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Hoopenburg's Pinotage wows York
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During September, David Geary, a graduate of the Cape Wine Academy, had the rare opportunity to showcase Hoopenburg wines at a South African wine evening at the York Food and Drink Festival.

The festival, now in it’s 19th year is the largest food and drink festival in the north of England. Amongst those presenting were International Wine Challenge panel chairperson and wine correspondent to the Yorkshire Post, Christine Austin, and Karen Hardwick who is the WSET coordinator in the north of England.

David presented our barrel fermented Chardonnay and Rhone blend from our Integer range as well as our Hoopenburg Chenin Blanc and our bush vine Pinotage.

Whist all were enthusiastically received it was our Pinotage that that really wowed the guests. So much so that a Michelin rated restaurant in York invited David to a dinner at which the Pinotage was paired with a range of dishes. The result is that we expect it to feature in the future on their wine list. Furthermore all four are currently being assessed by a specialist wine outlet in West Yorkshire with a view to being included in their range.

For those for whom Pinotage is a new name, it is cloned from Pinot Noir and Cinsault (known as Hermitage in South Africa).

To further emphasise how far Pinotage has come we quote from a November article by Jane MacQuitty of The Times of London.

“One of this winter’s biggest wine surprises is how delicious pinotage has become. Top-drawer pinotage has lots of body, alcohol and colour, but with less fruit and acidity than you might expect. For me, the best low-yielding, old-bush-vine, pinotage sites deliver bold, black cherry and spice-laden reds. On the finest decomposed granite soil sites more perfumed wines are the result; clay soil gives wines with spice and structure, while lighter soils create lighter wines.”

When next in the Stellenbosch region why not visit us and taste our Pinotage and some of our other wines. We really look forward to welcoming you.


Tel: 021 884 4904   Fax: 021 884 4904   Email: info@hoopenburg.com  
R101 Old Paarl Road Muldersvlei Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa