Lovingston - Outside the Bordeaux Spectrum

Lovingston was the first winery I visited on my trip last month to Virginia, USA. The winery is in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and built into a hillside so they can use gravity feed. They make wines on a small scale and they don't pump-overs because they don't want to mechanically handle the wine.



Lovingston have been making Pinotage from vineyard they have leased for a few years and have been so pleased with the results that they have now planted their own Pinotage vineyard on a ridge behind the winery. "We're giving it a shot," says winemaker Riaan Rossouw, "we're very enthusiastic about it. We don't mind at all being outside the Bordeaux spectrum."



This first short video was taken in that new vineyard with its tremendous views. Owner Ed Puckett is on the vehicle and winemaker Riaan Rossouw tells us about growing Pinotage in Virginia and how he doen't mind being outside the Bordeaux spectrum

Then we are in the winery where Riaan discusses making Pinotage in Virginia

Upstairs Ed Puckett tells about how he constructed the winery and how they handle the grapes.

As this clip ends he reveals that they remove the grape seeds during fermentation. I have not previously heard of such a practise, but in Virginia I am told that it is fairly common because the grapes do not usually get to completely full ripeness, and so in the last clip Riaan tells how they remove the seeds.

As you can see, everyone at Lovingston has quality to the forefront, and it shows in their wines.

Many thanks to everyone at Lovingston for showing The Pinotage Club around your winery and vineyards. The movies were taken with my new really neat Flip Mino camera.

Spex Selex -- Simonsig

Simonsig Pinotage 2004 was chosen as Wine Spectator Online editors Daily Pick for 30 September 2008


James Molesworth says "This has a slightly jammy core of plum and blueberry fruit, with notes of briar, black licorice and coffee. The grape's rustic persona lurks in the background too, with a burly edge on the finish. Drink now through 2009. 5,000 cases made. (87 points, $14) "

Simonsig make two Pinotages. This one is unwooded whereas the 'Redhill' is aged 16 months in oak barrels. The Spex reviewed the Redhill 2004 vintage 18 months ago in March 2007.
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We Can't Meet Demand for Café Culture -- says KWV

Café Culture, launched just one year ago in September 2007, has proved to be a runaway success.



Demand for the wine is so great, especially in the Far East, that KWV CEO Thys Loubser told South Africa's Business Report that "we cannot get enough".



Therefore he has ordered that production of the mocha 'n' chocolate accented Pinotage be increased to exceed one million litres.

Francois Naude launches his own wine

When Francois Naude stepped down as winemaker at L’Avenir Estate on its sale to Laroche he told me that he was looking forward to not having the day to day responsibility, the night shifts and the call-outs that winemaking involves. As a consultant he would advise and let others carry the burden.

But winemaking is in his blood and he has now started a new venture Le Vin de Françoise, whose first wine – a Pinotage -- sold out its entire production within a few hours*.

Marketing was unusual. Potential buyers were invited to a black-tie function where the Pinotage was auctioned. 200 cases were sold realising an average price of 250R a bottle (about £15.20 or $26.30). Well known Johannesburg steak house owner Alan Pick took home 60 cases of Le Vin de Françoise Pinotage 2007.

Francois is well known for Pinotage. “I am a huge Pinotage fan and was lucky enough to have seven of the nine wines I entered for the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Competition make the final line up. Pinotage is in my blood, like family, and it was only natural that our first product should be a Pinotage”, he said

Le Vin de Françoise Pinotage 2007 is a blend of barrel selected wines from wineries where Francois has been consulting: Delheim, Hartenberg, Lanzerac, L’Avenir and Neil Ellis.

Packing is special. The bottle is a reproduction of the original Bordeaux bottle used in 1855 The twelve bottle wooden cases that the wine comes in are custom made, stackable and sturdy, and the label a unique work of art from design studio Haumann Smal.

“We wanted to create a “magic” product. A product that would secure the first step for the brand to grow and prosper into something the generations that follow can be proud of” added Francois.

The icon that was used on the label is a wing nut, symbolising the clasping together of family ideals, with the different wines from a variety of terroirs that created this unique wine. Francois also jokingly added that the wing nuts look a little bit like his ears!


* Except for three more cases of the wine were kept back for a public on-line action to benefit The Faith Fund charity. You can place your bid at http://www.levindefrancois.com/ and three cases kept for Francois' own use. In total, just 206 cases of the 2007 vintage was made.

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).

Pump-overs give lower colour and anti-oxidents

Results of a four year study into whether the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), colour and phenolic composition of Pinotage wines are affected by growing methods and locations and winemaking practises have been published.

The research by Dalene de Beer, Elizabeth Joubert & Johan Marais into vintages from 2000 to 2003 doesn’t appear to come to any firm conclusions, except that wines from warmer areas and those that underwent the pumping of juice over skin caps gave wines with the lowest TAC and colour saturation.

The full report in Afrikaans is in the magazines August issue and an English version can be read on the Wynboer site at http://www.wynboer.co.za/recentarticles/200808pinotage.php3

Everybody Loves Grayhaven's Virginia Pinotage

I have been travelling in Virginia, USA visiting three wineries that make Pinotage wines. In the video above I ask Deon Abrams, who is Grayhaven Winery's winemaker and co-owner, about his Pinotage. Deon takes grapes from an established nearby vineyard while he grows and propagates enough of his own Pinotage. As we hear, he can't meet demand and last year needed to augment his Virginia grapes with some brought from California. Deon says that these grapes come in a refrigerated truck in a a few days.

In the video below we look at his own young Pinotage vines in the adjoining vineyard.

Deon was busy in the middle of the vintage. There was a trailer full of sweet Chambourcin grapes waiting his attention in the winery behind the tasting counter, and we greatly appreciate him taking time out to show us around his winery and vineyards.

Deon is South African by birth. He married Max Peple whose parents had bought this farm as a retirement hobby. When the farm got too much for them Max and Deon gave up their high-flying jobs in New York City to take over running the winery.

For some years Grahaven has been running a hugely succesful South Africa Festival at the farm. This year more than 4000 people, including the South African Ambassador, came to taste South African food and wines. Deon imports South African necessities such as Mrs Balls Chutney for the festival and for sale in the tasting room.

Worth a visit -- the winery is about 30 minutes from Charlottesville.

"Pinotage is too Cheap and too young"

Pinotage is too cheap and too young, says Neil Pendock in his blog at South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper.

After attending a tasting of Stellenzicht's 'Golden Triangle' Pinotages going back to 1998 he found that "one thing was clear: Pinotage improves with age. 2006 is current release (a reasonable R65 a bottle) but on the evidence of this vertical tasting, should be left to its own devices for a decade to develop complexity."

"for Pinotage to ever compete on a level playing field of marketing spend and consumer attention, the price gap will have to be addressed. Do producers lack confidence in Pinotage that it must trade at a substantial discount? Lower retail prices for Pinotage when compared to Cabernet and Shiraz make a telling point," he says.

Neil's grand idea is that a Pinotage Bank be established by ABSA, the sponsors of the Top 10 Competition. The Bank would buy up supplies of Top 10 winning wines in order to age them for at least a decade before releasing them for sale. This was restaurants and wine lovers would have access to matured Pinotage.

