Old Vines Are Worth Preserving

Ever noticed those vineyards that almost look forgotten or neglected? Moss creeping over thick, scruffy trunks with little foliage, spotted while you cruise through a wine region? Those might be the vines we call old vines, or vieilles vignes to the French, vigne vecchie to the Italians, vinhas velhas to the Portuguese.

What are old vines anyway? To this day there is no official ruling. The rough consensus is that a vine of about 35 years and older counts as old. Vines between 30 and 35 are often uprooted: they have supposedly seen their best days, yields slowly drop, and in the end they become less commercially valuable. Or do they? So, why are old vines worth preserving?

Set foot in a vineyard full of gnarly old vines and you are stepping right into history. These vines are witnesses of their region, with a valuable memory stored in those thick trunks, especially the pre-phylloxera ones that are over 100 years old. So how old is an old vine, exactly?

How Old Is an Old Vine?

As a rule, we could say a vine starts "becoming old" at 35. Learning that hit me right in the face, seeing as I am already 36 turning 37, and do not consider myself old. That general age of 35 is based on unofficial classifications and mentions in several countries, with no exact evidence or science behind it. The most probable reason for the cut-off is that once a vine reaches that age it produces lower yields, becomes commercially less attractive, and gets uprooted, usually somewhere between 30 and 35.

Because there was no worldwide classification, Australian Wine notes that "how old is old? The answer is not clear-cut and varies around the world, even from region to region. However, it is important to note that grapevines can live over 125 years. And after adolescence (their first 20 or so years), the vines' yields start to decrease."

That gap is exactly why the Barossa Old Vine Charter was created in 2009. It sorts old vines into four categories:

• Old Vines: 35+ years
• Survivor Vines: 70+ years
• Centenarian Vines: 100+ years (pre-phylloxera)
• Ancestor Vines: 125+ years (pre-phylloxera)

What makes old vines so remarkable? They have a well-developed root system that reaches deep into the more complex lower soils, giving them access to deep ground water and micronutrients. That makes them more resilient to vintage struggles, drought and rain floods, which matters more and more in the face of climate change.

As they age, they grow less vigorous and produce fewer shoots and less foliage. They develop thicker trunks, which carry greater sap flow and let the foliage-to-fruit ratio settle into a better balance for optimal ripening. All of it points towards higher-quality wine.

Do Old Vines Make Higher-Quality Wine?

Answering this is complex, and it means something different to everyone. According to Yiannis Karakasis MW: "It would be reasonable to assume that grapes that satisfy optimal values for pH, TA, total soluble solids, phenolics and anthocyanin concentrations are likely to produce a higher quality wine than grapes that do not. While there are many ways to describe quality, without excluding the personal factor, one could identify eight key elements assessed to illustrate the final perception of wine on the palate: balance, length, intensity, complexity, character, concentration, ageability, and typicity."

Winemaker and grower Tegan Passalaqua confirms it. In a recent presentation on his wines under the Turley Wine Cellars and Sandlands labels, he explained how consistently the analysis backs it up.

“The older the vine, the better chemistry of wines, which is something we constantly prove with our own analysis of components such as phenolics and pH.”Tegan Passalaqua, Turley Wine Cellars and Sandlands

You can just as easily get an incredible wine from five-year-old vines. But it is that extra sensation, that mind-blowing experience, that true character of terroir which comes from vines that are 50 or even 100 years old. Old-vine wine is not necessarily bigger, better, richer or bolder. It simply expresses the essence of its terroir with more finesse.

Australian Wine puts it well: "Old vines don't automatically produce better wine than young vines, there are plenty of other factors at play, including climate, region, and winemaking techniques. But if everything else is right, old vines can produce wines of great finesse, depth, and balance. So, vine age can be an indicator of potential quality, but it's not a guarantee." The old vine's root structure and trunk thickness encourage diversity of flavour and character, adding structure, flavour intensity and concentration, and making the wines eligible for long-term ageing.

Commercial Viability With Emotional Value

You could argue an old vine is not commercially viable anymore, and in a way you would be right. The price of grapes is based on the weight and quantity a vine produces. An old vine produces less fruit, so less wine, so less turnover, right? Well, I beg to differ. It is commercially beneficial to keep your old vines healthy and producing, because higher prices are often paid for old-vine grapes in the first place.

Another thing to consider: an old vine can stay in the ground for a very long time, asks for minimal intervention, and is often dry-farmed. That means little to no cost replanting every 30 to 35 years, only replacing the vines that die. With every passing decade, old vines become a more reliable source of consistent, high-quality grapes.

Look at it from a marketing angle. Wine consumers today are looking for something different, something special, the next new thing. You add emotional value the moment "old vines" or "vieilles vignes" appears on the label. It automatically implies a better-quality wine, and consumers are willing to pay more for the experience. This premiumisation trend makes old vines commercially more interesting, not less.

How Do Old Vines Prepare Us for a Changing Climate?

It is remarkable to think that these old vines have survived for decades. In their lifetime they have endured wildfires, earthquakes, floods, droughts, even freezes. That points to an incredible genetic adaptability, and it offers us invaluable lessons in vine resilience. Old vines hold an important key to their own survival.

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Dr Liz Thach MW wrote in Forbes that, on top of commercial viability, there is another reason to preserve ancient vineyards: sustainable viticulture and climate change. How do these old vines support sustainable practices and adapt to an ever-changing climate?

“The genetic material and diversity of old vineyards is proving to be a vital resource in the resilience and adaptation of our industry to climate change and disease.”Sarah Abbott MW, co-founder of The Old Vine Conference

Abbott continues that old vines "also teach many producers how to farm in a more sustainable and long-term way, as the agricultural craft they embody becomes more valued and recognised." Old vines have developed coping mechanisms for stressful situations like extreme drought, and that resilience is stored in their genetics and passed on to their offspring.

On top of that genetic memory bank, the South African Old Vine Project is developing a virus-free Heritage Selection of plant material in collaboration with Vititec, to take the industry into the next phase of plantings that can grow old, using genetic material from old vines. That is what makes old vines truly valuable.

The True Value of Old Vines

So, why are old vines worth preserving? Short answer: there is tremendous value in it. These vines can give us real insight into new viticultural techniques for dealing with climatic hazards like long heat waves, extreme droughts and wet, high-pressure disease years, all consequences of climate change.

Their strong genetics can give us stronger new plant material through propagation: a new generation of vines that handles the swings between vintages better. They can be dry-farmed, because they know how to deal with their environmental threats and still produce a reliable crop every year. These vines can teach us how to care for our vineyards over the long term, which makes sustainable practice more valued and more viable for the future.

It is now more important than ever to learn from old vines and make that commercially valuable at the same time. Putting "old vines" on the label adds emotional value, which makes drinkers willing to pay more for the bottle. Old-vine wines resonate their terroir like a poem to be read. There is not much more I can add, other than this: old vines are just worth preserving.

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Written by

Margot van Lieshout DipWSET FWS RV

Wine marketeer, sales expert with over 20 years in the trade, public speaker and international wine judge. Thousands of wines scored from Steiermark to Ningxia, and a trade she knows from the inside out. Wine with Margot is where she helps wine brands tell the stories that sell them.

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