A gnarly old grape vine in Spain.Matias Costa/The New York Times
Depending where the wine was made, a label advertising “old vines” can mean different things. There aren’t any universal standards or legal definitions to apply. Only voluntary designations that likeminded producers have developed to offer transparency for consumers.
Despite being seen as an effective marketing tool for some regions and certain grape varieties (including California Zinfandel, Garnacha from Spain, South African Chenin Blanc), old vines (“vieilles vignes” in French) aren’t a guarantee of quality.
But winemakers explain that old vineyards aren’t good because they are old, they are old because they are good. If the grape variety (or varieties as the case maybe) didn’t thrive at that site, another variety or different crop would have been planted in its place.
Vines aged between 50 and 100 years old are prized for their natural ability to balance quantity and quality. They produce lower crops of grapes (often less than a quarter or half the crop per hectare compared to youthful 10 year vines.) As a result, they yield smaller grapes, which have a higher solids to juice ratio, that result in wines with more concentrated and complex flavours.
Younger vines can be farmed to produce premium fruit, which requires more attention in the vineyard. Modern vineyards are often planted to allow tractors and other machines to assist with pruning, harvesting and other maintenance work.
But at what age is a vineyard considered to be old?
South Africa’s Old Vines Project documents vineyards that are 35 years or older, allowing wineries to affix special heritage vineyard labels on bottles displaying the year the vines were planted. The registry includes vineyards dating to 1900.
The industry sees mature vineyards as part of its heritage and supports the upkeep and marketing of the wines produced to keep them profitable.
The Old Vines Charter established in 2009 in the Barossa Valley uses the same 35-year threshold as the first ranking in a classification system that extends to vineyards that are 70, 100 and 125 years or greater.
In Chile, an association of producers has created Vigno (Vignadores de Carignan is the organization’s formal name) to celebrate red wines made from carignan vineyards that are at least 30 years old. The country’s wine industry also promotes old bush vine pais and moscatel planted in Maule and Itata. (Vineyards were first planted in Itata in the 1500s. Two-hundred-old-year old vines continue to thrive in the dry climate that keeps pests and diseases under control.)
Sustainable farming practices in many parts of the world means vineyards are systematically replanted with young vines to maintain sufficient crop levels to produce enough wine. Depending on the grape variety, yields dip to unsustainable levels between 30 and 45 years of age.
Ancient vines that have been cultivated for more than 100 years might only produce a few clusters, which means the wines produced need to fetch top dollar to make the farming and labour costs profitable.
In Canada, our extreme winters threaten the long term health of vines. There are parcels of vines planted in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s that have escaped winter damage and other vineyard maladies in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
It’s unlikely we will see 100 year vinifera vineyards in this country, but are already benefiting from propagating new plants from strong old vines that have survived for 40 or more years.
Vineyard workers are also learning how to change the grape variety of an existing vine by field grafting. It can be a more economical way to change a vineyard without replanting and the new variety benefits from a developed root system that has adapted to the soil conditions and has a symbiotic relationship to acquire necessary water and nutrients.
Old Vine designations aren’t part of the Vintners Quality Alliance regulations in British Columbia or Ontario. The term is left to the discretion of each winery, usually showing up on Canadian wines coming off established vines that are at least 25 years.