From experiment to excellence: Pinotage awards mark 100-year milestone

Wines from Stellenbosch producers are once again among the winners of this year’s Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition.

The prestigious list of winners were announced at a glitzy event, which also celebrated a centenary of Pinotage, at Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville on Thursday 9 October. It was hosted by the Pinotage Association, together with long-standing partner Absa, with Johan Badenhorst from Voetspore as MC and Jak de Priester and die Kaapse Lawaaimakers entertaining the audience.

This year’s competition drew 120 entries from 68 producers nationwide, reflecting the enduring pride and innovation that continues to shape South Africa’s signature grape. The judges selected an exceptional Top 20, from which the Absa Top 10 was been named.

The 2025 Absa Top 10 winners:

• Bruce Jack Wines – Heritage Flag of Truce Pinotage 2022 (Breedekloof)
• Warwick Wine Estate – The Black Lady Pinotage, 2023 (Stellenbosch)
• Alvi’s Drift Wines International – Verreaux Pinotage, 2023 (Worcester)
• Simonsig Wines – Redhill Pinotage, 2022 (Stellenbosch)
• Beyerskloof Wines – Diesel Pinotage, 2021 (Stellenbosch)
• Flagstone Wynkelder – Writer’s Block Pinotage, 2022 (Stellenbosch)
• KWV – The Mentors Pinotage, 2022 (Paarl)
• Le Grand Domaine – Grand Vin de Stellenbosch Pinotage, 2022 (Stellenbosch)
• Wellington Wines – Duke Pinotage, 2024 (Wellington)
• Diemersdal Wine Estate – The Journal Pinotage, 2022 (Durbanville)

A WORLD FIRST

Each of the top-10 winners received the newly minted gold-plated Pinotage Medallion, which they personally overstruck with the engraved “engel piepie”.

In addition, a 1 kg silver medallion, containing actual Grand Pinotage wine, was unveiled, a unique piece designed to embody the aging potential and timeless quality of the Pinotage wines being made today.

The 2025 medallion is the first that literally holds wine in a glass as part of the medallion. Pinotage has stood the test of time, and now it has been captured in this exquisite rarity. Only 100 pieces will be created worldwide as part of the Pinotage Centenary Heritage.

This treasure was created as part of the Pinotage Centenary celebration and developed by Mint in Cape Town: The Cape Mint. The precious metal series consists of silver and gold 1 oz medallions, and now minted in a kilogram of silver.

Similar to the Pinotage cultivar developed over a period of time, these timeless medallions capture the history and spirit of Pinotage , not only in the content and imagery, but now also by preserving actual Pinotage for generations to come.

The runners-up for 2025 are:

• Beeslaar Wines – Pinotage 2021 (Stellenbosch)
• Diemersdal Wine Estate – The Journal Pinotage 2023 (Durbanville)
• Flagstone Wynkelder – Truth Tree Pinotage 2022 (Stellenbosch)
• Glen Carlou Vineyards – The Glen Carlou Collection Pinotage 2023 (Stellenbosch)
• Kanonkop Wine Estate – Estate Pinotage 2016 (Stellenbosch)
• Klawer Wynkelders – Villa Esposto Pinotage 2023 (Klawer)
• KWV – Cathedral Cellar Pinotage 2022 (Paarl)
• Leopards Leap Family Vineyards – Special Edition Pinotage 2023 (Franschhoek)
• Stellenbosch Hills – Bushvine Pinotage 2022 (Stellenbosch)
• Windmeul Kelder – Reserve Pinotage 2022 (Paarl

Each runner up received a silver pinotage medallion.

A CENTURY OF PINOTAGE

The celebrations this year carry particular weight, as it has been 100 years since Prof Abraham Izak Perold developed Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Cinsaut).

Appointed in 1917 as the first professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University, and later its first dean of agriculture, Perold planted the very first seedlings at Welgevallen. Nearly lost when he joined KWV in Paarl in 1928, those vines were saved by Dr Charlie Niehaus and entrusted to Prof Chris Theron at Elsenburg, who multiplied and selected them.

Together, Perold and Theron chose the name “Pinotage,” now inseparable from SA’s winemaking identity.

The varietal has become more than an experiment in crossing grape varieties; it has grown into a pillar of South African heritage and a symbol of innovation with global recognition. The results of the 2025 competition show how producers with decades of experience stand proudly alongside newer names, all contributing to a vibrant future for the cultivar.

POSITIVE FUTURE

Reflecting on this centenary milestone, Beyers Truter, chairperson of the Pinotage Association, said:

Pinotage is no longer the underdog. It is a grape that has proven its place in the world, and its future is brighter than ever. The wines we celebrate today – powerful, elegant, and age-worthy – are proof of the extraordinary potential Pinotage still holds for the next 100 years.

So many legends of the wine industry dedicated their lives to building the success story of Pinotage. They sacrificed more than we may ever truly know.

Their work paved the way for today’s custodians, who continue to protect that legacy and inspire the next generation of legends and history makers. Pinotage is a uniquely South African success story.

RISING TALENT

Since the competition’s inception in 1997, producers such as Kanonkop (22 top-20 appearances), Beyerskloof (21), Diemersdal (19), Windmeul (16), Wellington (15), Simonsig (12), Flagstone (12), and KWV (10) have built enviable track records.

At the same time, newer names like Bruce Jack Wines, Warwick, Le Grand Domaine, and Leopards Leap signal a new era of Pinotage producers, reinforcing the cultivar’s evolution and enduring appeal.

“Congratulations to the winners and runners up of this years Absa Top 10 Pinotage awards, you have a responsibility to help develop the next generation of winemakers, and those entrepreneurs in your industry”, said Absa executive Stonie Steenkamp Absa Executive.

As Pinotage enters its second century, the 2025 Absa Top 10 embodies both tradition and renewal, a true celebration of a grape that is as deeply rooted in history as it is poised for the future.