Is there any viticultural term that calls up such reverence as “Old Vines”? Whether “Vieilles Vignes” in French, the German equivalent, “Alte Reben”, “Viti Vecchie” in Italian, or the Spanish “Viñas Viejas”, this two-word designation on a wine label means distinction, pedigree, and unique terroir-expressive quality.

As the wine world celebrates Old Vine Day on August 1st, Westgarth Wines spoke with three distinguished experts on what makes these amazing vines and wines so special and the challenges ahead for their esteemed place in our cellars and glasses.

First, some background to these formidable vines and the wines they produce.

Founded in 2021, The Old Vine Conference (OVC) has defined the minimum age for Old Vines as 35 years. As the organization continues to grow in momentum and influence, this could become the wine sector benchmark. To date there is no international, legal criterion that defines Old Vines, with usage varying widely by producer and region. However, there is an unofficial guide about this esteemed category.

• In some regions, “Old Vines’ generally refers to vines that are, at least, 25 years old
• 35–50 years are usually referred to as “Mature”
• In Barossa, the above age bracket is also called “Survivor”
• 70–100-plus years are termed "Ancient," "Heritage," or "Centennial" vines
• Old Vines are sometimes called “Historic” or “Veteran” vines

A sip of Old Vine wine is unmistakable. Flavors are concentrated, complex, and reflect a precise and profound sense of place. Building blocks like acidity and tannins are balanced, rounded, and seamless. What is it about Old Vines that creates such exquisite wines?

• Lower grape yields
• Greater flavor and structure concentration
• Deep, stable root systems with effective access to water and minerals
• Exceptional expression of vintage and terroir

One of the few Chartered Marketers in the wine business and a holder of the prestigious DipWSET, Belinda Stone is the marketing director of the Old Vine Conference. This is a platform for growers, producers, and wine lovers committed to championing Old Vine wines and safeguarding their qualitative, cultural, and ecological value. An umbrella organization for a podcast, field trips, and a symposium, with the 2025 event taking place in California this fall, the aim is to bring together a global network of Old Vine expertise.

What do Old Vines mean to you?

In an increasingly commodified world, Old Vines and the wines they produce represent heritage, quality, and authenticity. They connect us to a deeper story of place, people, and persistence. The mission of The Old Vine Conference is simple but powerful: to create a new category for Old Vine wines by building a global community that protects, values, and promotes the cultural, environmental, genetic, and economic significance of these vineyards.

Why do heritage vineyards matter?

Heritage vineyards are irreplaceable assets. They hold decades of knowledge and, in the right hands, create wines of character, depth, and origin. But they matter way beyond the glass. They preserve genetic diversity, cultural identity, and sustainable farming traditions that we risk losing forever if we don’t act now.

What are the key challenges and opportunities in working with Old Vines today?

The biggest challenge is economics. Old vines are often less productive, making them harder to justify in purely commercial terms, especially in a market driven by volume and efficiency. But that’s also the opportunity. With smart, consistent storytelling and a strong community of producers and advocates, we can shift the focus from yield to value, positioning Old Vines as a globally recognized quality marker that aligns with today’s values of authenticity, sustainability, and heritage.

Acclaimed Argentine vigneron and wine writer, Laura Catena, is the Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata in Mendoza, and the founder and head of the Catena Institute of Wine. Renowned for the institute’s research into high-altitude Malbec, Laura also has firm views on the Old Vines in her family bodega’s holdings, with the oldest site, their Angélica Vineyard (named after her paternal grandmother), planted at some point between 1922 and 1924.

What do Old Vines mean to you and your estate?

The Angélica vineyard is planted with a massale, genetically diverse selection of ungrafted Malbec vines that came to Argentina in the 19th Century before the phylloxera epidemic. Today, most of the world’s vineyards are planted with clones, so these genetically diverse, heritage vines that we have in our family are precious – we call them the family heirlooms. We have planted the massale selection from Angélica in all of our vineyards, and we think these vines are an essential part of the distinctive flavor of our family’s Malbecs. These vines not only represent a moment in history but are also a world reservoir of genetic diversity.  

How do your Old Vine wines differ from those made from younger vines?

In general, Old Vines make concentrated wines because of their low yields, and because all the vines in the vineyard have been together for so long, the ripening is more even, which makes for beautifully balanced wines.

What are the key challenges and opportunities in working with Old Vines today?

Old Vines are, generally, lower yielding than younger vines, and usually, as time goes by, some vines in an Old Vine vineyard might die and need to be replaced by a branch of an adjacent mother vine that is buried underground so that it can make its own new root system. Old Vine vineyards are very resilient due to their deep root systems, but for a producer that is selling their grapes at bulk prices, it is tempting to pull them out and replant. The key challenge is to be able to use the grapes from an old vineyard for a higher-priced wine, which can cover the higher cost. I genuinely think that most people would be willing to pay 10 to 20% more for a wine made from Old Vines – something that allows these vines to live a long life. Old Vine vineyards maintain not just themselves but a whole ecosystem. I think they deserve to live a long life (like humans do) and not to be pulled out as soon as their productivity starts falling.

Second-generation winemaker at the eminent Barolo estate G.D. Vajra, Giuseppe Vaira crafts wines in what is often described as a Burgundian style, from the Piemonte region’s star grape Nebbiolo alongside regional varietals like Barbera, Dolcetto, and Freisa. While the winery was established in the late 1960s by Giuseppe’s father, Aldo, many of its vineyards have been in the family’s possession since the 1920s. These Centennial Vines are core to the character and identity of G.D. Vajra’s wine range.

What do Old Vines mean to you and your estate?

Farming Old Vines is an immense honor and privilege. It is an honor, because we can't be thankful enough to our parents and to all those vintners who protected and respected these vines for the generations to come. And it is a privilege, because it allows us to produce wines of depth, complexity, and poetry in a way that no winemaking technique would ever make possible.

How do your Old Vine wines differ from those made from younger vines?

It is a viticultural difference first of all. Vigor is reduced, yields are naturally lower, and therefore we end up with an easier balance of crop in the vineyard. Also, we tend to observe more resilience to weather elements and in the fruit at harvest. In terms of winemaking, we usually have smaller berries and thicker skins, which are exciting to run in long macerations.

Overall, the wines obtained from Old Vines result in more layered wines with silkier tannins and a profound voice.

What are the key challenges and opportunities in working with Old Vines today?

We would love for people to understand the beauty, challenges and complexities of farming Old Vines, more and more, as we believe this would induce a greater appreciation of the wines made from such vines.

The Old Vine Registry is a global database, accessible to the public, that documents Old Vine vineyards. The objective is to safeguard and promote the world’s heritage vines. Brought into being by a team of accomplished wine professionals, it is maintained by The Old Vine Conference. The database contains over 4,000 entries from 39 countries, featuring details like vine age, location, grape variety, and grower. The registry aims to catalog 10,000 entries by the middle of 2027, with anyone who loves Old Vines welcome to suggest vineyards via its website.

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