Pink sparkling wines are all the rage. It’s especially a great rig-out for dainty pinot noir.

French champagne has upped the rosé stakes, following demand and fashion, and you’ll notice most of the grandes marques now have a pink in their line-up - and, because of popularity, there’s a premium to the pricing too. South Africa’s smart MCC producers have quickly picked up, opening up a delightful playfield.

The last year or two saw a parade of newly dressed-up sparklers in pink. Included are a top-of-the-range vintage version from Pieter Ferreira at the Graham Beck outfit (joining the NV), a new house-mate in pink for good, hard-selling Pongrácz, and a funky, delicious pinotage-based Simonsig renamed Kaapse Vonkel Brut Rosé 2007. There were also new pinks from Philip Jonker, Boschendal and L’Avenir.

These were all sharp choices for the year-change festivities. (Those pinotage-inspired Simonsig and L’Avenir versions are a spanking match for fresh West Coast crayfish. And a walk on a private beach with a flute of the GB 07, spirit-lifting.)

But for something edgy and singular, the recently-released Steenberg 1682 Pinot Noir 2006 provided good colour, bubbles and talk. John Loubser is clearly sharpening his skills as bottle-fermented wine master, giving scope to expression. In this case, the pinot noir is from a small, well-established patch up the hill from the Steenberg winery (within view from outside seats at the new Bistro). A dash of chardonnay was added.

The wine is quite steely, yet perfumed and yeasty - with a soft berry sweetness that winemaker JD Pretorius agrees reminds somewhat of pinotage aromatics. Yet it is the individual colour that makes the wine a stand-out. Altogether luscious.

*That’s JD cooling the bubbles at Steenberg’s Bistro 1682.