South African Pinotage

Pinotage is South Africa’s very own grape variety, yielding a red wine that is rarely, if ever, found elsewhere. It materialised as a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, and is highly characteristic, delivering bold, smoky, earthy flavours that, if vinified carelessly, can be rather rustic. For that reason, the variety was largely shunned by international markets until recently, when the variety’s greatest champion – the acclaimed Kanonkop estate – once more put it on a pedestal via more refined renderings that highlight the elegant Pinot Noir element. The Cape’s signature, Pinotage is a truly individual wine.