Ever thought of chilling a red wine?

Looking for a more interesting wine to serve with your desserts?

My friend Durbanville Hills cellarmaster Martin Moore suggests you serve his recently released 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage chilled.

We chill red wines at home and they really work well, especially if the acidity is low and the tannins are soft – they are fabulous with curry too, nice and cooling. We love it with Bobotie.

Martin is quite a dab hand in the kitchen and has been known to serve chilled Pinotage served with desserts such as baked pears, strawberries or mixed berry treats.

The 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage was matured for 12 months in small oak, using a combination of new and second-fill French barrels resulting in a layer of spice, star anise and a hint of citrus marmalade on the nose. Suggestions of ripe berries and cherries fill the mouth making it the ideal partner for fruity desserts and chocolate. Lindt Ecuador is great with it after dinner.

Previous vintages have won gold at the 2009 Michelangelo International Wine Awards.

The cool-climate location of Durbanville Hills in the Tygerberg overlooking Table Bay provides ideal growing conditions for this uniquely South African cultivar, a cross of Pinot noir and Cinsaut, previously known as Hermitage – which my father grew on our farm, Dagbreek, in the Durbanville Hills. Martin maintains that the Pinot Noir characteristics of these wines are typical of cooler-climate Pinotage.

The 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage retails  for about R56 per 750ml bottle.