Pinotage is a red wine grape that is South Africa's signature variety. It was cultivated there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut (Cinsaut was known as "Hermitage" in South Africa at that time, hence the name). It typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavours, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit. The grape is a viticultural intraspecific cross of two varieties of Vitis vinifera, not an interspecific hybrid.
History
The Pinotage grape variety was created in South Africa in 1924 by Abraham Izak Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University. Perold was attempting to combine the best qualities of the robust Hermitage with Pinot noir, which can be difficult to grow. Perold planted the four seeds from his cross in the garden of his official residence at Welgevallen Experimental Farm and then apparently forgot about them. In 1928 he left the university to take up a job with KWV co-operative and the garden became overgrown. During a clean-up at Welgevallen farm, a young academic named Dr. Charlie Neihaus managed to rescue the seedlings and replant them at Stellenbosch.
The young plants were moved to Elsenburg Agricultural College under Perold's successor, CJ Theron. In 1935 Theron grafted them onto newly established Richter 99 and Richter 57 rootstock at Welgevallen.
The first recognition came when a Bellevue wine made from Pinotage became the champion wine (General Smuts Trophy Winner) at the Cape Wine Show of 1959, followed by Sauer & Rossouw in 1961 with their Pinotage from Kanonkop Wine Estate. The Bellevue wine would become the first to mention Pinotage on its label in 1961, when Stellenbosch Farmer's Winery (SFW) marketed it under their Lanzerac brand. This early success, and its easy viticulture, prompted a wave of planting during the 1960s.
Criticism
Despite the reputation for easy cultivation, the Pinotage grape has not escaped criticism. A common complaint is the tendency to develop isoamyl acetate during winemaking which leads to a sweet pungency that often smells like paint. A group of British Masters of Wine visiting in 1976 were unimpressed by Pinotage, calling the nose "hot and horrible" and comparing the taste to "rusty nails". While not a critique itself, outside of small plantings most notably in New Zealand and the United States, Pinotage has yet to develop a significant presence in any other wine region.
Pinotage renaissance
Pinotage remained relatively obscure internationally until Beyers Truter from Kanonkop won the 1987 Diner's Club Wine of the year for his Pinotage. Pinotage has since experienced a renaissance in South Africa, with an increasing number of producers exploring a bright and juicy expression of the variety that shows off the fruit rather than oak, and showing real finesse with less ripe extraction.
From 2007 to 2017, the quality, demand, and supply of Pinotage grew significantly. From around 3 million litres of Pinotage a year at the turn of the century, domestic sales have increased to over 5 million litres, and exports since 2001 have gone from just over 8 million litres a year to close on 19 million litres – contributing an estimated R495 million to the local economy in 2017.
In two decades, winemakers and marketers embraced this grape cultivar, which led to the expansion of the market for Pinotage globally. Competitions like the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Awards, which started in 1997, and initiatives by organisations like the Pinotage Association have assisted in establishing this uniquely South African wine. Accolades like the 2017 Tim Atkin's South African Red Wine of the Year (awarded to Beeslaar Pinotage) confirms the trend of quality Pinotage wines. Pinotage weighed heavily in favour of Kanonkop cellarmaster Abrie Beeslaar being named the 2017 Winemaker of the Year at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition in London, making him the second Kanonkop winemaker to achieve the honour after Beyers Truter in 1991. In 2017, the SA Wine Industry Information & Systems (SAWIS) industry body indicated that the total area under Pinotage vines was 6 979 ha, up from 6.5% to 7.4% of the total area under vines. Admittedly, even more than 40 years after completely dismissing the grape, many in the United Kingdom's wine trade (one of South Africa's main export markets) still malign the grape as a whole, but slowly perceptions are changing especially with younger members of the trade becoming strong defenders of the grape.
Wine regions
In addition to South Africa, Pinotage is also grown in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States and Zimbabwe. In New Zealand, there are of Pinotage. In the United States, there are plantings in Arizona, California, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia.