直到現在，依然有些人對 Pinotage 抱持偏見——偶爾帶令人卻步的燒焦橡膠味；缺乏優雅清新的酸度；或者質疑她釀造頂級葡萄酒的能力。當然，這些如同「封建時代」般的錯誤觀念，著實落伍了至少10年！<

Until now there are still a few stereotypes against Pinotage --- lack of elegance and fresh acidity; a smell of ‘burnt rubber’; or question its ability to make premium wines. Certainly these myths and misconceptions are no longer true!

今天，Pinotage脫胎成南非的「國民葡萄」，就像南非的鑽石一樣照耀著這片土地，國際間人氣亦持續高漲。著名南非葡萄酒專家、Tim Atkin MW說：「等遇到對的，你一定會愛上Pinotage！」

The fact is, with such a high popularity all over the world, Pinotage has become the national grapes, and the pride of South Africa.

距今約一個世紀前，南非一位名叫 Abraham Perold 的教授忽發奇想，將南非發展不俗、高抗病品質的品種 Hermitage （即Cinsault）以及來自法國布根地、優雅細膩的 Pinot Noir 相結合，培肓出世上第一株Pinotage(Pinot + tage)。不過直到1941年，人們才在Elsenburg農業大學釀出了第一批Pinotage葡萄酒，可惜的是，Pinotage的創造者Perold教授當時已去世，沒能來得及品嚐Pinotage釀出的酒，也沒能見證其後數十年Pinotage戲劇性的大起大落！ 

One day a century ago, a professor named Abraham Perold had a sudden whim – to cultivate a new grape variety that combine the robustness of Cinsault and the delicacy of Pinot Noir (Cinsaut was known as "Hermitage" in South Africa, hence the portmanteau name). The first bottle of Pinotage wine was then born in 1941, which was also the year Perold passed away.

無錯，Pinotage剛踏入市場時，人們着實為它激動。1959年，在開普葡萄酒展覽會上Pinotage還一舉奪得冠軍，Pinotage一度成為酒壇「新浪潮」。不過，由於很多釀酒師還未能駕馭這新品種的種植技巧，導致生產了大量劣質酒。

This early success, and easy viticulture of Pinotage, prompted a wave of planting during the 1960s. The first recognition actually came when a Bellevue wine made from Pinotage became the champion wine at the Cape Wine Show of 1959. However, the failure of viticultural knowledge of this new variety and large scale of production led to large variances in quality, which harmed its fame as a whole.

Pinotage最大的問題在於，聞起來偶然會有類似燒焦橡膠 (或者洗甲水) 的氣味。來自英國的釀酒師代表團，甚至直接評擊Pinotage為「銹鐵味」的酒，嚴重損害其名聲，許多種植者因此對Pinotage的前途感到絕望，甚至將大幅葡萄藤連根拔掉，幾乎沒人再敢開闢新的Pinotage葡萄園。

One common complaint is the sweet pungency that often found in badly-made Pinotage. A group of British Masters of Wine visiting South Africa in 1976 were unimpressed by Pinotage, calling the nose "hot and horrible" and comparing the taste to "rusty nails". The criticism caused severe damage to its reputation. Growers felt despair of Pinotage's future, and uprooted vines in large scale. Almost no one dared to grow new Pinotage vineyards.

然而，仍有少數葡萄農對Pinotage抱有信心，看好她一定會成為「世界頂級釀酒葡萄品種」。別忘了，Pinotage的「父母」可是大名鼎鼎的Pinot Noir！他們不斷地實驗、改進栽培技術，尤其把注意力放在釀酒環節上。

However, there exists a few growers who decided to stand with Pinotage. Their belief of making premium Pinotage were supported by their hard work – through trail and error for a million times, they have sustainable improvement in viticulture and vinification.

如果你去問Pinotage的專家——比如Kanonkop酒莊前莊主Beyers Truter (同時也是Pinotage Association主席)，他會告訴你「洗甲水味」其實不是Pinotage本身的特徵，而是釀造者拙劣的技巧導致的。1987年，Beyers為Kanonkop酒莊生產的一款Pinotage於Diner’s Club Winemaker中贏得冠軍，讓Pinotage再度注目，接著一個又一個專業論壇，人們又開始熱烈討論，甚至重新評價Pinotage——「優秀、極具潛力」、「南非的未來」和「不可低估Pinotage」等的讚揚詞句，已經取代了過往經常聽到「銹鐵釘味」的評價。

Pinotage remained relatively obscure internationally until Beyers Truter from Kanonkop won the 1987 Diner's Club Wine of the year for his Pinotage. Pinotage has since experienced a renaissance in South Africa, with an increasing number of producers exploring a bright and juicy expression of the variety that shows off the fruit rather than oak, and showing real finesse with less ripe extraction.

Pinotage能釀造出偉大的葡萄酒嗎？

Can Pinotage makes great wines?

答案是肯定的，而且其廣泛的可塑性，經常令人想起其偉大的「父輩」Pinot Noir。比如以最少干預釀造的 Pinotage，可展現更多Pinot Noir的特徵；以橡木處理的Pinotage則紮實豐厚；加上單一葡萄園概念、老藤表現出的深度、甚至用以釀造氣酒，幻變出Pinotage廣泛的風格︰

The answer is absolute, and its versatility often reminiscent of its great "parent" Pinot Noir. In fact, with minimal intervention Pinotage reveals more of Pinot Noir characters, while suitable oak treatment leads to richness and robustness. Coupled with the concept of single vineyard, the depth of old vine etc, Pinotage offers a wide range of styles:

【本格派︰傳統陳年 Classic, long aging style 】

Kanonkop Estate Pinotage 

L'Avenir Single Block Pinotage 

Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 

Kanonkop Kadette Pinotage 

Kanonkop Pinotage

【父幹派︰展現Pinot Noir之優雅 Pinot Noir style】

David & Nadia Topography Pinotage

Radford Dale Frankenstein Pinotage

【親民派︰豐厚果香 Bold & fruity style】

Bellingham Homestead Pinotage

【當代派︰開拓南非的未來 Modern style 】

Bellingham The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage

買Pinotage滿HK$500更各附送南非直送的地道小食BILTONG

Free gift of South African specialty snacks (biltong) will be attached upon purchase of Pinotage over HK$500

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**Thank Biltong Chief for sponsoring South African snacks

相關連結︰【OpenRice 飲食誌】/混合品種葡萄酒Pinotage 

To learn more intriguing facts of Pinotage, please click here 

*lekker是南非英語，意思是好吃的、好味道的

*lekker is South African English, it means tasting or smelling very good