Giving Pinotage the Respect it (Finally) Deserves
South Africa's signature red grape has long suffered a bad rap. Now it's shaking it off.
It’s rare that I spend the days between the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo thinking about wine, much less about bold South African reds that have no obvious place in our typical first-week-of-May considerations. This is a season for event-specific cocktails and crisp lager beers with tequila on the side, and the marketing departments at several international beverage conglomerates have spent a good deal of money ensuring we don’t lose sight of this natural fact.
Yet while tasting through a handful of current Pinotage releases this week, I was repeatedly struck by how often the same thought kept resurfacing: “I would absolutely crush this with some barbecue.” And not just with some barbecue but at a barbecue, outside, cooking and eating with friends and family. More than once I thought to myself that the characteristically plummy, powerful, and often (but not always) weighty red wine in my glass could be a really, really nice springtime wine. It might even make for a good summer wine. Which, on its face, is a bizarre thought.
Pinotage — a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that doesn’t express many similarities to either in the bottle — tends to produce deep red wines with pronounced tannins and intense flavors. Historically, it’s long been a component in South Africa’s popular Cape Blends. As a standalone wine it has enjoyed highs and lows, coming into and out of fashion over the past seven or eight decades while picking up its fair share of detractors along the way.
The critiques were justified. Pinotage wines haven’t always been particularly well-made. It’s a volatile grape with a ton of tannin, and when the winemaking process isn’t managed properly you can end up with very specific aromas in the glass, things like “nail polish remover” and “paving tar.” Even when done well, Pinotage often produces hefty, powerful, astringent reds — not exactly the stuff of warm-weather sipping.
I’m not trying to rewrite the book on summer drinking here, nor am I declaring Pinotage the “wine of summer” (that title belongs to Prosecco Rosé, naturally). But the very notion that these Pinotages were scratching a summertime itch for me said a lot about these wines and how much they’ve evolved stylistically over the past several years. I don’t remember exactly when I last sampled a Pinotage, but my associations with the variety didn’t include terms like “fresh,” “easy-drinking,” and “terroir-driven.” But I’m always on the lookout for good change-of-pace bottles, and these wines turned my head.
Here’s why: Over the past decade-plus, a number of South African winemakers have pushed Pinotage’s evolution through better viticulture and vinification practices — lowering yields, harvesting more precisely, adjusting maceration periods, rethinking the grape’s relationship with oak, etc. The resulting wines are (typically) lighter, brighter, and more fruit-forward than their predecessors, with a freshness that’s more in step with their Pinot Noir parentage if not directly reminiscent of it. Winemakers have likewise learned to better manage maceration and extraction, muting the effects of the grapes’ high tannin content while leaving intact the backbone that allows these wines to drink wonderfully next to food.
Stylistically, a lot of these newer wines lean more toward medium body than full while still packing a whole lot of dark plum, often some ripe red berry fruit, earthy notes of tobacco and/or tea, and a little sweet spice and/or mineral-esque smoke. This lighter, fresher side of Pinotage slots in pretty neatly next to foods coming off the grill, whether flora or fauna. And it’s a fantastic way to reconnect with (or discover) an under-appreciated grape that’s finally starting to get the respect it more widely deserves.
Here are three worth trying:
Beaumont Pinotage 2017 ($34) From the cooler Bot River region in Walker Bay, this bottle hits all the high notes mentioned above — medium body, light on its feet, with tons of fresh red berry and ripe plum backed up by super fine tannins. More importantly, it begs for something fresh off the grill.
B Vintners Liberté Pinotage 2017 ($21) With only the most judicious whiff of oak shining through, this wine is all fresh red cherries and blackcurrant underpinned by some earthy herbal tones and some savory spice. This one drinks the lightest of the three recommended here.
L’Avenir Single Block Pinotage 2017 ($48) Aromatic, floral, spicy, fruity. This one registers at the more medium-full bodied end of the spectrum, but drinks fresh and fruity while finishing on with a sweet-spicy-smokey send-off. The most important thing to know about this wine is that you should definitely find it and drink it. Or age it, if you prefer. This wine will lay down for well more than a decade if that’s your thing. —CD
The 150-Word Endorsement: The Cemita
With so many tacos and tortilla-based delicacies out there, it's easy to overlook the great sandwiches that contribute to Mexican cuisine. This is a mistake, and a big one. Most supreme among them —and perhaps deserving recognition as one of the world’s best sandwiches — is the cemita. Native to the state of Puebla, the towering sandwich gains its name from the golden sesame seed bun that encases its many ingredients. Wedged between the crisp but pillowy roll, you typically find some hearty sustenance, from spit-grilled pork (al pastor) to breaded chicken or beef (Milanesa). Support invariably arrives from layers of avocado, lettuce, tomato, mayo, rehydrated smoky chilis, Oaxaca cheese, and — importantly — papalo, a peppery Mexican herb that tastes part cilantro, part arugula. If you’re looking to indulge in Mexican fare this Cinco, the cemita is simply a must try. For those based in the Five Boroughs, I wholeheartedly endorse Jackson Heights’ Taqueria Coatzingo for a traditional option and Sunnyside’s Cemitas El Tigre for a slightly more bougey take. —TM
What We’re Gifting: Women of Westward Benefit Barrel #2
We truly love our moms, which is why we — like you — wait until the very last minute to panic-buy a Mother’s Day gift that attempts to convey all the love and gratitude we should be expressing all year round. If you’re still shopping, let us help you out. There’s still time to grab a bottle of Westward Whiskey’s Women of Westward Benefit Barrel #2, and there are a couple of reasons this is a good idea. For one, it’s excellent whiskey. Selected by an all-woman panel of whiskey experts (both from Westward’s own team and from the larger drinks industry), the barrel poured out for this limited-edition bottling contained a liquid teeming with banana, caramelized sugar, vanilla, warm spice, and butter — a sumptuous breakfast spread of banana bread and ripe fruit. Moreover, 100 percent of proceeds go to two women-focused charities also selected by the panel, Al Otro Lado and Black Mamas Matter Alliance. Your mom would say that’s $100 well spent. —CD
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