out to show sophisticated plummy flavours and soft well integrated tannins - a European style dinner wine rather than an in-your-face fruit bomb, and all the better for it!

Swartland Winery Indalo 2002, WO Swartland -- Slow to show soft spicy nose, plums, mulberries, Pinotage sweetness with refreshing acidity, spicy mid palate, later developing flavours of mocha, chocolate and tobacco leaf. A delicious wine from Pinotage master Andries Blake.

Olsen Wineries 2003, WO Paarl, 14.5% abv -- Pleasant medium light bodied wine, a little green on front palate on first opening, but after a while opened it develops soft blueberry fruits at the forefront and ripe fruits in the middle and a shortish finish. Needs decanting.

What They're Saying

"The difference between Kiwi and South African Pinotage is climatic. The South African climate ripens it quicker making it more steely, but it makes ours more fruity and pinot-like. While it can be a bit too in your face, alcoholic and obviously fruity, ultimately it could be to New Zealand what Zinfandel is to California." Brenda Gould, winemaker at New Zealand's Muddy Water winery. ("WINE Gourmet Traveller" Australia Jan 04)

"The Cape vineyards also produce a variety of internationally acclaimed wines like Burgundy and Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the numerous exported varieties, the most popular is the Pinotage." (Mumbai NewsOnline 27/4/04)

"Who'd have thought it? South Africa's Pinotage grape is starting to produce some stylish red wines," says Joanna Simon, and she cites 2002 Flagstone Writers Block Pinotage "Everything Pinotage should be: sweet berry fruit, chocolate richness." (The Sunday Times,UK 2 May 04)

"Delheim Pinotage Rosé 2003 brimming with red berries and finishing with an invigorating kick of acidity. (Beppi Crosariol, 15 May 04, Globe & Mail Toronto)

"Funny how it took the South Africans to develop this intriguing grape variety. Imagine Pinot Noir, now blend it with Beaujolais and add just a bit of pepper. Now take two plump steaks, toss them on the charcoal and season them with herbes de Provence." (Handwritten sign next to Backsberg 1997 Pinotage in LiquorWorld wine superstore in Franklin, Massachussetts. This was the only Pinotage in less than half a dozen SA wines stocked at this large store)