Wine Wednesday | Pinotage vs Pinot Noir

Having started my love affair with wine while living in Cape Town, South Africa a few years ago, it’s no surprise that the first grape I ever fell in love with was ever so dark, bold and delicious Pinotage! Several years down the road, it’s still my favourite grape. There’s just something life-changing about a good bottle of Pinotage!

As you might or might not know, Pinotage is a proudly South African grape; resulting from a cross between Cinsaut (which grows really well in the South African climatic conditions) and Pinot Noir (which didn’t) back in 1925. The purpose was basically to come up with a grape that grew as well as cinsaut but with a taste as beloved as Pinot Noir. If you’ve tried all three varietals, you know that

Pinotage had other plans as it developed a character of its own; completely separate from its parent grapes.

I was introduced to Pinot Noir a little later in my journey to oenophilia (after I’d left South Africa and there were far less Pinotage bottles to choose from). Because of the similarity in names and (of course) the family history between the two grapes, I thought (also hoped) that it would be similar to Pinotage. But two [related] wines have never been so different!

I’ve bought one too many bottles of pinot noir over the years in attempt to understand it as well as I do Pinotage and hopefully like it. So far, it’s looking very much like we aren’t meant to be. But the struggle continues.

Are you a fan of Pinot Noir? Please recommend your favorite bottles? I’ll be sure to try out every single one.

Happy #WineWednesday to you!