Pinotage
Stellenbosch, South Africa
South Africa's signature grape, deliberately bred in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault to combine Pinot's quality with Cinsault's hardiness.
Sensory profile
Characteristics
Flavor & aroma
At a glance
Production facts
Prevalence
Niche
Climate
Warm climate
Ripening
Mid season
Wine styles
Still
Where it's grown
Geography
Shaded areas are the state, province or département(s) containing each region, so they run wider than the appellations themselves.
South Africa
Stellenbosch
The grape's birthplace and the source of its most celebrated, often oak-aged, examples.
Swartland
A hub for a newer generation of fresher, lighter-touch Pinotage.
Background
Origin & History
Pinotage was deliberately bred in 1925 by Abraham Izak Perold, a professor at Stellenbosch University, who crossed Pinot Noir with the heat-tolerant, productive Cinsault (then locally called "Hermitage") in search of a variety combining Pinot's quality with Cinsault's resilience — the name is a portmanteau of the two. The original seedlings were nearly lost after Perold left the university, rescued from an overgrown garden by a colleague who recognized their value.
The first commercial Pinotage wines followed in the late 1950s, and the grape has since become South Africa's most distinctive calling card. Early winemaking often produced harsh, volatile examples that gave the grape an uneven reputation internationally, but decades of improved viticulture and winemaking have shown its real range, from smoky, savory, age-worthy reds to lighter, brighter, fruit-forward styles.
Lineage
Family tree
Ancestry above, descendants below. Click a related grape to explore its own lineage.