A GRAPE FUTURE

A CENTENARY OF PINOTAGE MARKS A UNIQUELY SOUTH AFRICAN MILESTONE IN THE WORLD OF WINE. THE COUNTRY'S ONLY NATIVE GRAPE HAS UNDERGONE QUITE THE EVOLUTION AND A NEW WAVE OF YOUNGER, INNOVATIVE WINEMAKERS ARE GIVING IT THEIR OWN INTERPRETATION.

- JESSICA SPIRO

This year marks 100 years since the creation of the Pinotage grape, a uniquely South African varietal, by South African viticulturist and professor Abraham Perold, who blended Pinot Noir and Hermitage (otherwise known as Cinsaut). Celebrating a centenary is significant not simply because of the remarkable length of time but because of what this grape represents for the local winemaking industry.

“[Perold’s] vision was to combine the noble finesse of Pinot Noir with the resilience and reliability of Cinsaut,” says Johan Malan, Owner and Director of Simonsig Wines in Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape province.

“What emerged was Pinotage, a variety that, much like South Africa itself, has journeyed through moments of challenge, resilience, and remarkable growth.”

He continues by saying that celebrating a centenary of Pinotage marks a uniquely South African achievement in the world of wine. “This is a grape variety that was conceived, bred, and brought to life on South African soil.”

Matthew Freemantle, owner of Leo's in Cape Town, a wine bar focused on minimal intervention wines, echoes this, adding how it cements South Africa’s place in the history of wine. “The significance of 100 years of Pinotage shows how long we've been around as a winemaking region,” he explains. “It goes much further back than that, but South Africa is perceived as ‘new world’, when in fact, we have a lot of old vineyards and history in winemaking.”

A hundred years on, however, Pinotage has undergone quite the evolution. Its earlier iteration was heavily oaked and peaty, and so unsurprisingly, it was not particularly well-received.

“Some of the first commercial examples were associated with the bulk wine character of Cinsaut, and the grape struggled to gain the recognition its creator might have hoped for,” Malan explains.