I’ve only a short time for the seminar and I want to use it to give the
facts and demolish some myths.
But the really important thing is to let people
taste good Pinotage for themselves. There’s no point in just telling people how it
tastes because that’s not going to change any pre-conceptions: the evidence
will be in their glasses.
I am grateful to the following South Africa, California and Virginia wineries
for generously supplying wines for event.
Beyerskloof ‘Diesel’ 2009
Fairview 2010
Fort Ross ‘Estate’ 2007 (California)
Loma Prieta ‘Amorosa Vineyard’ 2010 (California)
Lovingston ‘Gilberts Vineyard’ 2011 (Virginia)
Silkbush ‘Lions Drift’
2009
Simonsig 2009
Simonsig ‘Redhill’ 2009
Shortly after booking opened I heard from AWS there were 66
Update - Latest figures show 77 people booked for the seminar at that time but maximum capacity is 90.
There is an amazing breadth of wines to taste and I doubt such a line up has ever happened before
Until 5 October there is an additional 20% off all my books at Lulu.com. Use the Coupon Code PLUMA in uppercase at checkout.
As the hardback edition of A I Perolds A Treatise on Viticulture is discountedby 20%, this additional 20% discount brings the price of this 712 page book down to £22.40 and the paperback version to £18, both much cheaper than Amazon.
Bruce Jack of Flagstone Wines has made a new Pinotage exclusively
for Direct Wines who operate various wine clubs in the UK, USA, Australia and Hong
Kong.
The single vineyard 2010 Pinotage is called ‘Time Manner
Place’; there are just 1,500 bottles and it will be priced at £65. (870 ZAR/105 USD)
Jack told The Drinks Business “My aim is to make the best
wine in the world from Pinotage. This won’t be a wine we produce every year,
only in years we deem good enough.”
The grapes are grown by Anton Roos, (pictured above) at Silkbush Vineyards in
the Breede River, from where Flagstone’s ‘The Writers Block’ Pinotage is also
sourced.
This wine is, I understand, basically a barrel selection from Writers Block.
UK journalist and Pinotage
sceptic Jamie Goode tasted a sample and said (in part)
Wild, herby, meaty notes lurk in the background. This isn’t
just about sweet fruit: there’s also a strongly savoury, mineral dimension
here. A serious effort, but it will need considerable time to come round.
92-94/100.
It is one of a series of good Pinotages he’s recently tasted
that has caused him to rethink the variety of which he writes “I’m now changing
my mind about”.
Pinotages from Durbanville Hills, Robertson Winery
and Tukulu will be among the first to bear a new seal guaranteeing the wine was
produced ethically.
The seal is awarded to individual wines, rather than the winery. Wines of South Africa CEO, Su
Birch, explains “As compliance has to be fully traceable across the entire
production chain, every wine submitted has to be individually audited.”
The wines are
Durbanville Hills ‘Rhinofields’ Pinotage 2011
Robertson Winery Pinotage 2011
Tukulu Pinotage 2010
“They are the trailblazers who are setting an important precedent for
the industry in its efforts to fast-track the implementation of fair labour
practices on wine farms and in cellars” says Su Birch.
The new ethical seal testifies that producers have adhered to the WIETA
code which is based on the International Labour Conventions’ Ethical Trading Initiative
and South African labour legislation. This code prohibits the use of child
labour, and ensures that employment is freely chosen with all employees working
within a healthy and safe environment.The code also states that workers should have the right to freedom of
association, a living wage and to be protected from unfair discrimination.
Worker housing and tenure security rights should also be respected.
Last night Decanter magazine announced the International Trophy Winners of the Decanter World Wine Awards competition. Trophy for Red Single Varietal over £10 was awarded to Bellingham 'The Bernard Series', Bush Vine Pinotage 2010. The judges comments were:
Pepper, fynbos aromas with a violet and cocoa whiff. Pure dark cherry and plum with good ripeness, slightly herby and meaty on a concentrated inky character. Gorgeous wine - keeps on giving .
The Wine of Origin is Coastal as the grapes came from two vineyards, one in Bottelary, Stellenbosch and the other in Darling, Swartland. “In many ways, these two distinct vineyards offer glimpses into the
parentage of Pinotage, with the grapes from Darling showing almost
Cinsaut biased characters whilst the Bottelary vineyards have a Pinot
Noir edge,” says winemaker Niël Groenwald. “The soils are predominantly weathered granite
and Malmesbury shale, with the youngest vines being 20 years old. This
combination in relation to the two climates afforded low yields,
excellent concentration and amazing character in the 2010 vintage.”
Congratulations to Niël and his team and all at Bellingham.
