(TDB) - Members of the wine trade and press gathered at Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex for the planting of the first Pinotage vineyard in the UK yesterday, a nod to owner Penny Streeter OBE and the Benguela Collection’s South African connections.

Streeter, a Zimbabwe-born British/South African entrepreneur, purchased the Leonardslee Gardens estate, which comprises some 200 acres, in July 2017. The Pinotage vineyard will now form part of the Benguela Collection which also includes Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate (also in West Sussex) along with the Benguela Cove Wine Estate in South Africa’s Walker Bay, as well as four restaurants and a hotel on the Garden Route.

The new Pinotage planting, comprising 0.5 hectares, brings the Collection’s total area under vine in England to 16 hectares, planted with 66,000 vines.

Mannings Heath, three miles away from Leonardslee, was planted in 2017 with Chardonnay (60%), Pinot Noir (30%) and Pinot Meunier (10%). Benguela is aiming to produce 75,000 bottles annually, focusing primarily on English sparkling wine with a small volume of still red Pinotage, if the grape takes to the conditions. The first crop is expected in 2020 with the first wines are due to be released in 2023.

At the planting, Johann Fourie, cellar master for Benguela Cove both in South Africa and the UK, explained why he had chosen to experiment with Pinotage.