It was the oldest of the Stellenzicht Pinotages that inspired Neil. The 1998 vintage "was pure Burgundy with barnyard, bruised strawberries and biltong (and that was just the “b”s) while the ’99 was a subtle symphony of elegance and finesse."

But I thought the 2006 was drinking pretty darn good when I had it earlier this year - my review here.


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Cape Blends and Pinotages at 2008 CWG Auction

Cape Winemakers Guild annually auctions rare small production special wines made by their members. This year’s auction, the 23rd, will be on Saturday 27 September 2008 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.


Niels Verburg, owner/winemaker of Luddite, was in London last week showing the wines.

Of interest to Pinotage fans are Cape Blends from Danie Steytler of Kaapzicht Estate and Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof, who also has a varietal Pinotage in the auction. These three were available to taste. Not available for tasting, but in the auction is a mature CWG Pinotage last auctioned in 2001. This is Hidden Valley CWG Pinotage 2000 made by Jeremy Walker of Grangehurst


It was interesting to compare two Cape Blends from recognised masters of the style.

Kaapzicht Cape Blend Auction Reserve 2006 (Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Pinotage 30%, Merlot 20%) WO Bottelary, 14.29%abv. Danie says the three cultivars were vinified separately, then the best tanks went to new French oak barrels sourced from three different coopers for 24 months. The best barrels were selected for blending for this wine of which 1320 bottles were made. 50 cases of 6 are in the auction. Danie reckons it needs at least 4-6 years “for the treasures to be revealed.”

I found dense fruit in this tight firm tannic wine that cried out for decanting. I found it acidic on the finish

Beyerskloof Cape Blend 2006 (Pinotage 41%, Shiraz 41%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%,Merlot 9%) WO Stellenbosch, 14.47%abv. This is a barrel selection from wine aged 18 months in new French oak. 3318 bottles were made, of which 66 boxes of 6 are in the auction.

This is more approachable, with bright sweet black fruits. It feels light bodied and a bit dusty, and sharp on the finish.

I was disappointed with the finish of both wines which seemed overly acidic. I’m pushed to say which I prefer: for immediate drinking I’d choose the Beyerskloof but think both are made for the long haul when that acidity will have subdued.


Beyerskloof Pinotage 2006
WO Stellenbosch 14.74%abv.


Beyers Truter says that these wines came from pre-selected blocks, aged for 18 months in two-thirds new French oak barrels, and then barrel selected for CWG.

Soft and gentle with ripe dusty plum and blackberry fruit flavours, layers of complex fruits leading down to a framework of structured tannins and balanced fruit acids. Perfect.

The 2006 vintage has been, in my opinion, Beyerskloofs best. The basic white label Pinotage is a great everyday wine - and marvellous with a take away from the Indian restaurant, the Tesoc's own label Reserve is excellent and the black label Reserve is superb. Two more 2006, another Reserve bottling and one named Diesel (in remembrance of a sadly missed dog) both won in last months Top 10.

And for the future the 2007 white label is now in my local shops and tastes great also.

What kinds of wine go well with yak?

"So what kinds of wine go well with yak?" was the question asked by Vermont Yak Company.

They asked Joerg Klauck of importers Vermont Wine Merchants and he had a good idea! See the video here .

Ok, Ok, you've already guessed Pinotage was the answer, but note how Joerg is careful to recommend avoiding the cheapest versions....

And the suggested wine? "It proved phenomenal," they said.


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Quote of the Month - September

"I just love deep, meaty, full wines … wines that you’d have with red meat.

There was a great wine that I had when filming Goodbye Bafana in South Africa, a Diemersfontein Pinotage, which had an amazing clove finish to it. I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted clove in a glass before. I loved it so much that I ordered a case the next day and had it shipped back to the States. It never arrived, so somebody out there is enjoying it. [Laughs.]

I’ve had trouble finding a South African Pinotage here in Los Angeles, although I’ve found other South African wines."

Actor Dennis Haysbert, who has been in films (Breach, Jarhead, Far From Heaven) and television (24, The Unit), and recently played South African president Nelson Mandela in the feature film Goodbye Bafana, being interviewed by Betsy Model in Wine Spectator 4 September 2008

Loads of free Pinotage at Sing Faith

The first Sing Faith Concert will be held on 6 September at the Hugo Lembrecht Auditorium in Parow.

Guests can expect an evening of entertainment and relaxation.

Performers are giving their services free in aid of the charity FAITH (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and Interrelated Help).

FAITH is the charity founded by Pinotage King Beyers Truter who says that "it will be a great night and there will be loads of free Pinotage flowing through the music notes."

Tickets from Computicket includes free wine, a finger-buffet and tea & coffee. More information from Ina Viljoen at 083 463 4090.

See the flyer by clicking here

Truter's Two Times Top 10 Triumph !

History was made today when Beyerskloof’s owner and winemaker Beyers Truter accepted the Top 10 prize twice. For the first time in the competition’s history two wines entered from the same winery had both been selected for the ABSA Pinotage Top 10 Competition.


Truter stepped up to accept two winner's awards at a ceremony held earlier today, 27 August, at Neethlingshof Estate near Stellenbosch.


The 2008 winning wines are :-

Anura Pinotage 2007
Beyerskloof Diesel Pinotage 2006
Beyerskloof Reserve Pinotage 2006
Cloof Pinotage 2005
DeWaal Top of the Hill Pinotage 2006
Fairview Primo Pinotage 2007
Rijk’s Private Cellar Pinotage 2004
Simonsig Red Hill Pinotage 2006
Stellenzicht Cellarmaster’s Release Pinotage 2005
Tukulu Pinotage 2006


All but three of this years winners had won previously. "We have seen the quality of wines in the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition improve year-on-year and what is more encouraging is that new winemakers are continuously joining the competition. Experience, consistency, commitment and focus can however never be replaced and this year we have seen a number of the more experienced winemakers come out on top,” said Robert Emslie, Executive Director with sponsor Absa Corporate & Business Bank at the awards ceremony on 27 August 2008.

Beyerskloof historic winners are Beyerskloof Diesel Pinotage 2006 and Beyerskloof Reserve Pinotage 2006. They are the third and fourth wins for the Beyerskloof label, and winemaker Beyers Truter eighth and ninth Top 10 wines, having previously won seven times when winemaker at Kanonkop.

Guy Webber’s Stellenzicht wins for the fourth consecutive year with his sixth Top 10 wine.

Daniël de Waal of Uiterwyk Estate gains his sixth win with the Top of the Hill, the world oldest Pinotage vineyard, after a break of four years.

It is a fifth Top 10 win in nine years for Tukulu, the flagship black empowerment brand, this time with winemaker Samuel Viljoen

Simonsig Estate have a second consecutive wine with their Red Hill Pinotage 2006. It is their fourth winning wine in eight years.

Pierre Wahl at Rijk’s Private Cellar produced their fourth winning wine in eight years.

First time winners are

Anura 2007, with winemakers Carla Pauw and Johnnie Calitz

Cloof 2005 whose winemaker is Christopher van Dieren

Fairview Primo 2007 with winemaker Anthony de Jager.


