Pinotage Tops Chinese Challenge

Pinotage was voted the favourite red wine of Chinese consumers at the Grape Wall Challenge last Friday in Beijing, China when Foot of Africa Pinotage 2006, made by Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch, won first place

Judges tasted 23 red wines that retail in China for under 100 Renminbi (about £10.10 or $15USD or 140 ZAR)

The challenge aimed to find good but affordable wines and to involve consumers in the process. Judging was done by teams of 6 consumers and 6 experts. The consumers team were asked to rate each wine as 'love it', 'like it', 'dislike it' or 'hate it'. The experts panel included wine makers and lecturers who used the 20 point scale to score wines. The experts gave 9th place to the Pinotage, but when the two teams scores were combined Foot of Africa Pinotage was in third place.

Read the full report here. Thanks to Jim Boyce of grapewallofchina.com who organised the tasting for permission to use these photographs.





Foot of Africa Pinotage can be seen below, third from the right in the front row




Photographs ©Copyright Jim Boyce grapewallofchina.com

Matching Food & Pinotage – Salmon or Lamb?

Vino Con Brio in Lodi, California are pleased with the 88 points their 2004 Pinotage was awarded by Steve Heimoff in Wine Enthusiast! who wrote "Dark, thick, soft and juicy, an amazingly flavorful wine with a depth of exotic flavors. Blackberry liqueur, dark chocolate, cherry jam, violet flower, charred beef bones and peppery spice flavors swirl together into a complex finish..." and they recommend Con Brio Cedar Plank Salmon as the perfect food match in this recipe from their current newsletter.

1 cedar plank (6 by 14 inches) well soaked

2 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds total)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons brown sugar

Soak cedar plank in salted water for at least 2 hours, then drain. Remove skin from salmon fillet. Remove any remaining bones. Rinse the salmon under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay the salmon (on what was skin-side down) on the cedar plank and carefully spread the mustard over the top and sides.

Place the brown sugar in a bowl and crumble between your fingers, then sprinkle over the mustard. Set grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high. Place the cedar plank in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook until cooked through, around 20 to 30 minutes. The internal temperature should read 135 degrees F.

Transfer the salmon and plank to a platter and serve right off the plank with Vino Con Brio's Estate Pinotage.

Lamb Curry

But over at Stuffed and Plastered, Rach thinks Pinotage is ideal with her Lamb Curry which she says “does not taste like a true Indian curry, more of a Mongolian one with subtle spices and less afterkick.”

She finds Cabernet Sauvignon “makes the wine taste sour” and Rioja/Tempranillo is “too heavy a grape and loses the rich flavour and aromas of the food”.

Rach says Stellenbosch Pinotage makes the best match, and she recommends Kleine Zalze and Beyersksloof Pinotage.