I've just received an advance copy (to New Zealand) of Pinotage - Behind the Legends of South Africa's Own Wine by Peter F May - a regular and long time contributor to WLDG.
I picked it up out of my letter box when I arrived home yesterday and read the chapter on New Zealand while still sitting in the car after opening my gate. Why, because I wanted to see what he had written, of course. Peter has been an Internet 'buddy' since early 1998. He had created a website http://www.pinotage.org, in reference to this unique South African grape. I contacted Peter and said we grew Pinotage here too and sent him some of my reviews. But I didn't meet Peter in person until November 2007 when he made his first visit to New Zealand with the UK Circle of Wine Writers. He arrived a day earlier than the others and during the next two days I whisked him away to meet as many of the local Pinotage producers that I could. Unfortunately not all of them - it was the weekend and some were closed on the Sunday. And if that wasn't enough, after two days of intense visits and now struggling with jet lag, I made him sit down and taste a line-up of many of the country's Pinotage wines. This tasting is covered in the book.
Peter returned to New Zealand late last year, this time for a holiday because he loved the country so much, and to accompany on this trip was author wife Elizabeth May. During this second visit he managed to touch base with producers he hadn't met the first time due to Circle of Wine Writers visit constraints. He drove north to New Zealand's northernmost vineyard, Karikari Estate and tasted estate grown Pinotage winemaker Ben Dugdale. In the New Year, when in the South Island, he met New Zealand's southernmost Pinotage grower, John Olssen of Olssens Wines in Central Otago. The grapes from Olssens go into a South African 'Cape Blend' style. While in the deep south Peter went on a search to find New Zealand's oldest Pinotage vines. He explains in the book they were planted at a research station in Earnscleugh in the late 1950's and four vines, along with three Chenin Blanc, were rediscovered in 2002, but his detective work seven years later failed to find them.
The first Pinotage in New Zealand was released by Corbans Wines in 1964 and after Peter left New Zealand I went on a mission to try and find what were now New Zealand's oldest producing Pinotage vines. Peter says in the book, "probably at Kerr Farm" and finally, after speaking to every possible current and former Pinotage grape grower, I can confirm that Kerr Farms' vines, planted in 1969 at their vineyard in Kumeu (Auckland), are now the oldest. In the book Peter mentions the lemon tree borer in these vines but when I spoke to Jaison Kerr in January 2009 he said, "the vines seem to have taken on a new lease of life - they are not going to die off anytime soon". As I only managed to make contact with the last 'former' producer in April, the information came too late for Peter to include in his book. Other known Pinotage producers around Auckland have either pulled their old vines out, or replaced the old vines with younger plantings.
But there's more to the book than the chapter on New Zealand, of course, because this is South Africa's own special grape and it makes very interesting reading. The book coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first varietal Pinotage in South Africa. A cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, it was created by Professor Abraham Izak Perold at the University of Stellenbosch in the early 1920's. Unfortunately he died before in 1941, long before the vinous output of his creation.
There are many myths and legends associated with Pinotage and Peter covers them and debunks them. He unravels a mystery that any mention of here would spoil for readers.
Other chapters in the book are concerned with people who grow Pinotage and places where it grows - the list is getting longer with Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Israel (Rogov is mentioned), Zimbabwe, and in the USA - California, Montana, New York, Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia.
I like Ben Dugdale's quote in the book. He says, "to my mind Pinotage has a good future, but it really does need a public relations campaign". Congratulations Peter - this is wonderful PR for this misunderstood grape and the wine it makes. It's a well-researched and easy to read book. I recommend it.
Where do you buy? Well, simply check out http://www.pinotagebook.com. There's a preview of the book there too.
Cheers,
Sue
