The Pinotage Association of South Africa


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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 in 2009 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.

The IWSC is one of the world’s biggest and most authoritative wine competitions and South Africa’s homegrown grape varietal, Pinotage, was introduced as a category in this competition in 1995. Although Pinotage today is also cultivated in several other countries worldwide, South Africa as the true origin of this red grape variety has won the trophy every year in the past 14 years. In 2009 the trophy was awarded to the Rijk’s Private Cellar Pinotage Reserve 2006.

Pinotage was developed by Professor Abraham Perold in 1925 at Stellenbosch University. His cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (commonly called Hermitage in South Africa) produced the contraction ‘Pinotage’.

“Perold’s crucial contribution to South Africa’s wine industry with the creation of the Pinotage grape will always be simbolised by this trophy. It will therefore in the international arena play a major role in honouring wine producers who create absolute top quality Pinotage wines,” says Beyers Truter, Chairman of the Pinotage Association.

KWV, which owns the Abraham Perold brand name, and created the original IWSC trophy, gave its full support to the Pinotage Association with this move. "We believe that this will enable a more collective drive in honouring the legacy of both Pinotage and Perold internationally", says KWV CEO, Thys Loubser.

Frances Horder, IWSC Competition Director, also made very positive comments about the sponsorship. "Pinotage is a good performer with intensely coloured grapes and good fixed acidity. By the early 1990’s a few producers began treating the variety more carefully ignoring the generalisation that it should be drunk young. Growers are now harvesting sooner and fermenting at higher, more traditional temperatures and maturing in new barrels producing Pinotage with more finesse and intense fruit flavours. In order to encourage producers to enter top quality Pinotage wines for the International Wine and Spirit Competition, a Pinotage trophy was started in 1995 and with the sponsorship of this trophy now coming from South Africa’s Pinotage Association and their sponsor, Absa, it will for many years be an established and prestigious part of the Wine and Spirit Competition,” he said.

Dave Hughes, South African’s international wine expert and honourary member of the Pinotage Association, and Sir Ian Good, Chairman of The Edington Group who is the 2009 President of the IWSC, with the new trophy for the world’s best Pinotage.