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Winners receive their awards from old vine pioneers and thought leadersā¦
The Old Vine Conference series:
galvanising a global movement to nurture and value great old vines, and their wines.
Whatās the issue with old vines?
Old vines are a beacon for talent, innovation and connection. The best old vines yield uniquely transcendent wines, incomparably rich in savour, symbolism, and heritage. The genetic material of ancient varieties, often retrieved from forgotten old vineyards, is proving vital in adapting to climate change.
Old vines have their valiant and inspirational champions in pockets around the world. But the global wine market does not structurally value old vines, or treat old vine wine as a premium category of rich and enduring worth.
The claim of āold vineā on wine labels is still dismissed by some wine communicators as unsubstantiated fluff. Our own qualitative research indicated that even highly engaged wine enthusiasts, and many wine professionals, are unaware of the value of and threat to old vines.
There is good news. Brilliant campaigns and collective action in places such as Lodi, the Barossa Valley, South Africa and Chile are raising awareness, and reaching wine enthusiasts. Researchers and viticulturists are improving viticultural understanding in how to grow healthy, viable old vines.
Yet the structure of the global wine industry stacks the odds against the regenerative commercial viability of old vines. As a result, healthy old vineyards of cultural resonance and unique qualitative potential are lost because they canāt be made to pay.
Why the Old Vine Conference Series?
The purpose of the Old Vine Conference is to bring together the wine industry, and wine lovers, to transform those odds.
We need to build a global wine category for Old Vine wines.
Our aims are to help share best practice, agree definitions, and implement new strategies from vineyard to glass. We want to ensure healthy old vineyards a valued and enduring place within the commercial realities of the global wine industry.
Ongoing dialogue, and action
The first conferences ran online through 2021, in March, June/July and December. Moderated discussions and interviews explored different challenges and barriers preventing the regenerative profitability of high quality old vines, and ideas were shared on how best to address them around the world.
Participants in the conferences included organisations, such as the South African Old Vine Project, and individuals, such as Lebanese winemaker Faouzi Issa whose dedication to Lebanonās old vine Cinsault catapulted his domaine, and that variety, to attention.
Moderators included skilled communicators and journalists such as Sarah Abbott MW, Tim Atkin MW, Jane Anson and Dr. Jamie Goode.