Pinotage is to South Africa what Zinfandel is to California, meaning the wine region of South Africa has the right to say “Pinotage is ours, we do it best, and no other wine region in the world can touch us”. Well, this is partially true (Zinfandel is actually the Italian Primitivo grape, but California does it best) To the best of my wine knowledge the Pinotage grape is only grown in South Africa. If fact, Pinotage is a manufactured grape with lineage tied to its parent grapes Pinot Noir and Cinsault. They made the perfect pair and produced offspring wines with tastes and aromas described as; concentrated deep black and red berries with a hint of herbs and vanilla…tannic mouth feel for days with length in the mouth to match. Pinotage is a full-bodied wine that pairs with a full-bodied dish. I had this Zonnebloem 2008 Pinotage with sautéed thinly sliced skirt steak and scallions with a hint of soy sauce. No sides necessary:)
enjoy
Glad you enjoyed the Pinotage - and are enjoying the WSET course. I did that many years ago and had a great time learning a lot about wine.
ReplyDeleteJust in case they throw the question at you 'where is Pinotage grown?', answer South Africa, New Zealand, California,Virginia, Maryland, Oregon, Canada, Israel, Australia, Brazil....
Cheers
Peter, thank you for educating my readers on all the other regions that produce Pinotage wine. I'd love to sample some from Brazil :)
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