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Pinotage: History of Crossing and the Making of Red and Rosé Wines
Learn about Pinotage, a grape born in South Africa, from both its parent varieties and winemaking approach. Read Kanonkop’s information on their rosé and red wines to confirm how color, blend, and maturation can differ, even with the same grape.
Questions for this course
What is the difference between crossbreeding Pinotage and blending wines?
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Update date: 2026-09-23
A grape born from two parent varieties
Pinotage is a grape variety created in 1925 by Abraham Izak Perold, who crossed Pinot Noir and Cinsault. The latter part of the name comes from 'Hermitage', which was the term for Cinsault in South Africa at the time. It does not mean that Syrah, which is used for red wines in the French Hermitage, is one of its parents. Crossing refers to developing a new grape variety, which is different from blending two wines together.
Making pale rosé from black grapes
Kanonkop's Kadette Pinotage Rosé 2023 is a dry rosé made from 100% Pinotage. The year-specific documentation explains that it is pressed immediately after crushing to limit color extraction, and the juice is fermented at low temperature. By minimizing contact with the skins, even from black grapes, a pale color is achieved. In comparison with red wines, focus not only on variety but also on when the skins are separated from the juice.
In red blends, it is one of the grape components.
The company’s Kadette Cape Blend 2023 combines 38% Pinotage with Merlot and three other varieties. During fermentation, the skins are pushed back into the liquid, and after 3–5 days the wine is separated from the skins. Subsequent barrel aging is also different from rosé. Note that using Pinotage as one component and the finished wine being a single-varietal are two different details that can be confirmed separately.
What to align and what to compare.
Development of grape varieties
- Conditions to standardize
- Pinotage: Born in South Africa
- Conditions for comparison.
- Parent varieties and resulting variety
- Additional points to confirm
- Do not confuse hybridization with blending of wine.
Skin
- Conditions to standardize
- Using the same black grape
- Conditions for comparison.
- Rosé, which is pressed immediately, and red, which uses the skins
- Additional points to confirm
- Duration of contact and timing of separation
Aging
- Conditions to standardize
- Wine after fermentation.
- Conditions for comparison.
- Rosé matured on lees and red matured in barrel
- Additional points to confirm
- Read the process and containers
Order of reading and key points to consider in each article
0 / 3 articles completed
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- 1↗
South Africa
Chenin, Pinotage, and beyond
Organize the relationship between Pinotage and Cinsault.
- 2↗
South Africa
Stellenbosch: Cabernet from mountains and sea
Learn about Kanonkop and red wine regions.
- 3↗
South Africa
What does old vine certification guarantee?
Consider the year the grape variety was created separately from individual vine ages.
READ · HYPOTHESIZE · RECONSIDER
Pinotage Source Analysis: The History of Crossing and the Making of Red and Rosé Wines
From Kanonkop's 2023 rosé and red wine documentation, analyze the blends and skin handling methods.
This is a summary of the producer's 2023 technical materials. Rather than relying on a general product overview, examine the process and blend for that year.
| Item | Kadette Pinotage Rosé 2023 | Kadette Cape Blend 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Grapes | 100% Pinotage | 38% Pinotage, 34% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot |
| Handling of skins | Press immediately after crushing to limit color extraction | Punching down the skins during fermentation, then separating after 3–5 days |
| After fermentation. | 3 months of lees contact before bottling | Aged for 12 months in second and third use 225L French oak |
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Read the explanation for each question
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What are the parent varieties of Pinotage?
Pinotage was created by crossing Pinot Noir and Cinsault. 'Hermitage', which became part of the name, was what Cinsault was called in South Africa at the time. The name of the French region should not lead you to assume that Syrah is a parent variety.
What is the process to lighten the color of rosé?
The 2023 data explains that the grapes were pressed immediately after crushing to prevent over-extraction of color. Even with 100% Pinotage, rosé can be made with this skin handling. There is no mention of blending in white wine, so there’s no need to infer blend from color alone.
What is the proportion of Pinotage in the red blend?
The materials for red wine show a blend of five grape varieties including 38% Pinotage. Even though two varieties are the parents in the cross, that does not mean the wine will contain 50% of each—distinguish between grape lineage and the final blend in the wine.
Basis and sources for the exercise
Practice exercises in comparison
From Kanonkop's 2023 rosé and red wine documentation, analyze the blends and skin handling methods.
Read examples of organizing comparisons
| Conditions for Comparison | Varietal crossbreeding | Wine blends |
|---|---|---|
| Stage of operation. | When cultivating new varieties | When combining multiple varieties, etc., to make a wine |
| This example | Pinot Noir × Cinsault | Pinotage and Merlot, etc. |
| The indication "100%" | It does not mean that the parent varieties were each mixed in half. | Some wines use only Pinotage |
This is an organized study tool based on the designated articles for this course. You can check specific facts and sources in each article.
Explain in your own words
Explain which winemaking processes relate to color differences between the two wines, and add that there are also differences in grape composition.
Check after writing
- Did you distinguish hybridization and blending?
- Did you compare the timing of separating skins?
- Have you mistaken a red blend for a single-variety wine?
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