Five of the 2008 Absa Top 10 Pinotage winners are from the 2006 vintage, two from the 2007 vintage, two from the 2005 vintage and one from the 2004 vintage. Five of the winning wines are from the Stellenbosch district, two from Darling and one each from Paarl, Tulbagh and the Coastal region. It is only the second time that wines from more than 3 vintages reached the Top 10.




The 10 runners up are
Conradie Barrel Selection Reserve 2007
Deetlefs Oak Matured 2007
Groot Constantia 2006
Môreson 2007
Raka 2007
Roland’s Reserve 2006
Spier Private Collection 2005
Wamakersvallei La Cave 2006
Welbedacht 2006
Windmeul Reserve 2007


Presentation packages of the 2008 Absa Top 10 Pinotage wines will soon be available for sale in South Africa from the Wine-of-the-Month-Club.

Tel. 021-6578100.
E-mail: wineclub@wineofthemonth.co.za





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Simonsig's Brut Rosé renamed Kaapse Vonkel Rosé

Simonsig's popular Pinotage based Brut Rosé methode champenoise sparkler is changing its name.

In future it will be Kaapse Vonkel Rosé, bringing it into line with their famous white Kaapse Vonkel .

Kaapse Vonkel means Cape Sparkle and Kaapse Vonkel was the first methode champenoise wine to be made in South Africa.

2008 vintage is the 40th anniversary of Simonsig wines and it is looking good.

"Our Pinotage yields were higher, with all the different vineyards producing top-notch wines which already flaunt more elegance and finesse than their predecessors," says Cellarmaster Johan Malan .

Mature Pinotage Parcels Released by Bergkelder

Mature Pinotages from Durbanville Hills, Fleur du Cap, Jacobsdal, Tukulu and Zonnebloem have just been released by the Bergkelder Vinoteque.

The oldest is a 1996 from Jacobsdal. These wines have been stored in the Bergkelder (literally Mountain Cellar which are cellars dug deep into a hill in Stellenbosch) until they reached maturity and optimum drinking time so they are now readyto be enjoyed.

An order form with details and prices, which include delivery anywhere in South Africa, is here http://www.vinoteque.co.za/pdf/specialrelease.pdf

Pinotage in North Carolina

Where is this Pinotage growing was the question posed in the last post. Grant Liddell, from Hermanus in South Africa's winelands correctly guessed North Carolina.

These grapes are in a vineyard at Villa Kleinheksel in North Carolina, USA.

Owner Brent Kleinheksel says “My Pinotage is looking good...it's a different grape....we are in a drought now, and most of my other varietals had poor fruit set as a result. Not the Pinotage, it really puts out full clusters. The drought has kept the vigor down, and I heard that is very key to making a good Pinotage. It ripens very early and the sugars shoot up so fast...it's tough to keep the bees and the birds out it... I do love Pinotage though...I've been drinking a Pinotage from Vino Con Brio in California. It took a few years for it to calm down, but the 2000 vintage is pretty good now. My whole family now loves Pinotage...specifically Stormhoek.. Which must be South Africa. My favorite is still Te Awa Farms in New Zealand. I hope Pinotage stays a secret...because it can be such a great wine.”

Unfortunately Brent need to move for family reasons and the property is for sale. Brent says “I will be sad to sell the vineyard... But I've found I love drinking wine much more than I do fighting all the disease and weather issues in North Carolina...I don't like to spray chemicals and being organic is almost impossible here...but I did get by with only 2 fungicide sprays this year...no pesticides and no herbicides...so for this area, that's pretty good. “

The first Pinotage vintage is due this year. “I am very excited,” Brent tells me.

Brent’s Villa Kleinheksel blog is at www.greatncwines.com

photographs (c) Copyright Brent Kleinheksel and used by permission

Where is this Pinotage Vineyard?

You can see the distinctive Pinotage leaf with its toothlike indentation, and look at those plump healthy grapes.

This vineyard is not in South Africa, so can you guess where in the world are they growing?

photographs (c) Copyright Brent Kleinheksel and used by permission

Worth Winning - World Cup Pinotage

The Pinotage Association has asked FIFA to designate Pinotage as the official wine for the 2010 Football World Cup, which will take place in South Africa in June and July 2010. This is the first time the World Cup has been held in Africa.

Cobus Dowry, Minister of Agriculture for Western Cape, came out in strong support and has undertaken to present the request to the World Cup Committee. "The Department of Agriculture Western Cape wholeheartedly supports the initiative and agrees that 2010 Soccer World Cup is the ideal opportunity to present a truly unique South African wine. Pinotage wine at the official functions during the World Cup celebrations will assist to strengthen the image and value of Pinotage," he said.

Beyers Truter, Pinotage Association Chairman, said that South Africa has practical and patriotic reasons for promoting Pinotage as a grape variety that provides wines of superior quality. He said "If the request is accepted, we will donate a sufficient quantity of wood-matured Pinotage wine for official functions and for participants and winners of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. We do not want to become involved in the commercial opportunities, as there are enough cellars and other instances that are structured to do this."

The 2010 World Cup Pinotage wines will be selected by a panel of experts and will be bottled under a generic Pinotage label..

Although Pinotage grapes became part of the SA national vineyards at a much later stage than the classic European red wine cultivars, it produces nearly 15% of the total tonnage of red wine grapes harvested in South Africa. The international demand for Pinotage wines is thus clearly illustrated by the fact that it comprises about 11% of all these natural wines exported from South Africa.

The Pinotage Association also requested South African Airways to name one of their aeroplanes ‘Pinotage’ on the route between London and Cape Town in order to increase the awareness of the variety.

From left:-
Beyers Truter (Pinotage Association Chairman), Minister Cobus Dowry, Gert Boerssen (Pinotage Association Board Member).

Steyter by Kaapzicht Estate 2001 ~ Perfect Pinotage

From vineyards high on the slopes of Bottelary Hills you can see ships in the hazy distance entering Cape Town harbour. The view inspired the name of this family owned estate. Kaapzicht means Cape View, and the Steytler have been growing grapes there on the hillls since they bought the farm in 1946. They sold their first wines under the Kaapzicht label in 1984. Danie Steytler is the wine maker, his wife Yngvild travels the world marketing it and Danie’s brother George is the viticulturist and manages the farm and his wife Mandy manages the function rooms and self-catering cottage.

Danie makes quite a large range of wines both red and white, but his top two wines are both red and labelled as Steytler by Kaapzicht Estate. They are a 100% Pinotage and a Cape Blend called Vision which is a Cabernet, Pinotage and Merlot blend and both have garnered multiple awards over the year.

I have been keeping this 2001 Steytler Pinotage for some years and I was in two minds whether to open it or keep it till 2011. Impatience won.

