Delighted to welcome Gerhard Perold

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens in Horsham, West Sussex, was delighted to welcome Gerhard Perold on April 26th 2022 to meet with Barry Anderson, managing director of the estate’s UK wine business, and Benguela Cove Lagoon winemaker Johann Fourie, who made his first visit from South Africa to the UK post-Coronavirus. 

Gerhard Perold is the great-grandson of Abraham Izak Perold, the South African chemist and viticulturist who developed the Pinotage grape hybrid by crossing the French varietals Pinot Noir with Cinsault, and went on to become the first Professor of Viticulture at the University of Stellenbosch. 

Pinotage on the rise

Time has seen the popularity of Pinotage rise and fall and then rise again, with Pinotage often commanding higher prices than any other South African grape. It is now grown widely throughout the South African wine regions and is the second most planted variety of red grapes. All ‘Cape blends’ of wine are now made up of a required 30 - 70 percent Pinotage component. 

This is the second visit by Gerhard to Leonardslee since 2018, to celebrate the planting of the first commercial Pinotage vineyard in the UK, with the first release of wine due later in 2022. 

Penny Streeter OBE, the Cape Town based British entrepreneur, has created a South African-style wine farm experience at the Leonardslee estate, and close by at Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate, which she has modelled on her successful Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in Hermanus, South Africa.

The UK estates feature 240 acres of Grade I Listed gardens, a Michelin Star restaurant, luxury accommodation and a year-round events programme, including wine tastings and golf buggy tours of the vineyards. 

The 0.5-acre experimental planting of Pinotage in 2018, says Johann Fourie, was to evaluate the grape under the growing conditions found in West Sussex: 

“Pinotage is an early-ripening grape that accumulates sugar very fast which we believe should work well in UK conditions when properly managed - and picked before cold and disease pressures set in if it hangs for too long. Being thick-skinned makes the grapes resistant to rot, which is a key factor. 

“Unlike many Bordeaux grape varietals, Pinotage doesn’t have any unpleasant ‘green’ flavours when not picked fully ripe. In fact, more winemakers are moving towards picking Pinotage earlier and making a more finessed Pinot-like style of red wine from the grape. 

“We have had excellent results so far and a good first harvest, but this is a test project so we’ll see what the vineyard conditions allow us to do over time. Fortunately, Pinotage - of which Pinot Noir is one of the parents - makes a good base for sparkling wine as well. So if all else fails we'll end up with a unique English sparkling that’s got a South African twist to it!” 

The wine estate includes another 34 acres of vineyards at Mannings Heath, first planted in 2017, which will produce an estimated 70,000 bottles of sparkling wine annually, 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier, with the first release of wine in 2023. 

Key Facts on Pinotage

Pinotage was developed in 1925 with the crossing of two grape varieties by Prof Abraham Izak Perold in South Africa - Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, also known as Hermitage - to create Pinot (Noir) (Hermi) tage. 

Pinot Noir struggled as a grape in South Africa, while Cinsaut grew well. The plan was to capture the deliciousness of Pinot Noir, with the easy to grow characteristics of Cinsaut. Four seeds of the crossing were planted. In 1935 material was grafted onto rootstock to better suit South African growing conditions. In 1941 the first wine was made. 

Pinotage is grown in 10 wine producing countries - Brazil, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, US (five states), Zimbabwe, Germany, Switzerland & SA - and now the UK. A versatile grape, it is used for Red, Rose, sparkling and dessert wines. 

Like its parent grapes, Pinotage ripens early and reaches high sugar levels, with moderate growth, and buds later than Chardonnay. It has a short growing season, is resistant to rot and well-acclimatised to a cooler climate - all of which are important for the UK. 

The dark berry can be 6-10 degrees C higher in temp than ambient which helps for colour and tannin development.