# Café Culture Pinotage (2024)

- **Producer:** Warshay Investments (KWV)
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Pinotage
- **Region:** Western Cape, South Africa
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €7
- **Vegan:** No
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, smoke, tobacco, cedar

## About this wine

Café Culture is a highly distinctive South African Pinotage produced by Warshay Investments, trading as KWV. Originating in the Western Cape, this wine represents a modern, innovative style of Pinotage designed to be highly accessible and engaging. The concept was originally developed in the early 2000s by winemaker Bertus Fourie, who became famous for pioneering the coffee Pinotage style. This wine is crafted to offer a unique crossover appeal for both wine newcomers and coffee enthusiasts, showcasing the versatility of South Africa's signature grape variety. The 2024 vintage was shaped by a challenging growing season in the Western Cape, characterized by a wet winter followed by a windy summer, resulting in exceptionally low yields and highly concentrated fruit.

## Interesting facts

- The coffee Pinotage style was pioneered by winemaker Bertus Fourie, affectionately nicknamed Starbucks by the wine industry.
- The signature espresso and chocolate aromas are achieved entirely naturally through custom-toasted oak staves, with no flavorings added.
- The 2024 vintage in South Africa is projected to be the smallest harvest in 22 years, leading to highly concentrated grape flavors.
- This wine is packaged in an eco-friendly lightweight glass bottle weighing under 420 grams to minimize its carbon footprint.

## Food pairing

This wine's bold, roasted profile and moderate tannins make it an exceptional partner for rich, smoky, and charred foods. The natural affinity between the wine's coffee-mocha notes and caramelized meat crusts makes barbecue and coffee-rubbed meats perfect matches. Additionally, the wine's dry yet fruit-forward character allows it to bridge the gap into dessert territory, pairing beautifully with high-quality dark chocolate.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for Café Culture Pinotage is designed to naturally develop its signature roasted profile without any artificial additives. Pinotage grapes are harvested from selected Western Cape vineyards, destemmed, and crushed. Fermentation takes place on the skins to extract color and structure. The distinctive coffee and mocha characteristics are achieved entirely naturally through contact with custom-toasted oak staves. The wine is racked onto these specialized staves before the completion of alcoholic fermentation, allowing the yeast and grape compounds to interact dynamically with the heavily toasted wood. The wine is then aged for three to six months in contact with these staves inside specialized thin-stave barrels.