Kaapzicht Estate
Steytler Pinotage 2001
WO Stellenbosch 15%abv

This vintage won one of Platters rare 5 star awards; they called it a ‘perfect Pinotage’, so I’m expecting great things. As the cork is lifted a most spicy bouquet scents the air and the initial tastes are of spices and fruits of the forest. It is medium bodied, elegant and really quite sweet on the finish, with impressions of pencil shavings and cedar wood, and there’s an intimation of age with a faint scent of cabbage. As time passes, toffee and caramel flavours come to the fore. After thirty minutes the up-front berry fruit flavours are fading and cabbage and toffee are coming to the fore. And then my glass was empty….. I think I made the correct decision in opening the wine as I really enjoyed it - and that is what drinking wine is about - but I have a nagging feeling that maybe the wine was at the point where it was starting to transform into one of those ageless Pinotages which keep for decades showing Pinot Noir characteristics. I have one bottle of this wine remaining – now shall I keep it and see?

Danie has made some interesting short videos where he talks about his wines and shows the vineyards. Take a look at them at www.kaapzicht.co.za

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Pinotage Top 10 -- The Finalists

The 20 finalists for the 2008 Pinotage Top 10 competition are:

• Anura 2007 WO Paarl
• Beyerskloof Diesel 2006 WO Stellenbosch
• Beyerskloof Reserve 2006 WO Stellenbosch
• Cathedral Cellar 2005 WO Coastal Region
• Cloof 2005 WO Darling
• Conradie Barrel Selection Reserve 2007 WO Nuy
• Deetlefs Oak Matured 2007 WO Breedekloof
• DeWaal Top of the Hill 2006 WO Stellenbosch
• Fairview Primo 2007 WO Paarl
• Groot Constantia 2006 WO Constantia
• Môreson 2007 WO Coastal Region
• Raka 2007 WO Western Cape
• Rijk's Private Cellar 2004 WO Tulbagh
• Seidelberg Estate Roland's Reserve 2006 WO Paarl
• Simonsig Redhill 2006 WO Stellenbosch
• Spier Private Collection 2005 WO Stellenbosch
• Stellenzicht Cellarmaster's Release 2006 WO Stellenbosch
• Tukulu 2006 WO Darling
• Wamakersvallei La Cave 2006 WO Wellington
• Welbedacht 2006 WO Wellington

From these twenty the Top 10 will be selected and it is going to be tough. There are some famous names and great winemakers in the running and they cannot all be in the Top 10.

The second wine on the list is a new one to me. Apparently it is a prestige bottling from Beyers Truter retailing at 250R, more than twice the cost of the Reserve. The wine is named after Beyers' sadly missed dog, Diesel .

The 10 winners will be announced on 27 August.

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Top 10 Panel Tastes 138 Wines

Last week the 2008 Pinotage Top 10 Judging Panel tasted 136 wines, including eleven first time entries, over three days. This year’s judges, pictured above, (front row from left) were Graham Nash, Wendy Burridge and David Biggs ( back row from left ) Gert Boerssen, Francois Naudé,. Duimpie Bayly CWM (convenor), and Chris Roux.

International judge Graham Nash is product development manager and wine trader for UK supermarket Tesco and Thresher wine stores. His main task is to evaluate the quality of wines and he focuses on France, Germany and South Africa.

"I am very impressed with the Pinotage wines we judged. Most of the wines show a classic balance of fruit and wood treatment, as well as a good combination of complexity and elegance,” said Graham. “There are many rich, full-bodied wines that are also accessible. These Pinotage wines show a red cultivar with personality and distinctive characteristics. It can be compared with the highest quality wines of all the international wine cultivars. I have been tasting South African wines for quite a while now and Pinotage is showing more constant quality, year after year."

Duimpie Bayly said that the majority of the entries showed the best style and structure since he has been involved as a Top 10 Pinotage judge.

"It seems as if the 2006 and 2007 vintages delivered most of the top wines, with excellent balance and versatility, wines that will complement various dishes. These are not blockbuster wines and most of them can compete internationally,” said Duimpie."The flavours of mulberry, ripe plums and hints of tropical fruit stood out as typical of the cultivar. There was consensus about the wines that reached the finals and the wines that received the highest ranking. The wines were obviously tasted blind and we are looking forward to the results."

Winning wines will be announced on 27 August, during a lunch time ceremony at Neethlingshof Estate near Stellenbosch.

Crianza Pinotage?

Cathy van Zyl MW thinks she may have the solution of how to identify the style in which a Pinotage has been made. She takes her inspiration from France and Spain.

"We could have Pinotage Nouveau to denote an unoaked, fruity wine intended for consumption within a year, maximum two, of production", she blogs. "Then, there’d be something like ‘Crianza’, and here wines could have been aged for a minimum period of time with wood (that is, either in it or with it – that is, staved or chipped) but still be for youthful, uncomplicated drinking. It would be a fruity wine flavoured with, and given texture by, oak … for those who like the flavours and textures of oak.

"We could move to a ‘Reserva’ category, which could denote an extended period of time in wood (note, not ‘with’ wood) and that would be made in a style that is structured for three to six years of aging, and finally, could we also have a category similar to ‘Gran Reserva’ for wines which have been crafted to be aged for at least a decade?"

It is an intriguing idea that has merits. But would the Pinotage wine makers welcome more regulation in an industry that, even after the end of the KWV's iron grip, is still heavy with rules and bureaucracy. And would they ever agree to the suggested parameters or names? The Cape Blend project suggests not...


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Babich Winemakers Reserve 1999

Less than 150 years ago the land where this vineyard is now planted was under water. This is New Zealand’s Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. 150 years ago this was a flat coastal plain over which a wide river's many channels meandered on their way to the sea. An earthquake in 1867 tilted the land and the river changed course leaving the river bed dry.

Under a thin layer of topsoil the ground is composed of gravel pebbles that go down for many metres, sometimes interspersed with layers of silt and clay, all deposited by the river over aeons. Vines planted on these beds of flat smooth grey oval gravel pebbles must search for sustenance far down in one of the islands of silt and clay. The land doesn’t hold water and so drip irrigation is a must for vines to survive. Poor soil means less vigorous growth, small berries and more intense flavours. The unique terroir with temperatures 3°C higher than surrounding areas, close proximity to the sea and its cooling effects and the skill of grape growers combine to produce what many believe are New Zealand’s best wines, including Babich Winemakers Reserve Pinotage.



The family owned Babich Wines was founded in 1916. Babich now own vineyards in four regions of New Zealand with the majority of them in Hawkes Bay on the east coast of the North Island, where the Gimblett Gravels are.

In the Cape in 2001 we held the first international Pinotage tasting and to everyone’s surprise, by just one point, Babich 2001 Winemakers Reserve came top. “But this is Pinotage!" exclaimed Chairman of the Pinotage Association Beyers Truter who had been certain that it was South African.

The back label says “Enjoyable now, it will improve for several years in the cellar.” It is now seven years later, the wine is nine years old. How has it held up?

Babich Wines
Winemakers Reserve
Pinotage 1999
Gimblett Road Vineyard
Hawkes Bay 14% abv

Dry raisin nose, maybe a bit Port like, but on the palate there’s an initial burst of sweet blueberry flavours. It is a big wine, really spicy and tangy and there is there is an underlying layer of Christmas fruitcake. Soft, barely present vanilla tannins with a lick of caramel and warm rich blueberry ripeness. This is a delicious wine, but it is probably time to drink up should you have any left.

