Pinot Noir, the aristocratic grape variety from Burgundy, was once briefly married to Cinsault, a more common variety . Or so the South African wine law would have us understand. This happened in South Africa in the 1920’s when the Charleston was the Rock n Roll of the day and the Great Depression was only months away.

The couple had only one issue, called Pinotage by the midwife, one Professor Perold. Originally a unwanted problem child, then a troublesome teenager, and finally a ‘love me or hate me’ headline performer, Pinotage has developed a talent for getting noticed.

When Pinotage was in her early prime, around 30, she won the local Oscar, South Africa’s red wine championship, to the astonishment of her rivals, their sponsors and just about everyone.

Just who is this upstart, said Miss Cabernet Sauvignon, Miss Merlot and Madame Shiraz? There were a lot of people in wine who felt just the same.

Pinotage retired with her single Oscar to relative obscurity for many years.

During the decade of the 1980’s, Pinotage won some great international championships for red wine, but while South Africa remained behind the apartheid curtain, availability of bottles of this lushly flavoured red wine was virtually zero.

With the removal of the embargo on South African wines in 1994, Pinotage labels began to flood out into world markets. But this was not the same Pinotage that had been winning the championships. The wines were almost uniformly without character.

It took most South African winemakers another 10 years to discover that Pinotage has a mind of her own. You can’t treat Pinotage as if it were just another red grape, just another Cabernet or Shiraz.

First day of the 2008 harvest at Stormhoek. Pinotage is always the first red variety to be ripe in our vineyards. It has the capacity to reach a high level of sweetness so we have to taste grapes from throughout the block of vines every day to find the perfect point for picking. After making the choice, we start harvesting before sunrise and bring lots of hands into the vineyard to be sure all of the crop is in the cellar by 11 am.

Just like a beautiful child of very plain parents, Pinotage is unlike her genetic ancestors. While Pinot Noir and Cinsault have thin skins and need lots of extraction to get deep colour and rich flavour, the carapace of Pinotage is tough and thick with purple-coloured dye and succulent flavour. Moments after crushing, fully ripe Pinotage juice will stain an archbishop’s vestments.

There’s an even darker side to Pinotage. Hidden deep within the lashings of fruity flavour is a touch of bitterness, just like you find in walnuts or pecans.

Rapid fermentation, with the skins still in the juice, can have an unfortunate result.

Regular and continuous tasting of the new wine (or must as it is called at this stage) while it ferments solves the problem. The skins are separated out and discarded.

The flavours in the new wine are reminiscent of the sweetest fruits even though all of the sugar has been removed by the fermentation.

Any wonder why we have become the most devoted fans of this great performer?