It is great to see Pinotage win against the best red wines of the world!
In times gone
past they headed to California to dig for gold. Now it’s their wines that are
finding gold. Loma Prieta winery’s gold rush is led by its Pinotage. The medal count
for the 2010 Pinotage so far this year is eleven Golds, and it also won Best of
Class Red Vinifera Varietal for the second year running at the Indy International
Wine Competition.
Pinotage grapes growing in the Estate vineyard
The winning 2010
Pinotage, as with their previous vintages, comes from the Amorosa Vineyard in
Lodi, but owner Paul Kemp’s future plans include releasing four separate single
vineyard Pinotages. This year he is bottling his first Estate wine from his own
vineyard, as well as from the Amorosa Vineyard in Lodi, and he’s also made wines from grapes grown in Karma
Vineyard, Lodi and Sierra Ridge, Amador County.
My notes on the Loma Prieta 2010 Pinotage Amorosa
Vineyard noted blueberry and cherry flavours, there’s a good fruit acidity which
makes the wine very moreish, some tannins and, after the bottle has been open
some time I started to notice an underlying soft coffee accent developing. It’s
a delightful wine now and I think it will only get better.
New winery Grace Vineyards, located in White Hall, Virginia, has just planted an acre of Pinotage.
It previously operated as Mount Juliet Vineyards producing grapes for other wineries from its 53 acres. Now under new owner John Grace, Grace Vineyards is opening in April 2013 and will be producing its own wines.
.
The Top 10 are due to be announced at the end of this month.
They'll be chosen from the following finalists..
Altydgedacht Pinotage 2011 (Durbanville)
Beaumont Pinotage 2010 (Bot River)
Delheim Pinotage 2011 (Stellenbosch)
Diemersdal Pinotage 2011 (Durbanville)
Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Pinotage 2011 (Durbanville)
Fairview Pinotage 2011 (Coastal Region)
KWV Cathedral Cellar Pinotage 2009 (Western Cape)
Mount Vernon Three Peaks Pinotage 2011 (Paarl Simonsberg)
Painted Wolf Guillermo Pinotage 2009 (Swartland)
Painted Wolf The Den Pinotage 2010 (Coastal Region)
Riebeek Cellars Reserve Pinotage 2011 (Swartland)
Rijk’s Private Cellar Pinotage 2008 (Tulbagh)
Rijk’s Reserve Pinotage 2008 (Tulbagh)
Simonsig Red Hill Pinotage 2010 (Stellenbosch)
Spier 21 Gables Pinotage 2010 (Stellenbosch)
Springfontein Jonathan’s Ridge Pinotage 2009 (Walker Bay)
Swartland Winery Bush Vine Pinotage 2010 (Swartland)
Tukulu Pinotage 2009 (Darling)
Wellington Wines La Cave Pinotage 2010 (Wellington)
Windmeul Reserve Pinotage 2011 (Paarl)
Interesting selection of newcomers and old reliables. Mount Vernon is a name new to me. According to Platter they're a small producer with just 1,000 cases and their Pinotage has 'coffee notes' which is a flavour the Top 10 judges have previously steered clear of.
There’s
Pinotage in Ohio, but currently only as an ongoing trial started in 2008 by Ohio
State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Centre
who are trying to find suitable wine grape varieties that can survive and thrive in
Ohio’s climate.
This a partly driven because there are
now not enough Ohio grown grapes to meet demand from new wineries in the state.
Professor
Imed Dami told the Pinotage Club that they’re
“still early in having a complete
picture about how Pinotage performs in Ohio.
I like its
growth habit and it seems to carry a heavy crop load. Bud injury from winter
was not bad for a vinifera. However, it is notorious for crown gall. So its
success would depend on winter survival and obtaining crown-gall free stocks.
This variety has potential.”
Professor Dami,
who is a state viticulture specialist with OSU Extension, added
“we're also
evaluating the effect of region (terroir) to see whether it is more suitable in
southern Ohio.”
Ravenscroft
Wines is owned by Mark Ravenscroft who currently has about 450 Pinotage vines
on a 0.7 acre plot. Marks says
“Progress on
the Pinotage front has been a bit slow as I have had hail the last two Octobers.
So limited quantities made - only getting about 800 kg and about 600-700
bottles. The wine at the moment shows Pinot characters, although with a bit
more spice – a bit like Tempranillo.
I am the
only one growing it in Queensland and did so for the uniqueness and my
heritage, of course.”
Mark comes
from South Africa and studied winemaking at Elsenberg
in Stellenbosch where he qualified in 1988. After travelling the world’s wine
regions he spent a couple of years as winemaker at Onverwacht Wine Estate in
the Western Cape. He emigrated to Australia in 1992 where he worked as
winemaker at several estates before buying his own property in 2004.