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Quote of the Month - July

"Although I have never won a Pinotage Top 10 award, I am hoping I will eventually make a success of it. It's such a wild, noble, challenging grape. Like a race horse, it can smell fear on a winemaker at 20 paces." - Flagstone's Bruce Jack quoted in Wineland Magazine, May 2008.

(If you're wondering why this wasn't the QotM for May, it is because I have only just received the May issue here in England.)

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10 Years Ago

"Passionate about Pinotage" is what we were called in July 1998 by the the South African newspaper The Dispatch and which we reported in our newsletter of that month.

We're still passionate and have just published the July 2008 issue of the Pinotage Club newsletter.

This has been emailed to everyone on the newsletter mailing list, and it can be viewed or downloaded from here or by clicking on the cover image.

Most computers will already have the Adobe Reader software necessary to read PDF documents and if not it can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/

Ses’fikile Has Arrived

Nondumiso Pikashe (pictured right) is one of the four owners of Ses’fikile. “We are a group of black women who want to change the face of wine in South Africa which is male dominated,” she told me. “We want to be brought into the mainstream of South Africa, and that is why our wine’s name is Ses’fikele because it means ‘we have arrived’".

I tasted Rainsong 2006 Pinotage. Rainsong is the branding used for Ses’fikile entry level wines; there are three tiers of wines, with Folklore in the middle and Matriarch at the top.

Ses’fikile
Rainsong Pinotage 2006
WO Swartland 14% abv

Good deep colour and a ripe rhubarb nose, and cherries and berries follow through on the palate. Soft tannins, fruity and tangy with a good finish.

Ses’fikile is a 100% black and female owned BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) project working in partnership with Flagstone Winery where the wines were made under the supervision of Bruce Jack.

Ses’fikile wines, although not the Pinotage, are available in the UK exclusive to Marks & Spencer’s, and in the Cape can be tasted and bought from Flagstone Winery tasting room.

Fairview Primo 2000

This is a single vineyard wine from grapes grown on a farm named Primo located near the Fairview winery. Charles Back, owner of Fairview, has written on the back label of this wine that he ‘spent a large part of my life in pursuit of locations that express the uniqueness and show stopping ability of this variety’ and that this wine is the result of such a meeting with Jan Greef who grew the grapes.

So it’s eight years old now. There is a churn of emotions when opening an old bottle which you have kept through the years gambling that it would repay the investment and deferring the guarantee of instant enjoyment with the prospect of a better drink down in the future. And when the bottle is the only example you own then you both fear that the wine will be past it or not yet reached its peak.

Fairview
Primo 2000
Pinotage
WO Coastal 14.5% abv


I couldn’t wait longer to taste the Primo. The wine will keep, but it is delicious drinking now. My first love was Claret – the red wine of Bordeaux – and I aged them but often was disappointed as they lost their fruit becoming dryly thin. Pinotage often changes character with age, losing the vibrancy and exuberance of young Pinno and taking on the mantle of an aged Claret yet retaining a fruit core. Good robust colour, nose of a mature wine, restrained Victoria plum flavours, elegant wine, delightful.

Mellasat 'M' 2003

‘M’ is the flagship wine from Mellasat Vineyards in Paarl. ‘M’'s maiden 2003 vintage is a blend of three assertive varieties, Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. Owner Stephen Richardson, an Englishman who farms in Norfolk, says ‘M’ “brings together the excitement of Shiraz, the uniqueness of Pinotage and the nobility of Cabernet Sauvignon.” With just 21% Pinotage to 64% Shiraz and 15% Cab, it doesn’t meet the standard ‘Cape Blend’ description but it is unlikely you’d find a similar blend elsewhere.

I first tasted this wine when it was released 12 months ago and thought it needed more time and it still seemed very young yesterday.

Mellasat ‘M’ 2003
WO Paarl 13.5% abv
Deep red colour. Initial taste impression is of a sweet softness with youthful berry fruits aplenty. There’s some creamy vanilla flavours and cedar wood on a lingering finish. It is not high in alcohol, but at times tasted a bit hot. I do wish I had kept this
wine for a few more years, because while it is pleasurable drinking now, I don’t think it is anywhere near its peak and I believe ‘M’ 2003 will mature into a very classy wine.

Mellasat’s intriguing name is an anagram of the first two letters of the Richardson family's first names.

2003 is the current vintage of ‘M’ and it is available in South Africa and the UK; stockist details on the Mellasat website.

Quality Drink Award for Pinotage

Pinotage won the £5-£9.99 category in the UK 2008 Quality Drinks Awards. The winning wine is Morrison's ‘The Best’ South African Pinotage. This is an own-label for Morrison's supermarkets, made by Bellevue Estate where it is available as part of their new empowerment project wine range under the Sizanani label.

Judges commented on the wine “This is something of a ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ style of wine – but this one’s a winner”, “It is lovely, smooth and fruity”, and “the acceptable face of Pinotage.”

The annual Quality Drink Awards are dedicated to promoting and rewarding excellence and innovation in the UK alcoholic drinks market. This year's event once again recognised outstanding products within the industry and acknowledged the top performers across 21 hotly contested categories.

98 Points and Double Gold for Vino Con Brio

Vino Con Brio are celebrating that their 2005 Pinotage scored 98 points and won Double Gold and Best in Class awards in the "Alternative Red" category of the California State Fair Wine Competition.

The formal announcement will be made at this evenings California Grape and Gourmet charity event in Sacramento

The California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition is the oldest and most prestigious wine competition in North America and is open to California bonded wineries selling retail. In 2007, 661 wineries entered 3,029 varieties of wines into the annual judging contest.

Vino Con Brio, in Lodi, has North America's largest Pinotage vineyard and their first vintage was 2000. Mike Matson planted Pinotage after he discovered that Lodi had a very similar microclimate to Cape Town. The two areas share the exact same numbers on heat summation tables.

Congratulations to Vino Con Brio!

Scali 1999

Scali 1999 created quite a stir when it came top in a blind tasting in Cape Town in February 2003 organised by David Brice at the Wine Cellar.

Very few people had heard of Scali. It was a new label, the first vintage from Willie & Tania de Waal who sold most of their crop to a co-operative but had retained a little for themselves. They made only Pinotage and Syrah and fermented each in large open topped wooden vats making just 25 barrels of each. Willie told me they wanted to restrict production to just what Tania and he could make on their own without any assistance. The name is based on the Afrikaans for the local shale soil type.


I thought the 99 Pinotage had a sweet smoky nose, bags of sweet fruit, refreshing summer pudding flavours and a medium aftertaste. But when I later tasted the 99 it seemed to have entered a dumb period. Would it ever recover or just die?

Last night, five years later, I opened another bottle to find out.


Scali Pinotage 1999
WO Paarl 13.67% abv

It is holding up well. Very soft and smooth, no noticeable tannins, bit of acidity, sweet subdued fruit. Reminiscent of an aged claret. Excellent food wine.

