The Pinotage Festival 2026

The Pinotage Festival returns to Singapore for its second edition — 13–21 September, extending into October with Pinotage Takes Over. This year's theme, 101 Years On: Pinotage, the Shapeshifter, marks 101 years since the grape was first bred in Stellenbosch.

Guided throughout by Annette Scarfe MW, the festival opens with four representative wines — B Vintners Méthode Ancestrale Pét Nat, Illimis Pinotage, Beeslaar Pinotage and Survivor Cellar Master Series "Reunion" — a starting point into the broader range explored across a blending workshop, masterclass and wine dinner.

The Pinotage Festival: Pinotage Masterclass — 8 Expressions, 8 Wineries

Pour eight glasses of the same grape side by side and something strange happens: you stop tasting "a Pinotage", and start tasting eight entirely different decisions — different soils, different hands, different ideas about what this grape is even for.

Guided by Annette Scarfe MW, you'll taste through eight distinct expressions of Pinotage from eight South African wineries — sparkling, light, bold and blended — all in one sitting, poured in an order built to tell the fullest story.

This isn't a broad South African wine survey. It's a focused, comparative deep dive into a single grape variety — built for anyone curious enough to want the real answer to "why does Pinotage have such a reputation?"

About Your Guide

Annette Scarfe MW is one of only 413 Masters of Wine worldwide, and the first and only female MW based in Singapore. She earned the title in 2012, winning the Noval Award for her dissertation on Ribera del Duero. Before wine, she spent years in corporate banking in Singapore — a career she left to pursue the Master of Wine qualification full-time. Today she's Global Chair of the Events Committee at the Institute of Masters of Wine, judges internationally for the Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge, and has called Singapore home for almost 30 years.

Event Details

Pricing

  • Early Bird (book by 31 August 2026): $90+/pax
  • Regular (from 31 August 2026): $98+/pax

Who This Is For

  • Wine enthusiasts who want to go deeper than a casual tasting
  • Anyone who prefers a structured, side-by-side tasting to a free-pour mingle

$98.00
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The Pinotage Festival 2026

Which shape calls to you? Four ways to explore South Africa's own variety.

Experience 1: A Masterclass on Pinotage led by Annette Scarfe MW

Taste eight distinct expressions of Pinotage from eight different South African wineries at Kafe Utu, guided by Annette Scarfe MW — from sparkling through to structured, restrained through to bold. A rare chance to taste one grape's full range side by side.

13 Sept, 3-5pm

Level up my Knowledge!

Experience 2: Wine Dinner hosted by Annette Scarfe MW

A multi-course dinner at Tamba, hosted by Annette Scarfe MW, pairing Pinotage's full range with dishes inspired by West African cuisine and South African wines. Big flavours, great company, and a very special night out.

16 Sept, 7pm onwards

Register your interest

Secure my seat!

Experience 3: A Pinotage Blending Workshop guided by Annette Scarfe MW

Build your own Cape Blend at Praelum, guided by Annette Scarfe MW — Pinotage as your compulsory base, working through your own permutations at your own pace. Name your blend and enjoy a glass of it at the end of the session.

19 Sept, 2-4pm

Make a Cape Blend!