This past week, in celebration of the end of law school, we tried a new wine, Golden Kaan's 2003 Pinotage, from South Africa. For us, it was both a new varietal and our first African wine.
The first thing to notice about the wine is the bottle (which was actually why I noticed it among the hundreds of other bottles on the shelves). The green glass/red wine black with little decoration or front labeling other than the golden African continent is bold but somewhat minimalist, an effect that pleases me.
The wine itself is dry but light bodied. The Pinotage grape was developed in South Africa from a combination of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, lending a fruity flavor to the lighter Pinot body. It has a primary bouquets of cherry, but backed up with perhaps a hint of mango and leather, giving it a cheerful but complex flavor. It is pleasant while not letting you forget that it has come from the ground.
It is rather finicky in its food matches, however. It is easily overpowered; heavy meat or strong cheese leave it feeling bruised. It does well with Monterrey Jack cheese, and would be a good red to accompany chicken or fish. Light pasta or a salad would probably also work.
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