Pinotage

Dear Wine Ladies,

We recently enjoyed a red wine from South Africa called Pinotage. I understood it was a blend of two wines, Pinot Noir and Cinsaut then discovered it is a clone of Pinot Noir. Or is it?

Jack, Mississauga, Ontario

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Dear Jack,

This grape is considered to be the signature grape variety of South Africa is not a clone of Pinot Noir, it is actually a cross between the two grapes Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. The variety was created in 1925 by Professor Perold of Stellenbosch University. At the time, and occasionally today, Cinsaut was commonly called Hermitage in South Africa, hence the contraction Pinotage.