10 best pinotage wines for a taste of South Africa’s signature red

Pinotage is the signature wine of South Africa, where it was cultivated in the early 1920s as a cross between pinot noir and cinsault (then known as hermitage, hence the name). 

But it wasn't until the Fifties and Sixties that the wine began to gain popularity and it wasn't until the 1980s that international recognition came its way. 

In the broadest sense, it's still a "local" wine. Very little of it is cultivated outside South Africa. And it does have its critics.

There's always a danger that the chemical isoamyl acetate – better known as nail polish remover – can develop during winemaking, although modern wine production methods mean that risk has very much lessened. 

But its popularity, especially in South Africa, remains high and with good reason. 

At its best – as in the selection here – the wine is savoury, elegant and versatile. The reds offer hugely impressive and concentrated fruit flavours with hints of spice and smokiness while the blush rosés are refreshing, crisp and dry. 

International Pinotage Day is celebrated on 10 October, so set any prejudices aside and discover what South Africans have been enjoying for decades, one of that country's most enjoyable, well-balanced and drinkable wines.

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