Mark planted
his first Pinotage in 2007 with an initial Pinotage vintage in 2009.
Marks
says
“The wine has been made in the press
using a commercial yeast- using it as a roto fermenter - no special tricks. As
soon as I progress to a ton I will start cold soaking etc.
I still think the style at the moment is not finalised. My Pinotage retails for
$35 and sells well through my cellardoor.”
There’s
Pinotage in Europe! It is at Venthône, near the town of Sierre. It’s grown and
made by Simon Favre, owner of Cave d’Anchettes in the Valais wine region.
Simon’s
father-in-law had brought Pinotage back from a trip to South Africa and
intrigued, Simon planted fifteen vines in 1982 and has been multiplying them
every since. They are planted over several of Simon’s vineyards located at
different altitudes.
Alex
Rychlewski was given a bottle of the 2007 Pinotage some time ago when he visited
the region. Alex, an American living and working on Bordeaux for more than
thirty years, said
I suspected
that the wine would gain nothing from further ageing. The color certainly
implied as much. It was diffuse with a brown rim. The nose was sweet and very
Pinot-like and the wine was smooth, sweet once again (not literally!), and on
the short side. A fun wine to enjoy with a grilled slice of lamb on a Wednesday
afternoon.
This is the
first and only confirmed sighting of Pinotage in the old world, but if its been
growing in Switzerland for thirty years unknown to us I wonder if there are
there other plantings to find.
Many thanks to Alex
Rychlewski for his tasting note and label photo.
The Ruins
Pinotage 2010 is a modern clean fresh fruity wine. It is made at Bon Cap by
Marinus Potgieter using grapes organically farmed by winery owner Roelf du
Preez.
I really
enjoyed a bottle with dinner the other night, it's big on bright berry fruits, light on tannins, and easy drinking for right now.
Michelle du
Preez was in town last month so I asked her to share her thoughts on the
2010 Ruins.
In the UK
The Ruins Pinotage 2010 is also available from The Wine Society under their own
label.
Londoner Sarah Ball at Window on Wine was taken with Bellevue Estates' 2009 'Houdamond' Pinotage exclusive to Marks and Spencer in the UK.
"The first thing to say is that this is a ‘big’, powerful wine with 14.5% alcohol. However, it isn’t just all shouty fruit; there’s more complexity than that – especially on the intense nose. Dark plums mingle with vanilla notes and intriguing smokey bacon aromas. I definitely thought I detected a waft of sweet maple cured bacon.
On the palate the deep plum flavours are complemented by sweet spice and smokiness – not bacon this time. The wine has great length too."
Many of thought this a tremendous wine when we had it at our recent Wine Society's annual dinner-dance and local M & S's shelves were emptied of it within days.
Ben at the Waterford Wine Company in Milwaukee, WI loved the 2010 Barista “Coffee Pinotage”
"intense aromas of coffee and chocolate flow from the glass like a rich and tasty café mocha. Seriously – for whatever chemical reason – Pinotage mates to new oak perfectly, creating a sensational wine. On the palate plums and maraschino cherries join the chocolate aromas in a deep and expressive harmony. The finish demonstrates that this is a serious wine, not just some wine-making fad, with a tug of tannins and weighty finish.
If you love Pinotage don’t miss this. It is an exciting, new style of wine. And if you hate Pinotage you have to try this – it’s going to convince you that South Africa can make fabulously tasty wine."
But Harry Haddon who writes on wine for South Africa's 2 Oceans Vibe isn't keen on that style and found KWV's Sparkling Cafe Culture 'Choc Mousse' was a step too far.
"After leaving it in the freezer so it was just above freezing point (I would give the wine all the advantage it needed), I popped the cork and the room filled with a familiar, almost acrid smell. I poured a glass and hesitantly put it to my lips. Simply put the wine is a simple, unattractive, “coffee” pinotage that has been put through a soda-stream with a dollop of sugar for good measure. Sweet. Sickly. Fizzy. Is it the worst wine I have ever tasted? It’s close.
Actually, once I tasted it I felt like deleting this whole bloody column. Carbonated chocolate pinotage. Those are all the words I should have had to type. One doesn’t mind a wine that attempted something different and turned out poor. That, at least is interesting. But this wine is simply a cynical marketing ploy."
Richard Rowe, KWV's, Chief Winemaker suggested that Harry wasn't the target audience and invited him to taste KWV's serious Mentor's Pinotage. And that is an excellent wine.
