WineGuessrRed grape variety
Pinotage
Pinotage is a red grape created in South Africa in 1924 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault. It gives deep red wines with smoky, bramble and earthy notes. In 2017 South Africa had 6,979 hectares, 7.4% of its vineyard area, making Pinotage the country's signature grape.
| Color | Red (black-skinned) |
|---|---|
| Origin | Stellenbosch, South Africa (a 1924 cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault) |
| Body | Medium to full |
| Acidity | Medium |
| Tannin | Medium to high |
| Typical aromas | bramble, smoke, earth, plum, banana, tropical fruit |
| Key regions | Stellenbosch (South Africa), Paarl (South Africa), Western Cape (South Africa), New Zealand, Brazil |
Origin and history
Pinotage was created in 1924 by Abraham Izak Perold, the first professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University, who crossed Pinot Noir with Cinsault, then called Hermitage in South Africa, which explains the name. The seeds were planted at the Welgevallen experimental farm. After Perold left the university in 1928 the seedlings were rescued by Charlie Niehaus, and in 1935 the vines were grafted onto rootstock. The first wine was made at Elsenburg in 1941, the same year Kanonkop planted it. Recognition followed: a Bellevue wine won the General Smuts Trophy at the Cape Wine Show in 1959, Lanzerac released the first bottle labelled Pinotage in 1961, and Beyers Truter's Kanonkop Pinotage won the Diners Club Wine of the Year in 1987.
Where it grows
Pinotage is above all a South African grape. In 2017 the country had 6,979 hectares, 7.4% of its total vineyard area. The Western Cape is home to almost all of it, with Stellenbosch, where it was born and where estates such as Kanonkop made its reputation, and Paarl as leading districts. It is also central to the Cape blend, a South African style in which Pinotage must make up 30–70% of the wine. Outside South Africa, small plantings exist in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Zimbabwe and the United States, where it is grown in states including Arizona, California, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia.
Taste, wine styles and food
Pinotage typically makes deep red wines with smoky, bramble and earthy flavours, sometimes with notes of banana and tropical fruit. It can be high in tannin, and careless winemaking can produce isoamyl acetate, which smells of paint, or volatile acidity, faults that once harmed its image. Modern producers have widened the range considerably: lighter, fresher reds, rosé, red sparkling wine, white Pinotage pressed without skin contact, fortified Port-style wines and the popular coffee or chocolate style, which uses heavily toasted oak. Fuller Pinotage suits barbecued meat, which in South Africa means braai, as well as boerewors sausage, venison and smoked dishes, while lighter versions go with pizza and grilled vegetables.
Wines made with Pinotage (2)
WineGuessr lists 2 wines made with Pinotage, all from South Africa.
Pinotage: questions and answers
What grapes make Pinotage?
Pinotage is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, which was called Hermitage in South Africa at the time; the name combines the two.
What does Pinotage taste like?
Pinotage tastes of bramble fruit and plum with smoky and earthy notes, sometimes with banana or tropical fruit. It is usually deep in colour and fairly tannic.
Who created Pinotage?
Abraham Izak Perold, the first professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University, created Pinotage in 1924.
What is a Cape blend?
A Cape blend is a South African red wine in which Pinotage makes up 30–70% of the blend, usually alongside Bordeaux or Rhône varieties.
Other red grapes
All grape varieties →Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed October 2026.