Pinotage - "leaves you in utter exhilaration"

"If film were wine, “Transit Prisoner” would be a Franzia. Franzia is an average wine, popular, simple and fits the purpose. It is worlds apart from Pinotage, a smoky, rich and elegant wine that leaves you in utter exhilaration. I personally prefer the Pinotage."

Joseph Fahim sums up his review of the movie "Masgoon Transit” (Transit Prisoner) in Egypt's Daily News 4 July 2008

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Inkspot - Darling of Origin ~ Darling by Nature

I've been reading Oscar Foulkes blog as he tells of his travels around the world marketing Cloof wines, so it was good to meet him at last in London.

Cloof are in the Swartland region in an area around the village of Darling that achieved Wine of Origin Ward status in 2003. Darling of Origin ~ Darling by Nature is now Cloof's slogan.

I visited Cloof some years ago and was shown around by winemaker Christopher van Dieren who came from Belgium. I'm glad to say he's still there and has come up with some interesting new wines, including The Very Sexy Shiraz , The Dark Side Cabernet/Shiraz , 'a wine with curves where others don’t have places' and Inkspot Vin Noir.

"We're having fun," Oscar told me, "if you can have vin rouge, why not vin noir?"

Cloof Inkspot Vin Noir 2005
And intensely black this wine is. It is 78% Pinotage, 12% Shiraz, 10% Cinsaut. The oldest vines were planted more than forty years ago. Oscar says the bush vines are not irrigated and thus their roots descend more than 8 metres looking for water, and yield less than a litre per vines. Add to that, 30% of the Cinsaut juice was removed before fermentation (it went to make a pink wine) and you get a concentrated wine. I'm getting a tannic nose, and powerful mouthfilling flavours of liquorice, smoked meats and macerated cherries with some wood tannins on the finish. "There's a lot of structure from the Pinotage," says Oscar, who tells me that Platter awarded it 4 stars in the 2008 guide.

Cloof seem to have a pretty slick sales operation, the wines are widely distributed, and you can buy through their websites in South Africa and the UK. I'm presenting more tastings soon and I think I'll try ordering from the UK site. Inkspot retails at around 45R in ZA and £8.99 in the UK.

Tasting Notes from the 2008 Samples Tasting

Winefly has very kindly let me post her tasting notes from the 2008 tank sample tasting mentioned in my last post.

She writes:-

"Another year has passed as the invite to the 2008 Pinotage Vintage Tasting popped-up in my inbox. I thought back to last year’s tasting and all I remember was purple-teethed people, with their noses in their wine glasses and commenting in what they smell, did not smell and wanted to smell.

The wines that were presented in 2007 are mentioned in a previous post, but from what I can recall the wines did not impress me much. But I thought what the hell, what do I have to loose? So I took my tastebuds on a pino-mission.

Well, well, well, what do we have here? The 2008 vintage showed much more potential than last year. Although the room was still filled with purple-teethed, wine-sniffing, commentators the quality of the wines made it all the worth while.

I’m not gonna elaborate about the detail of the tasting, but I will give you information about the wines tasted. Again it was a blind tasting and we had 13 wines to work through.

Delheim Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.46, TA 5.85 g/l, RS 1.43 g/l, pH 3.71
The wine is spicy, with a good balance of wood on the nose and palate. The tannins are soft and velvety. Wine was in new wood for four months.

Cilmor Winery Pinotage 2008 (Tank sample)
Alc 14.53, TA 5.82 g/l, RS 23 g/l, pH 3.65

Lots of berry and fruit on the nose, but had harsh green tannins and an almost bitter finish. The wine showed more blue hues of colour than a normal Pinotage and did not get a good response from the group.


Beyerskloof Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.45, TA 5.1 g/l, RS 2.05 g/l, pH 3.85
This wine delivered plums on the nose and good acidity. French oak - 30% second-fill and 70% new oak.



Riebeek Cellars Pinotage 2008 (Tank sample)
Alc 14.9, TA 5.3 g/l, RS 1.56 g/l, pH 3.76
Floral notes and coconut on the nose. This wine showed complexity that came from the use of chips and had a long finish.


Bon Courage Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.0, TA 5.8 g/l, RS 3.5 g/l, pH 3.5
The tannins were a bit rough on the wine's nose and did not pull through on the palate. Fruit and mint was detected.


Lyngrove Pinotage 2008 (Tank sample)
Alc 14.6, TA 5.4 g/l, RS 1.8 g/l, pH 3.6
This wine showed a lot of mocha coffee and deep cherry flavours. The wood was very prominent - staves were used during malolactic fermentation.

Landskroon Pinotage 2008 (Tank sample)
Alc 14.5, TA 5.9 g/l, RS 2.3 g/l, pH 3.5
Floral and abundance of fruit on the nose; shows good concentration.


Namaqua Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.66, TA 5.38 g/l, RS 2.19 g/l, pH 3.83
This wine really came through with sweet flavours on the nose, coconut, stewed fruits, vanilla and mocha coffee. The palate delivers what the nose promises with a hint of toast.


Diemersdal Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.5, TA 5.9 g/l, RS 2.3 g/l, pH 3.5
The wine was elegant, but a bit thin. We found fynbos on the nose, and the fruit was well integrated. The tannins were a bit harsh and green, but the wine had a good aftertaste.


Clos Malverne Pinotage 2008 (Tank sample)
Alc 13.78, TA 5.72 g/l, RS 2.43 g/l, pH 3.55
We found this wine a bit green and it was almost as if the wine had a perfume flavour to it. Floral and fruits were also detected with hints or strawberries.


Rico Suter Wines Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.2, TA 4.21 g/l, RS 1.33 g/l, pH 4.13
We found the pH on the wine quite high and it lacked in acidity. It had meaty, earthy tones and the colour showed more blue hues than a normal Pinotage.


Windmeul Cellars Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 14.78, TA 5.08 g/l, RS 2.26 g/l, pH 3.77
Fruit and berries on the nose and I also found this wine slightly sweet on the palate. This is a well made wine although the wood was a bit rough but it should settle with time.


Stanford Hill Pinotage 2008 (Barrel sample)
Alc 15.12, TA 4.65 g/l, RS 2.73 g/l, pH 3.94
The alcohol in this wine is quite high and we could tast it. Lots of stewed fruits on the nose and the aftertaste was slightly bitter. The tannins were good and some people also found raisins on the nose and palate.

All I want to add is, 2008 is the year that SA has the potential to convince the world that Pinotage is indeed a variety to reckon with. "

Many thanks, Winefly!!

Above text and pictures are (c) Copyright Winefly

Winefly lives and works in the heart of the Cape Winelands and blogs about what she's seen and tasted at http://wineflyselection.blogspot.com

2008 Pinotage vintage is looking good

The 2008 Pinotage vintage is looking good is the verdict from the annual tasting of tank samples from around the Cape, with flavours of plum, fynbos, coffee and mocha dominant.

It rained often during the growing season with heavy rainfalls at the end of November and early December, putting more pressure on keeping the grapes clean from vineyard diseases. Although ripening was delayed for most cultivars and grapes were harvested two weeks later than usual, the early ripening of Pinotage was an advantage once again. Most of the Pinotage was picked ripe and in a healthy condition.

