?????????Stellenbosch 肆客足球 (SU) has just introduced a limited series Pinotage as part of the commemoration of its centenary.
Only some 2200 bottles of “Eeufees Pinotage" – the official centenary wine - were bottled by SU's Welgevallen cellar. Each bottle is individually numbered.
SU recently collaborated with the online store Takelot.com to make the “Eeufees Pinotage" available online.
Mr Riaan Wassung, winemaker at the Welgevallen cellar, said the wine was made from the best Pinotage vines of the Welgevallen and is therefore of an excellent quality with a dark ruby colour. “The wine has intense berry and forest floor aromas, with subtle spiciness which originates from the oak. The wine is full-bodied, with a form but soft tannin structure with good acidity and lingering aftertaste. The wine should still age at a cool temperature for 5 years."
A bit of luck
In the 1920's, Prof Abraham Izak Perold was the first professor in viticulture at SU. In his house, next to the Welgevallen cellar, he crossed the Pinot Noir and Cinsault noir (or 'Hermitage' as it was known) grape cultivars to create the first Pinotage seedlings.
In 1927 he took up a position at the KWV in the Paarl and left the four seedlings he cultivated in the garden. Through a twist of fate, a young colleague of Perold, Charlie Niehaus, cycled past Perold's former residence, and was just able to save the four seedlings where university workers were cleaning the garden. Niehaus was able to save the seedlings and were re-established at the Elsenburg Agricultural College.
In the mid-1930s, Perold enthusiastically supported the potential of this new variety. The first Pinotage wine, by CT de Waal, was made in 1941.
Innovation
Ms Anita Nel, Chief Director: Innovation and Business Development, says Innovus, SU's innovation and technology transferring entity, is excited about the release of the wine. “We decided to make the wine available online to offer it to our alumni nationally.
“Alumni and friends of the 肆客足球 will also soon by able to buy SU's centenary publication, , Stellenbosch 肆客足球 100: 1918-2018, via Takelot, and we are also aiming for clothing with the SU brand and a wider range of our wine cellar's products to be made available online in this way."
- Liaise with Ms Lizane Füzy at tel 021808 4193 or e-mail efuzy@sun.ac.za for more information.
- Read more on origin of the Pinotage grape at www.pinotage.co.za/origin-of-the-grape (used as source for this article)
- Photo: Mr Riaan Wassung, winemaker of the Welgevallen Cellar and Prof Willie Perold, Vice-Dean: Research and Industry Liaison, Faculty of Engineering and grandson of Prof AI Perold (Photo: Stefan Els)
* Stellenbosch 肆客足球, via Innovus, is in keeping with the latest innovation and not only uses Takealot as a point of sale for products, but recently also became the second university in the world to market non-student accommodation online through AirBnB.?
