The Pinotage Association of South Africa


A quick read about all the goings on in the Pinotage industry.	Advancing and promoting wine made from pinotage grapes. read more	A history interspersed with a series of coincidences. read more	Strong vines, moderate yields and vinified with grand intentions. read more	Berry fruit with a characteristic plummy, banana like aroma & flavour. read more	Recognising excellence and promoting the ongoing improvement of Pinotage. read more	Keep in touch with all our events - right back to 1999! read more	Research keeps you in touch with the future. read more

Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition Judging The Standard Improves Every Year This year’s Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition was judged on 13 August at Longridge Wine Cellar – the beautiful winter’s day was further enhanced by the graceful setting. There were 133 entries this year, a slight drop from last year’s 139 due to the lack of overseas entries and the Soccer World Cup™. The oldest vintage submitted was a 2005, with seven wines from 2006. Read More	The 2010 judges with one of the trophies	New Vintage Pinotage Tasting On July 22 the New Vintage Pinotage Tasting took place at Doornfontein in Stellenbosch. An annual occurrence it offers wine makers and farms the opportunity to taste the best 2010 Pinotage wine from their area. Member’s wines are tasted initially within each area and the wine that is considered the best example of the area, or one that shows the best potential, is then submitted for the vintage tasting. This allows for a wide diversity of taste and style, as wines range from coastal, to inland areas even as far as the Orange River. Read more	Abrie Beeslaar who chaired the New Vintage tasting.

Cape Blend Competition! Absa and the Pinotage Association have announced the Absa Perold Cape Blend Competition, aimed at creating a signature style for the composition of true Cape Blends. Key to the competition is the requirement that the blended wine should contain a minimum of 30% and maximum of 70% Pinotage. Pinotage, as a uniquely South Africa cultivar represents the African spirit in the depth of flavour and range of aromas and is the ideal basis on which the competition is built. Read press release.	Thys Loubser; Beyers Truter; Ernst Janovsky and DeWet Viljoen celebrate the announcement.	ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Competition Pinotage producers have had their entries assessed and the results are being tabulated. With the full set of the ABSA Top Ten being announce on September 9th, 2010, watch the press for details!

Soweto Wine Festival gets even bigger As a result of its extensive growth and increasing popularity, the 6th annual Soweto Wine Festival, taking place from 2 - 4 September 2010 at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus, has increased the festival length to three evenings Visitors will have an opportunity to sample over 800 of South Africa's best known wines from 100 wine producers including some of South Africa's most reputable, award-winning labels. Read More		Decades of growing and showing By Marius Labuschagne We sat around the table, with the unobstructed view of the ocean from Beyers Truter’s home in Vermont, named Pinotage. And on the table were Pinotage wines from 1963 to 2006. All the serious wine lovers and connoisseurs who joined us could only smell, sip and talk about those wines, the view came second for quite a while. Read more	The first ever bottled and branded Pinotage wine to hit the shelves was the Lanzerac Pinotage 1961. Read more about the wines we tasted.

Recent Articles

ABSA Top 10
Pinotage Competition

Pinotage producers have the opportunity once again to go head to head with their peers in the 2010 ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Competition. Full details and all rules, entry forms and other information is now available. Recognising excellence and promoting the ongoing improvement of Pinotage. Read more.

Kanonkop’s premium Pinotage aimed at the secondary market
Kanonkop, the internationally renowned wine estate in Stellenbosch, has just released its first new wine label in forty years. The Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2006 is a limited release wine made from vines planted on the Kanonkop Estate in 1953 and is aimed at the premium, exclusive wine market. Of a total production of 1 178 bottles, 1000 bottles have been placed on the market at a price of R1 000 per bottle. Read more.

Abraham Perold Trophy in the international arena

The trophy for the world’s top Pinotage wine at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) in London this year was changed to the Abraham Perold Trophy for Best Pinotage, to give recognition to the father of Pinotage, Abraham Perold. The new sponsors are Absa and the Pinotage Association.
Read more.

A sweet spot for Pinotage

It will always be emphasized that Pinotage is a versatile red grape variety, you can produce an absolute top quality full-bodied food wine, or medium-bodied wine to be enjoyed on its own, or rosé wine or sparkling wine. And now the Pinotage sweet spot has also shown top quality.

At the annual South African Young Wine Show wines from the current vintage are judged shortly after the harvesting, pressing and fermentation has been completed. Read more.

Pinotage comes out tops at WineX people’s poll

Pinotage received a resounding thumbs-up by Cape Town and Johannesburg wine lovers in the Best Wines on Show ballot conducted at RMB WineX held recently in both cities. Read more.

The Pinotage Rosé full of awards and delight

by Marius Labuschagne

After a very long wet and windy winter (the Cape winelands is not complaining, another good vintage should be on its way), we can now at last again braai outside barefooted with short pants while talking politics and sport. Read more.

Pinotage civilization at 50

By Emile Joubert

Humanity has been enjoying wine for over 8000 years, but only 50 of these have been committed to the appreciation of Pinotage. And although 50 years may seem like a drop in the fermentation vat of wine culture, it is unlikely that any other variety has made such a profound impression on the wine world in such a short time. Read more.

A Pinotage gale force strikes Windmeul

Windmeul Cellar in the past three months totally rose to the fore with an array of wine awards, with especially Pinotage. The Windmeul Pinotage Reserve 2008 is the only wine that was selected as one of the Absa Top 10 Pinotage winners and also received a Double Gold Veritas Award. Read more.

De Waal's Top of the Hill rated on top

Uiterwyk Estate in Stellenbosch has been a De Waal family concern since 1864. Chris, Pieter and Daniel de Waal are the ninth generation of the family involved in winemaking in South Africa. The wines combine Old World finesse and New World abundant fruit. Read more.

The world's Top Red Varietal is SA's Pinotage

The 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards this year attracted 10 285 entries, cementing it as the world's biggest wine competition. The results were announced this month (September) and the International Trophy for Top Red Single Varietal over ?10 was awarded to the Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage 2006..Read more.