Our Wines
Meerkat Pinotage 2011
"SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST GREGARIOUS WINE"
Gregarious, adj : 1, fond of company 2, living in flocks or communities
Fresh, fun and funky, our cheeky Meerkat Range offers you the opportunity to enjoy wine of discernable quality at an affordable price. Only the finest grapes are hand selected and no corners are cut to produce these special wines. Freshness is paramount and our wines should display a fruity liveliness. Our oak selection is done to promote the wine’s natural mocca and toasty aromas. Vintage and region specific, our wines express the terroir of our farm.
Chemical Anaylysis
| Alcohol: | 14.5 |
| Residual Sugar: | 2.0 g/l |
| Total Acidity: | 6.15 g/l |
| pH: | 3.4 |
| Free Sulphur: | 38 mg/l |
| Total Sulphur: | 90 mg/l |
| Volatile Acidity: | 0.5 g/l |
Tasting Notes
A rich, juicy Pinotage with loads of sweet plum and black cherry characteristics, supported by sensuous mocca chocolate and soft vanilla. This lusty wine should be enjoyed with great food and great company.
Vinification
At Welbedacht, Pinotage is a core product for us and we make it with considerable care. Once the bunches have been hand selected in the vineyard. The whole grapes are then chilled in our special pre-cooling room for 24hrs, before being gently destemmed and crushed.
The crushed grapes are then allowed to cold soak overnight, before being inoculated with yeast. The grapes ferment in open cement fermenters for approximately 5 days at 25º C and are 'punched down' regularly by hand. The grapes are then pressed in our special basket press, before the wine is dry, and fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks. This practice preserves the wine’s fruity character and moderates spiciness as well as harsh tannin extraction.
All grapes come from the farm and we can truly say that the wine is grown, made, matured and bottled at Welbedacht.
Awards
- Best Value Award – Wine Magazine (2009 Vintage)
- WineMAG 4 Stars (2009 Vintage)
- ABSA Top 10 Winner (2009 Vintage)
- Gold Michelangelo International Wine Awards (2009 Vintage)


