Pinotage: the pride of South Africa

Blackcurrant, black cherry, pepper, mint, and eucalyptus. This is secretly really delicious! The Delheim Pinotage is a wine with aromas of dark black velvet fruit, bitter chocolate, clove, Asian spices, and a hint of wood and wet leather. Full-bodied with both fruity and savory notes. Deliciously silky, juicy finish with subtle oak influences. Just a little different from the norm! We at WijnclubAmsterdam.nl are once again proud to carry it.

Back after a long absence!

Pinotage: Originally “discovered” in South Africa in 1925 by crossbreeding Pinot Noir and Cinsault grapes. The grape truly became a “signature” grape for South Africa. However, the name Pinotage did not appear on labels until 1961. With the introduction of South African wines to the Dutch market, Pinotage did not immediately receive widespread acclaim, especially since it ended up largely in the budget supermarket segment. In other words, quality declined visibly. Since 2010, however, a massive shift has taken place in South African wine thinking. From then on: Quality, not quantity. Not rustic, high-alcohol wines, but nowadays elegant and a fresher European style. The Pinotage was rediscovered and is now being presented again by the best wineries as one of their “signature” wines. The Delheim Pinotage is a beautiful example of this.

Delheim: a piece of “Heimat” in South Africa

When Michael Sperling arrived in South Africa in the early 1950s by invitation, he owned nothing and had only ten pounds in cash in his pocket. He knew nothing about winemaking. The Delheim estate was initially not intended as a winery, but as a country house where his friend Hans Otto Hoheisen and his wife Deli could enjoy their retirement. The few vineyards surrounding the estate were intended more as a hobby. Since Michael Sperling had neither the means nor the literature to learn winemaking, he began experimenting on his own with fermenting grapes into wine. Through trial and error, and with the help of local German winemakers, the wines improved with each vintage, until in the 1960s he was suddenly picked up by renowned American trade journals as an unpolished winemaker with distinctive wines.

Business went so well after that, that in 1971 Michael bought a second winery located a few kilometers away. The winery was renamed Delheim, named after his wife. The vineyards in this warmer and drier part of Stellenbosch are called Vera Cruz and are ideally suited for the more powerful Shiraz and Pinotage.

Today, the two major wineries together encompass a substantial 120 hectares of vineyards, accounting for around 360,000 bottles annually.