Tim Atkin MW made Cape Chamonix 'Greywacke' 2009 Pinotage his Wine of the Week and awarded it 91 points:
If you've always struggled with the idea that Pinotage is the Cape's USP, try a glass of this amazing example from Pinot Noir specialist Cape Chamonix in Franschhoek. It's made in a ripasso style (like some Valpolicellas) to give it a little more alcohol and weight. It's supple, smooth and sensitively oaked with black plum and blackberry fruit, sweet oak and a harmonious finish. Best of all, perhaps, it doesn't taste like most Pinotage.
Odd to read Jamie Goode championing a Pinotage since he has said many very harsh things
about the variety. Jamie has taken up cudgels on behalf of winemaker Craig
Hawkin’s Lammershoek Cellar Door ‘Sink the Pink’ Pinotage 2012 which has been
refused Wine & Spirit Board certification.
It has been
rejected because it is not a typical Pinotage. It has also been rejected
because it is not a typical rose. But it’s a lovely wine with real personality.
There are lots of people who would buy and enjoy this wine. So why is Craig not
allowed to export it? His wines can only enhance the image of South African
wine in export markets.
I wonder if
this is the full story since many expressions of Pinotage have been certified,
including white, pink, sweet, fortified, vin du naturel and sparkling. A
comment suggests it could be because ‘Sink the Pink’ is sexual slang.....
And lastly,
on the UK wine forum Peter Gatti who owns a fine wine shop in Austin Texas
posts about 2004 L'Avenir Pinotage
Purchased at Vaughan Johnson's wine shop in the Victoria and Alfred Cape Town location
during a 3 week trip in 2006. this is the regular bottling not the reserve /
estate (?; but a Veritas double gold winner.
Cork has 1-2 mm of saturation, emerges fully intact. Big, ripe nose of mulberry, gently
poached red plum, pepper, spice and burnished old leather. Palate follows nose,
slow surging attack that spreads and coats, but very lightly for such a
concentrated wine. Finish is long, detailed, and fades very, very slowly.
The best Pinotage I've ever tasted, although there aren't many to choose from here in the US.
90 minutes
later, even better; everything from before still apparent, but add fresh
Turkish coffee grounds, tamarind, wintergreen, and a dark minerality that I
might mystically attribute to the most ancient soils of that region of the
world. It really tastes of essence of liquified granite. Boy, is this good!
Pinotage on Tap came to England this weekend. The South Downs of coastal Sussex vibrated with Afrikaans, rocked to South African songs, were scented with bobotie, potjiekos & malva pudding and flowed with purple Pinotage.
Diemersfontein had brought a barrel of their famous coffee Pinotage and flown in musicians from the Cape to remind ex-pats of home and they’d installed a kitchen and a team of chefs to produce platters of home-style cooking.
The location was a farm on the crest of the rolling low chalk hills along the coast known as the South Downs. This area is home to English sparkling wine and next to the PoT field was a newly planted vineyard of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
Diemersfontein’s celebration of its new Pinotage vintage was first celebrated with Pinotage on Tap in 2005. Since then the annual event has grown and spawned satellite PoTs in Johannesburg and Durban. 2012 saw the first international PoT in England.
The recipe was straightforward. Erect a marquee to cover the musicians' stage and shelter the kitchen, place a oak barrel of 2011 Pinotage on a stack of hay bales, clear the skies of clouds, let the sun blaze down and have the mercury settle around 28C.
Then arrange a shuttle bus to bring participants from the nearest railway station on the London-Brighton line and give out goody bags filled with water bottles, biltong, beef rolls and the all important Pinotage on Tap wine glass, garnish with a welcome from the organiser and open the Pinotage barrel.
In the Cape PoT now hosts 2,500 people, but a more modest number attended this first UK event. “We are expecting around 300 people today,” said organiser and Diemersfontein owner David Sonnenberg. Unfortunately the second day of the event was cancelled because of low bookings.
Those of us who did attend sat on hay bales relaxing in the sun, listening to South African musicians Lonesome Dave Ferguson, Albert Frost & Robin Auld, eating our fill and sipping Pinotage straight from the barrel on an idyllic afternoon.
What could be better?
David Sonnenberg talks PoT with Peter F May of The Pinotage Club.
Registration on arrival at PoT
Heading towards the marquee.
David Sonnenberg, owner of Diemersfontein, officially opens PoT UK 2012.
I met the ever charming De Wet Viljoen of Neethingshof Estate on Tuesday this week at the London International Wine Fair and asked him to tell us about his newly released 'Owl Post' 2010 Pinotage.
.
