cheers to 100 years of pinotage

P is for … puny, precarious, patriotic, problematic, proud — and pinotage. And all of these phrases might be utilized to South Africa’s home-grown grape. However there’s one other P-word too: persistent.

In 1935, there have been simply 4 little seedlings left. That was the puny whole of South African viticulturist and chemist Prof Izak Perold’s 1925 experiment in crossing pinot noir and hermitage, or cinsaut. (Get it? “Pinot” from pinot noir — plus the “tage” from hermitage.)..