SPIRITUAL (S01E05) - TESSELAARSDAL: Grape Focus: Pinot Noir

Let’s start our focus on wine grapes with a little something about two of the most famous and important grape varieties, for both red and white wine. This article will first focus on the black grape #PinotNoir, while the next one will focus on the white grape #Chardonnay. Luckily for us, these are the grapes and wines that Tesselaarsdal Wines produces – and also some of our favourite ones!

The #Bourgogne region in #France, is well-known for being the birthplace of both grapes. Pinot Noir is the world’s most popular light-bodied red wine, let’s agree on that, mainly thanks to its versatility and the fact that it is a very easy wine to drink – it has very low tannins and a relatively medium-high acidity, and is great as a young wine or can also be kept for ageing. While today Pinot Noir is produced everywhere in the world – from its birthplace, to the United States, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and even Moldova – it is also quite known for being a very sensitive grape to work with; in other words, making a fantastic Pinot Noir is not always an easy task. Pinot Noir is also one the grapes used in #Champagne and other sparkling wines such as #Cava – enough said!

There are really two flavour profiles when it comes to Pinot Noir; a French one, being light, earthy and floral, and an American one, being richer and fruiter. It is towards the former that Teesellarsdar’s Pinot Noir falls. In 2015, one year after starting her own business, Berene Sauls produced her first 1,202 bottles of Pinot Noir. It is at the origin of the cult for Tesselaarsdal; this wine has been dubbed the most Burgundian Pinot Noir of South Africa – and what a compliment that is – and also the next South African Pinot Noir icon by Greg Sherwood MW - A Fine Wine Safari! What an achievement for a winery located in the #WalkerBay region, an area well-known for its cereals, a lot more convenient for spirits than wine!

We were lucky enough to try the Pinot Noir 2020 vintage and it is quite an exceptional wine! The first word which came to our mind when tasting it was: purity. It is an extremely elegant wine. Rich, fruity with almost spicy aromas, yet balanced and gentle; one can certainly feel the passion that has been put in the making of the wine. We might be biased, but this is a wine to taste, and to keep too!

–

This episode is our fifth – and third virtual – and we are grateful to Tesselaarsdal for having trusted us. With Spiritual, we create a documentary that allows wineries, breweries and distilleries to promote their works, products and people. If you own or work at a winery, brewery or distillery and would like to collaborate with us, then get in touch at [email protected]!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPXfsEnhXkx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

#spiritual #beer #wine #spirits #alcohol #beverages #drinks #cheers #indie #journalist #documentary #episode #five #dailydigest #wineries #breweries #distilleries #tesselaarsdal #southafrica #southafricawine #winesofsouthafrica