Pinotage was born in South Africa, crossing the grape varieties cinsault and pinot in 1924. It was not until the 1980s that wine made from this grape gained international recognition and now it is impossible to imagine Dutch wine shops without it. Pinotage is full and fleshy with all kinds of red and black fruits: plums, currants, cherries, blackberries and bananas. When it matures in oak, you get aromas of smoke, spices and chocolate. Such a hearty red wine is delicious with meat from the braai, but also warming on cold winter days, so we tip two well-known producers. The history of Spier Estate dates back to the early years of the colony at the Cape, when German Arnout Janz found out that the land in Stellenbosch was very suitable for viticulture and planted the first vines there in 1692. Winery Bellingham has Dutch roots: in 1693, it was Dutchman Gerrit Janz van Vuuren and his wife who planted a thousand vines in the Franschhoek district. Taste!
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