Pinotage

In 1924, at Stellenbosch University, Professor Abraham Izak Perold crossed Pinot Noir with Cinsaut, then known in South Africa as Hermitage, and the name joins the two. Perold planted the seeds in 1925, and when he left for the KWV in 1928 the seedlings were almost lost, until the young academic Charlie Niehaus rescued them at Welgevallen farm.

CT de Waal made the first Pinotage wine at Elsenburg in 1941, and the name first appeared on a label with the 1959 Lanzerac, released in 1961.

It is now made as rosé, as light, fruity reds and as full, oaked wines, and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust notes bramble fruit, often a mix of red and black berries. The Pinotage Association suggests lighter styles with fish, bean soup, bobotie or curry, and fuller ones with venison, oxtail or ribs, while Lanzerac suggests it with lamb chops and boerewors from the braai.