Bellingham Pinopasso – The Grill Master’s Secret Weapon

Step it up a notch this Memorial Day weekend with the Bellingham Pinopasso.

80% Pinotage and 20% Shiraz from Western Cape, South Africa. The wine is made in the Appassimento method and uses 70% very ripe grapes and 30% raisinated grapes. It has residual sugar of 9 grams/Liter.

This review is brought to you by Wine Spoken Here.

The Bellingham Pinopasso has an SRP of $18.99 is available for as low as $12. Imported by Pacific Highway Wines & Spirits. Sample submitted for review.

From the bottle:

South Africa’s unique Pinotage variety made in the Appassimento method as a tribute to the Italian prisoners of war who lived and worked at Bellingham. Succulent red berry and sweet spice flavours for smooth drinking on its own or with mushroom risotto or veal Parmigian.

14% Alcohol

The key to a great grilling wine is not only one that will pair with your menu, but also a wine that you can sip and savor with friends while you admire each other’s grilling prowess and knowledge. And with the unofficial kick-off of grilling season coming with Memorial Day weekend, we’ve got your secret weapon. A bit on the sweeter side and loaded with sophistication, this blend of Pinotage and Shiraz from South Africa not only offers the perfect drink, but plenty to talk about at as well.

Made in a similar method to Amarone and Ripasso wines of Italy (see this post for more on that), the 2014 Bellingham Pinopasso offers Italian sophistication along with a crowd-pleasing character. Blackberry, sweet spice, mint, licorice, vanilla and coffee predominate on the very aromatic nose. The wine tastes silky smooth and is filled with smoky spice and sweet succulent fruit. I absolutely love the use of raisinated fruit here as it adds a level of flavor you can’t otherwise achieve. I’m not normally a fan of sweeter wines but when they have as much character as this one you can’t help but love it. Sweet berry fruit lingers for an extremely long time on the finish. Bulk Buy!

See a listing of local retailers selling the Bellingham Pinopasso here.