# Cape Route Pinotage (2020)

- **Producer:** Cape Route
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Pinotage
- **Region:** Western Cape, South Africa
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.2%
- **Average price:** €16
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** strawberry, raspberry, liquorice, cedar

## About this wine

Cape Route is a wine project created by South African-born winemaker Ernst Storm in collaboration with DTC wine platform Winc. Inspired by the famous scenic wine routes traversing South Africa's Cape Winelands, the label focuses on expressing local terroir through clean, approachable winemaking. Storm, who splits his time between making wine in Santa Barbara and his native homeland, bridges New World precision with classic South African wine traditions.

## Interesting facts

- Pinotage was created in South Africa in 1925 as a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
- Winemaker Ernst Storm splits his time crafting wine in Santa Barbara and South Africa.
- The wine is named after Route 62, one of the longest wine routes in the world.

## Food pairing

Pinotage's combination of lively red fruit, smooth tannins, and smoky spice thrives alongside rich, savory, and barbecue-inspired flavors. The elevated acidity cuts through rich meats like pork and charcuterie, while serving it slightly chilled allows it to complement oilier grilled fish like salmon.

## Wine making process

Sourced from select vineyard sites across the Western Cape influenced by maritime Atlantic breezes and varied soils such as decomposed granite and shale. The fruit undergoes temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel to capture fresh red fruit aromatics. Selected oak contact is used during maturation to round out tannins and introduce subtle warm spice and wood notes without masking the varietal's fruit profile.