“Anybody who has any doubt about Pinotage should have been here today. What stood out is the variation of type and style, there is something special to suit every palate,” said Dave Hughes, South Africa’s international wine judge.

Duimpie Bayly, Cape Wine Master and convener of the Absa Top 10 Pinotage panel, was very impressed with the concentrated fruit flavours of most wines and the good potential for maturation. “The wide areas from where all these fine wines originate is a clear illustration that with the correct vineyard management and vinification, top quality Pinotage can be produced all over the Cape” , said Duimpie. “The wines we tasted showed competent blending and wood treatment to bring out the best. It is our experience at the annual Pinotage Vintage Tasting that the dedication from winemakers to produce top quality Pinotage wines increases year after year”.


Thirteen 2008 tank samples were tasted, supplied by Delheim (Stellenbosch), Cilmor (Worcester), Beyerskloof (Bottelary), Riebeek Cellar (Riebeek-Wes), Bon Courage (Robertson), Lyngrove (Helderberg), Landskroon (Paarl), Spruitdrift (Olifantsrivier), Diemersdal (Durbanville), Clos Malverne (Devon Valley), Rico Suter (Breedekloof), Windmeul (Paarl) and Stanford Hills (Walker Bay).

Pinotage is not only a popular wine in South Africa; 22½ Million bottles of Pinotage were exported in the year ended April 2008.

Pictured at the tasting are (from left) De Wet Viljoen (Chairman of the Pinotage Association’s organising committee), André Swanepoel (Cilmor), Alecia Hamman (Riebeek Cellar) and Rico Suter (Rico Suter Wines).

10 Years Ago

In the Pinotage Club June 1998 Newsletter we were reporting that Kanonkop were not releasing their 2006 vintage and that Magnotta in Ontario were an selling a Pinotage made from juice imported from the Cape blended with local non-vinifera wine.

That was ten years ago. This month the newsletter changed format to a six page magazine. This has been emailed to everyone on the newsletter mailing list, and it can be viewed or downloaded from here

http://www.geocities.com/pinotage/2008_june_newsletter.pdf

Most computers will already have the Adobe Reader software necessary to read PDF documents and if not it can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/

And who'd have thought then that ten years later at least four wineries in Canada are growing and making Pinotage?

Top 10 Cut-off is 9 July

Entries for the annual Pinotage Top 10 Competition must be in by 9 July.

The competition, organised by the Pinotage Association and sponsored by Absa Bank, is open to all Pinotage wines no matter where in the world they are produced.

The competition is unusual in that ten equal winners are chosen. This is to recognise that there are many different ways to interpret the Pinotage variety and to give a chance to them all.

Every competition so far at least one first time entrant has been a winner.

Rules and entry forms may be found at the Pinotage Association website here.

Bag a Trip to Arniston Bay

If you fancy sitting on Arniston Bay (pictured left*) and you live in the UK then don't delay.

The sands are powder white, the beach is backed with dunes and the sea is turquise. It is a beautiful small fishing village, and yet not too far from some of the new exciting Cape wine lands

The Arniston Bay wine company, pioneers of Pinotage Rose in a pouch (see here) are running a simple competition in conjunction with the Metro newspaper with a prize of a trip to South Africa staying in Arniston Bay and Stellenbosch.

The competition is free to enter and is running all this week, click here.


*picture courtesy of the Arniston Bay website

Fab Fizz From FirstCape

"The best fizz around at the moment is the surprise bottle; a delightful pink South African based on the red Pinotage grape.

Looks commercial but tastes fab. A juicy strawberryish fizz with a proper dry finish," says Susy Atkins, writing in the Sunday Telegraph 22 June 08, about FirstCape Sparkling Rosé NV.

There's no more information about this wine on FirstCape's infuriatingly tedious and over-flashed website, except that the wine retails at £7.99 from Sainsburys.

Kanonkop 2006 - Tasting Good

Kanonkop owner Johann Krige (pictured right) was pouring the newly released 2006 vintages of Pinotage and Kadette Cape Blend at last months London International Wine Fair.

Kanonkop have the most detailed labels in the Cape – although USA labelling requirements unfortunately means consumers there don’t get the useful maturation chart on the back label, so as a service to them I am showing the labels below.

Kanonkop Pinotage 2006
Just bottled, but I’m thinking this is showing all the signs of being another cracker. It is elegant, showing restrained berry fruits, balanced by tannins and fruit acids.

Kanonkop Kadette 2006
A classic Cape Blend of three Bordeaux varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon (32%) & Franc (9%), and Merlot (20%) - married to 39% Pinotage. It is immediately attractive, with ripe fruits, sweet blueberry and raspberry flavours, really enjoyable easy drinking. Johann says “it has sweet accessibility from Pinotage that you can’t get from Cabernet Sauvignon, but without getting too fruity".

Back label from Kanonkop 2006 Pinotage. Note the 'Estate Wine of Origin' appellation, showing all the grapes were grown on the estate, the wine made matured and bottled on the Estate.



Back label from Kanonkop 2006 Kadette Cape Blend. Note the 'Wine of Origin' appellation, showing that is is not an Estate wine. Some of the grapes would have come from vineyards outside the Estate boundaries.

Quote of the Month - June

"I get a great thrill from being able to nip into the cellar and come out with a bottle that is probably the only one in Britain, maybe the world.

You don't believe me?

How many 30 year-old New Zealand Pinotages have you got?"

Oz Clarke in Decanter, July 2008 issue

Visiting Grayhaven

Grayhaven Winery is one of three wineries in the state of Virginia, USA growing and making Pinotage.


Virginia Vine Spot's Dezel Quillen -- our man in Virginia -- dropped in on Grayhaven and reports:-




Grayhaven Winery

On a warm and sunny spring day I left the hustle and bustle of the fast-paced city to visit Grayhaven Winery. Grayhaven is a part of the Heart of Virginia Wine Trail and is located on a relaxing and rural 50 acre farm in the small town of Gum Springs, VA. Grayhaven is a small family-run operation that is owned by Charles and Lyn Peple, who began growing and selling wine grapes in 1979. Sixteen years later they built a tasting room and started making and selling their estate bottled wines to the general public. Today, daily operations are assumed by daughter, Max Peple, and husband, Deon Abrams. After turning into the winery on a single lane gravel road, I was warmly greeted by the tail-wagging winery dog Mona. Mona led me into the tasting room where Deon invited me to the tasting bar to sample their wines.

Deon Abrams - Grayhaven Winemaker

While chatting with Deon and tasting Grayhaven’s full array of wines, I learned that Deon was Grayhaven’s chief winemaker and is from South Africa, where he made wine before settling here in the Old Dominion. Although Deon is the chief winemaker, he explained to me that winemaking at Grayhaven is a true family affair, stating that, “a lot of our winemaking takes place at the dinner table where we'll try the new vintages and make group decisions as to how to proceed.” As my eyes perused the rustic, yet charm-filled tasting room, Deon’s South African influence is noted in the gift shop where a number of unique artisan crafts and food selections are imported from South Africa. The true tell-tale is Grayhaven’s flagship wine; no, not Cabernet Franc, Norton or Viognier, but Pinotage - a grape variety developed in 1925 at Stellenbosch University in South Africa from crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut..


