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ANGELA LLOYD recently visited the land of the silver fern and found that their Pinotage wines make a serious quality statement. In fact ... New Zealand's top Pinotages undoubtedly stand alongside South Africa's best and would be serious contenders for top honours in any competition. If this boots-and-all statement raises eyebrows, many would be surprised to discover that South Africa's national grape is even grown there. Yet its history in New Zealand dates back to the early 1960s, when Corbans planted the first vines at Whenuapai, north of Auckland. The maiden vintage was a 1964. Thanks to its thick skins and resistance to disease, the grape performed well in Auckland's humid climate. Why Pinotage? At that time, winemakers were turning their attention from 'port 'and 'sherry' to table wines. With this change came the move away from the dominant hybrid varieties to vitis vinifera, generating many varietal experiments. The inclusion of Pinotage probably followed from the close ties existing between South Africa and New Zealand, both on the sporting field and in exports of South African wine. Pinotage remains part of the varietal mix as New Zealand wines today enjoy international acclaim, although any growth will be off a very small base. According to the New Zealand Wine Industry Statistical Annual, Pinotage covered a total of 87 hectares in 2002, producing 863 tons of the total 118 700-ton crop. The 2002 Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory lists 22 wineries with Pinotage in their portfolio. The main plantings are in Hawkes Bay, Auckland and Gisborne in the North Island and Marlborough in the South Island, although opening up of new regions has seen Pinotage trialed in many unlikely spots. In the mid-1970s, Central Otago pioneer Alan Brady tested many varieties in the world's southernmost vineyards. "Pinotage," he admits, "just wouldn't ripen." A few rows in a warmer part have fared better, though the region's fortunes undoubtedly lie with Pinot Noir rather than its offspring. My own exploration of New Zealand Pinotage, during a two-week visit, started much further north in the Gimblett Gravels area of Hawkes Bay. Recognised mainly for its Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah, Hawkes Bay Pinotage has also delivered some excellent results from its 30 hectares. At Te Awa, winemaker Jenny Dobson produces a classy wine from 10-year-old vines. These were planted thanks to Gus Lawson, son of the owner, who had tasted Pinotage in South Africa and liked it. This was not Jenny's initial reaction (like here, Pinotage is controversial), but as she has learned how to handle it, so her opinion has changed. "I treat it like Pinot Noir," she explains. "The crushed fruit is cooled to 18°C in tank; then rises to 34°C during fermentation in open vats; hand-plunging extracts structural yet non-aggressive tannins." Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur without inoculation, the latter in a mix of French and American barrels, where the wine remains for 15 months. New oak is limited to a maximum of 15%. Te Awa's Pinotage vines, planted in gravelly soil, are prolific bearers; green pruning is necessary to control yields. Harvesting takes place around mid-March (early autumn), a significant and important point of difference from the Cape. The bitterness often found in Cape Pinotages is also unknown in New Zealand, where Pinotage alcohols rarely top 13,5% - for Jenny the highest of any variety. The 2000 Te Awa Longlands Pinotage is elegant, medium bodied, with sweet-fruited richness, concentration and filigree, ripe tannins - these probably aided by Jenny's many years' experience in Bordeaux. Although based in Henderson, just north of Auckland, Babich Wines also source Pinotage from 8-10- year-old vines in the Gimblett Gravels area. Yields are limited to around eight tons per hectare. "Even so, once every four years Pinotage doesn't ripen," maintains winemaker Adam Hazeldine, "and high sugars are important for quality." On completion of fermentation, the free run juice is taken to 100% new oak, 25% American, for malolactic and 15 months' maturation before bottling. The inclusion of press juice depends on tannin levels, as Adam is also afraid of the variety's astringency. In nearby Kumeu, Tony Soljan (who unfortunately I didn't meet) is so enamoured of Pinotage, he produces three versions at the family's eponymous winery: one sourced from Auckland, another from 20-year-old vines in Gisborne and a third, which combines his love of bubbly, a méthode traditionelle sparkling red wine, a non-vintage, but from 1998. With an annual intake of around 40 tons, Soljans is one of New Zealand's more significant Pinotage producers. The table wines undergo a cold maceration, cool fermentations and post fermentation maceration. After four or five months in a mix of new and used French oak, they are bottled and released in spring of the same year. Both are harmonious, easy drinkers for early consumption, appreciated by consumers for their fruit and lightness. Although made as a red wine, with time in barrel, the méthode traditionelle has a low 11,5% alcohol. Disgorged on 1st October 2002, the fine, persistent bead lends good freshness, whereas the flavours are mellow mushroom. Residual sugar is a balanced 22 grams. A more restrained, lighter-bodied wine than the Graham Beck MCC Pinotage, which it pre-dates by a year! Now that unequivocal opening statement deserves elaboration, for it's not grounded in my own, subjective opinion. "Surprising results," is how Peter May, secretary of the UK-based Pinotage Club, described the outcome of an international Pinotage tasting held in the UK late 2002; nine wines from New Zealand, California and South Africa were judged blind. The Babich Winemakers' Reserve 2000 came second overall, Te Awa Longlands 2000 was fifth. The local wines, including a multi-award winner, disappointed, filling 6th, 7th and 8th places. An even more convincing performance was recorded at the 2003 Sydney International Wine Competition, where, for the first time, Pinotage not only made the Top 100 but did so with two examples. Here it was the turn of Babich Winemakers' Reserve 2001 to impress the 13 international judges. Local producers will breathe a sigh of relief that South Africa's reputation was redeemed with Fairview Primo 2001 taking the other Top 100 award made to Pinotage. For niche wines to prosper, they need the committed support of journalists and Pinotage has its local champions. Muddy Water is topS Muddy Water Waipara Pinotage 2000 is listed as one of the 13 best wines of the year out of 1 200 listed in Penguin's New Zealand Wine Guide 2003, published February 2003. Writer Vic Williams, cellar director for the New Zealand Wine Society, said Muddy Water Pinotage was not easy to find but it deserved a wider audience. "The Muddy Water team seem to have an affinity for the variety." Muddy Water owner Jane East said "All our fruit is hand-picked from our own vineyards and travels no more than 500m to the winery for processing." - from The Pinotage Club Newsletter, February 2003 Growth potential in NZ Sue Courtney, editor of www.wineoftheweek.com, sums up the grape's future. "Most producers who persevere with Pinotage see it as an interesting alternative rather than a huge money spinner. They are not helped by retailers reluctant to stock a hard sell and consumers reluctant to taste because of a bad image the grape acquired in the 1970s when it was blended with hybrids. So good quality wines are essential and people must be persuaded to taste them. Pinotageˇs growth potential here is limited, as wine interests lie elsewhere." Paul White, an American wine writer now living in Wellington, has watched Pinotage "emerge from the murky depths of the lowest grade of cask wine into something seriously made, with huge potential here." He adds, "its resurgence comes off the rise of Pinot Noir, and I see it as a low cost alternative; it has more interesting savouriness than cheaper Pinot Noir can ever have." While New Zealand Pinotage might never challenge South Africa in quantity, quality is another matter.
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