Owl Post is one of Neethlinghof's reserve range of wine, now called 'The Short Story Collection' with each wine named after some aspect of the Estate. Owl Post refers to posts placed throught the vineyards as vantage points to encourage pest eating owls. This is part of the estate’s integrated pest management intending to reduce its dependence on pesticides.
This coming Saturday, 26 May sees Pinotage on Tap (POT) festival held near Brighton, the first ever POT staged outside South Africa.
Update: Sunday's POT has been cancelled. The event will now be on one day only -- Saturday 26 May. See you there.
POT, hosted by Diemersfontein Wines to celebrate the new vintage of their famous coffee'n'chocolate Pinotage, regularly attracts thousands of fans to the wine farm in Wellington, South Africa and in recent times POTs have also been held in Johannesburg and Durban.
The location is Poyning Grange Farm, Fulking, South Downs, Sussex, near Brighton.
Nearest rail station is Hassocks on the First Capital Connect ThamesLink line from London and Bedford. Shuttle busses from Hassocks station to the festival have been arranged and seats can be booked via Diemersfonteins web site. Tickets to the festival cost £65.00 per person.
I was talking to a South African couple at a tasting last night and they went all misty eyed at the list of music performers, they had fond memories of listening to musician Robin Auld back home. Also playing are Londesome Dave Ferguson and Albert Frost.
Diemersfontein say the festival will involve a variety of culinary treats, from various bowl foods and canapés, to the much spoken about "strawberry and chocolate fountains". Wine lovers can enjoy a fantastic day out, whilst sipping this delectable wine, eating a variety of interesting foods, playing games and listening to great live band music. Promising to be an authentic South African party in every possible way, with typical South African cuisine and entertainment by South African musicians.
And of course, Diemersfonteins original Coffee Chocolate Pinotage will be flowing from the barrel, literally "Pinotage on Tap"
More information about the event can be found on the Pinotage on Tap 2012 page, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
I recently posted about tasting Mellasat's 2010 White Pinotage. Just realised I have a video of Mellasat's owner-winemaker Stephen Richardson describing how he made the wine.
.
Jancis Robinson
has been considering her current favourite still pink wines. Most are European
but there are three new world rosés, Pinot Noirs from Australia and Chile and then there’s FairviewLa Capra Pinotage 2010:
‘With its
Victorian fairground label and big, brash fruit fashioned by South Africa’s
trademark red wine grape, it shouts “I’m different”. Like many pink (and white)
wines at lower prices, it is kept fresh by dissolved carbon dioxide – but in
this wine there is just so much fruit to counterbalance it that this ploy seems
sensible rather than tricksy. Bring on the braai.’
WoSA held a tasting in London this week with the theme of wine tourism to publicise Cape Wine 2012 in Cape Town and the new Vindaba tourism show.
The London tasting showcased wines from properties with tourist attractions.
Of the whites I was most impressed with Mellasat’s Enigma White Pinotage 2010. I’ve tasted and enjoyed earlier vintages but this seems to be the most complex and interesting yet.
Serve this one blind and see what happens. I reckon a white Burgundy would be the guess.
Peter F May is the founder of The Pinotage Club, an international cyber-based fan club for wines made from the Pinotage variety.
Peter was awarded Honorary Membership of the producers Pinotage Association in 2004 and was a judge at the annual Pinotage Top 10 Competition in 2004 and 2005.
Peter is a wine writer, educator and author. His book PINOTAGE: Behind the Legends of South Africa's Own Wine may ordered below and from Amazon.
Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape - odd wines from around the world was published in summer 2006.
Peter answers all polite emails - contact him at peter (at) pinotage (dot) org .
A I Perold's
A Treatise
on Viticulture
A I Perold (1880-1941) was South Africa's first Professor of Viticulture and Oenology. He dedicated himself to improving the quality of grapes for wine, brandy and the table. He studied wine and brandy production in Europe, imported more than 60 varieties to the Cape and bred new ones. Perold said this book “is intended to serve both the student and the practical grape-grower. There are in it technical passages that will appeal more to the student, e.g. the chapters dealing with the biology of the vine, its external and internal morphology, the theory of grafting. My remarks on the practice of viticulture, such as those dealing with the propagation, manuring and pruning of the vine, the production of table grapes for export, will, it is hoped, assist the practical grape-grower as well as the student.” This is a newly typeset reprint, not a photocopy. Text on the 712 pages have been aligned to match the original pagination so any external references to pages in the Treatise will be valid in this edition
Available in paperback and hardback editions. 712 pages
A Year in Paarl
with
A I Perold
Dr Perolds report on his Paarl experiments 1915 - 1916 reprinted with glossary, introduction and brief biography. Fascinating historical document on viticulture for wine and table grapes, wine and brandy making.
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