Mention pinotage in the presence of wine aficionados and you are guaranteed to hear some definite opinions on why they do or do not partake of it. These are accompanied by corroborative stories of specific wines that were love at first sip and, told with equal gusto, the ones that instantly got swiped left. 

The variety of opinions can partially be explained by, well, the variety of expression that pinotage allows for, from strawberry-nosed rose to light unwooded red versions served cold, all the way through to the behemoths that spent years in new oak barrels and keep improving in-cellar for decades.

Unpleasant wine tasting experiences are seldom the result of bad wine. 

More often, it is a result of misplaced expectations - and on this point I side with the wine drinker. What should you expect when you open a bottle of pinotage? For the most part I don't know either, unless I have had it before. If not, I turn to the back label where too often the information provided is some family history and provides no clue as to what is in the bottle.

We are all aware that pinotage is a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsault, but what might not be so self-evident is the many thousands of crossing that don't survive beyond infancy simply because they don't produce grapes of any utility. 

The aforementioned make Pinotage a very special grape then, with multiple personalities, if I am totally honest. Taking a look at the parents of this special child it's evident that the answer is bigger than the sum of the parts. Lady Pinot noir is a true french aristocrat, thin-skinned, tightly packed bunches with little colour to extract, low tannin and even lower phenolics. Pinot is notoriously difficult to work with and insists on cool growing conditions and if in those you treat her gently enough and do some mind reading, she might show some skin by becoming the most delicate of reds, revealing strawberry, cherry, raspberry and maybe some forest floor mushroom complexity too. Drinking premium Pinot noir is an emotional affair. 

Big daddy Cinsault on the other hand is a hard-working blue-collar kind of guy, providing big yields of big dark, thick skinned berries that were used in making brandy and found their way into many of our favourite yesteryear blends. Nowadays, by keeping the yields lower, quality soft-fruited medium weight Cinsault can be made, sometimes showing a spicy edge. It's pretty clear that both Pinot noir and Cinsault want to be treated in a certain way to create good wine in their respective styles; versatile Pinotage on the other hand seems to be able to become whatever the winemaker's imagination allows for, sometimes shaming the old-world dependables with its class and character. 

I have disliked some popular Pinotages and have been left totally amazed by others. If you haven't yet had your great Pinotage moment, keep tasting, it's out there.