PINOTAGE FROM THE CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
Boland Kelder 2000 pinotage, $105
Rumours and romance surround the birth of the pinotage vine, which is now the flagship grape of South Africa. One story tells of an academic wine-maker Abraham Izak Perold who in 1925 brushed a cinsaut grape flower against a pinot noir bloom laden with pollen and produced four vines. Scientists and wine-makers experimented with the grapes; they reckoned it married the classic pinot taste of a gentle burgundy with the toughness of the cinsaut vine, which is easy to grow and can withstand drought and pests. It didn't take long before the flavour of the new grape was winning hearts and palates. The Boland Kelder is a good example of pinotage. There are oodles of lush flavour on the tongue and it has a nifty balance. This is the sort of wine you can sit down and drink while you listen to soft music.
Force 8 Cellars (tel: 2527 6217)
Kanonkop 2002 pinotage, $239
I love this winery, high in the Simonsberg Mountains overlooking Stellenbosch. It gets its name from an old signal gun that once dominated the top of a hill. It was fired when the sails of approaching ships were spotted off the coast, giving farmers time to take their produce some 40 kilometres down to Cape Town. It's in what is known as the 'red wine bowl' of Africa. The winery grows about 100 hectares of vines and pinotage is one of their stars. The combination of long, hot summer days and cooling breezes off the Atlantic make it perfect for bringing the grapes to full, sugar-laden richness. The colour is deep and the flavours enormously generous with a melting banana and raspberry overtone. This screams out for barbecued steak or lamb chops.