Grayhaven Winery specializes in small lots of hand-crafted wines made from vinifera, French-American hybrids, and other unique grape varieties. Varietal wines offered - such as Seyval Blanc, a rare Rkatsiteli, Touriga, Cabernet Franc, and Chambourcin are leaner wines with subtle flavoring and good balance. These easy drinking wines make for nice sippers or accompaniments to a number of food dishes since the flavors are not over- powering, but complimentary. The exception to these leaner bodied wines would be the Pinotage, which is the winery’s most popular wine. Deon tells me that their Pinotage ripens beautifully with high brix levels and the results are much different than what one would expect from typical South African examples. Grayhaven's Pinotage is bigger and more fruit forward, lacking the smokiness and earthiness found in some South African examples. Although there is no distinct Virginia Pinotage style, it is interesting to see what this grape variety can do in Virginia soil.

With wine, cheese, and warm French baguette in hand, I left the tasting room and found comfort sitting by a nearby pond. I enjoyed my visit to visit Grayhaven Winery on this beautiful spring day and look forward to many happy returns. If you are ever in the area, I recommend visiting the winery and experiencing “a hip slice of country life” for yourself.

Many thanks to Dezel.

Dezel Quillen is Founder, Photographer & Wine Writer – Virginia Vine Spot, and Wine Column Contributor to VA Wine Lover Newsletter.

Above photographs and text are (c) Copyright 2008 Dezel Quillen

Guy Webber's 'South African-ism’

"I’m not trying to make Pinotage better, just trying to give it a spin,” says Guy Webber, uncorking an unlabelled bottle.
“You don’t want me to quote you on that,” I ask, “surely you are always trying to make better Pinotage?”

“I already make the best Pinotage – Stellenzicht,” Guy replies, “that is the best there is.”

Guy pours me a glass of wine from the bottle, “This is a ‘South African-ism’ – it’s a tank sample - an experimental Pinotage co-fermented with about 13% Chenin Blanc.”

Guy Webber’s Pinotage/Chenin experiment is very soft and fruity with a distinct floral edge. It tastes quite sweet, very soft and maybe a little hot on the finish. “I think the Chenin brings out a certain herbaceousness,” says Guy. “The fruit comes from vineyards on Uitkyk farm that we use for our Hill & Dale label. The Pinotage and Chenin grown there both ripen at the same time.” With a top-up I’m finding the wine opening and its ripe floral softness becoming even more attractive.


It is just an experiment, the wine is in tank, and Guy isn’t intending bottling it for commercial release. “Think again,” I suggest, “how about a limited edition ‘winemakers experimental programme’ bottling like some California wineries do?” "Hmmmm...." replies Guy.



Guy Webber, winemaker at Stellenzicht (right) with Peter F May. No, he's not standing on a box.

Cape Blend inspires Cyprus

I didn't know before but Cyprus is a rare country, like Chile, free of the scourge of Phylloxera and therefore able to grow vines on their own roots.

And having not suffered the devastion of their vineyards Cyprus is lucky in having an abundance of rare indigenous varieties such as Xynisteri, Mavro and Maratheftiko.

But how to sell such varieties to an international market?

Wines from Cyprus suggest that "there is the potential to promote a Cyprus Blend similar to South Africa's Cape Blend. The latter country has made a name for its unique mix of native Pinotage and Bordeaux grapes."

Of course, it may not be long before Cyprus can make an authentic Cape Blend using their own Pinotage - see here

Pendock's Six P's

Leading South African wine writer Neil Pendock has become a wine maker. He writes in his Johannesburg Sunday Times blog "Having bought Lemoenfontein, a modest wine farm on the Paardeberg, last year, I decided to make the most traditional wine I could from ancient bush vine Pinotage grapes growing on the farm’s steep slopes. The wine was fermented using wild yeasts and matured in third-fill French oak barrels."



Neil is exhibiting a barrel of this wine at a 6th Sense art show during annual conference of PRISA (the PR Institute of Southern Africa), which this year has as theme Communication – the Sixth Sense.



"We’ve decided to call it 'the six P’s'", he says of his wine. " The first five, arranged alphabetically are Paardeberg, Pendock (the artist), Perold (the pioneer who produced Pinotage by crossing Cinsault with Pinot Noir), Pinotage and PRISA. The final P is a pee, the ultimate end-state of the work once it has passed through the body."

Pinotage on Tap in Plettenberg

Diemersfontein are staging one of their popular Pinotage on Tap events at Plettenberg Bay on Sunday 29th June at the Beacon Island Timeshare Resort.


Diemersfontein say that their "Pinotage 2007 - the original ‘the coffee and chocolate’ Pinotage will be flowing from barrels and matched with delicious food and dark chocolate fountains. Staged on the lawns overlooking the sea and sands of Plettenberg Bay, Pinotage on Tap will offer ticket-holders a fun-filled day with cases of Pinotage to be won by taking part in Pinotage challenges and adding to the mood of the event, revelers will be treated to a musical line up involving local jazz and rock bands as well as Plush - the popular band from Cape Town."


Full details and online booking at the Diemersfontein website here


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From Goat to Wolf

Painted Wolf Wines is a brand new venture from Jeremy and Emma Borg. I first met Jeremy many years ago when he was with Fairview Winery for whom created the fantastically successful Goats do Roam brand. Since then Jeremy has been involved in several campaigns but now he is putting his considerable marketing expertise behind wines he himself is making.

Painted Wolf takes its name and inspiration from the ‘African Painted Wolf’, or Hunting Dog. “With their unique “painted” coats they are remarkably beautiful animals and Africa’s most successful hunters due to their extraordinary team work, focus, energy and persistence, and the care and nurturing they provide each other - individuals working in harmony for the success of all,” says Jeremy, who intends that the brand will aid conservation of these endangered predators.

It was good to renew acquaintances with the ever cheerful Jeremy at the London International Wine Fair and taste the first two Painted Wolf wines - Pinotage and a Cape Blend .

Painted Wolf 2007
Cape Blend 14.5%
WO Coastal
A blend of Shiraz 42%, Pinotage 40%, Merlot 12% and Mourvèdre 4%. “I used small open fermenters. Hand punchdowns and a basket press. Malolactic fermentation was in barrel and we bottled this straight from the barrel after 11 months,” Jeremy told me. There are bold fruit flavours, it’s a lively wine with an acidic finish and, being bottled in January, I think it needs more time. UK Retail price is £7.95 from SA Winesonline

Painted Wolf 2007
Pinotage 15%
WO Coastal
“The fruit’s mostly from Swartland, we used small fermenters and the pressing was light,” says Jeremy, who blended in 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, “It adds some gravitas,” Jeremy told me, “the Pinotage was too ripe and too soft, the Cabernet added some tannins.” I found the Pinotage more immediately approachable than the Cape Blend. It is very juicy with ripe sweet berry flavours, pepper and lick of acid on the finish. It is a galumphing big wine. UK Retail price is £9.95 from SA Winesonline. This wine won a Silver medal at the 2008 Swiss Air International Awards

Jeremy Borg and friend