WINNERS REVEALED: OLD VINE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITiON 2026!
Images from Australia, Bolivia and Spain take top honours as the Old Vine Conference reveals its first ever Photography Competition winners on Old Vine Day.
The Old Vine Conference has today announced the winners of its inaugural Old Vine Photography Competition, on Old Vine Day, 15 July 2026. The competition attracted 272 entries from photographers around the world across four categories: Landscape and Plants, People, Cultural Legacy, and Resilience and Adaptation and received a collective total of 3,664 votes from around the world. The competition is sponsored by the Consorzio of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.
Launched in March 2026 as a global call to raise the visibility of the world's oldest vineyards, the competition drew entries from amateur and professional photographers around the world, united by a passion for documenting old vine viticulture and the communities working to sustain it.
Executive Director of the OVC, Belinda Stone comments: "Photography has the power to move people in a way words alone can’t and turn something like old-vines, which can be complicated, into a subject anyone can feel and begin to understand at a glance. This competition highlights what photography can do for the old vine movement: create a
simple and emotive bridge to connect wineries and their old vines to the end consumer."
THE CATEGORY WINNERS
LANDSCAPE & PLANTS
Winner of Landscape & Plants category: ‘Langmeil Freedom 1843’ by Dragan Radocaj (entered by James Lindner), Barossa Valley, Australia
Taken in the Barossa Valley, this photograph captures the Freedom 1843 Shiraz vine at Langmeil Winery - at 183 years old, one of the oldest known producing Shiraz vines in the world.
“The camera lens successfully captures the etched crevices, long spurs and muscular enough trunk indicative of age, like the face of a wily 90-year-old man or sharp-eyed 100-year-old woman. Of course, knowing that it is a 183-year-old Shiraz makes it even more impressive; particularly the cluster sizes, demonstrating that old or ancient vines also exist for this reason: because these vines are still vigorous enough to produce a healthy crop. There is a lot ‘here’ here.” Randy Caparoso, Head Judge
PEOPLE
Winner of People category: ‘Dionisia Portal’ by Tim Atkin MW, Cinti Valley, Bolivia
Tim Atkin MW photographed Dionisia Portal among her family’s historic arboreal vines in Bolivia’s remote Cinti Valley - vines estimated to be over 200 years old, growing varieties including Listán Prieto, Moscatel de Alejandría and Vischoqueña.
“Historic old vines do something to people. This image captures exactly that - pure, unguarded happiness. I can’t help but smile when I look at this picture.” Luma Monteiro, Judge
CULTURAL LEGACY
Winner of the Cultural Legacy category: ‘Diversity that transcends a generation’ | Patricia Mendoza, Camargo, Bolivia
Patricia Mendoza’s image documents a vitiforestry system in Camargo, Nor Cinti, where 200-year-old Negra Criolla/Misionera vines coexist with diverse crops in a centuries-old tradition of polyculture. An amateur entry, it speaks to the depth of living agricultural heritage still practised in the region.
“Colourful depiction, like that of a painter’s arrangement, of this centuries-old culture of wine and food, ‘sustainable’ long before the word was coined. The ladder suggests a culinary culture as deeply engrained as spiritual traditions; the baskets of bounty the vitiforestry system’s way of feeding the soul, mind, body and heritage.” Randy Caparoso, Head Judge
RESILIENCE & ADAPTATION
Winner of the Resilience & Adaptation category: ‘Vines under snow’ by Jorge Miret (entered by Sharon Elizabeth Wade), Aragon, Spain
Photographed during Storm Filomena in January 2021, when temperatures plunged to - 19°C, this image shows an 80-year-old Garnacha field blend vineyard at El Escoscés Volante in Aragon enduring one of the most extreme weather events in recent Spanish history.
“There is just enough golden rather than harsh light to amplify the age of the vine. The rocky moonscape terroir highlights the age-old tradition of cultivating grapevines in extreme or low vigour sites, only emphasising the ‘miracle’ of old vines surviving against the odds.” Randy Caparoso, Head Judge
OVERALL WINNER!!
Overall Winner as chosen by Head Judge Randy Caparoso: ‘Diversity that transcends a generation’ by Patricia Mendoza
PRIZES
Patricia will receive the Grand Prize: A once-in-a-lifetime field trip with the Old Vine Conference to photograph and document some of the world’s most remarkable old vines including up to £500 towards travel costs and an all-expenses-paid on the ground excursion. An eye-opening immersion in the world of historic vineyards to capture breathtaking imagery and stories of ancient vines firsthand.
Category winners each receive lifetime membership to the Old Vine Conference, a case of old vine wines, a digital winner’s medal and international media exposure across wine, food and photography publications. Winning images will be showcased at Old Vine Conference and partner events and featured across the competition’s website, social media and educational platforms.
Winning images are available for media use. Please credit the photographer in full and include www.oldvines.org.
With thanks to the Judges:
The judging panel
Randy Caparoso - Head Judge, Wine Journalist, Author and Photographer
Diego Tomasi - Director, Consorzio di Tutela del Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG
Jason Ingram - Award-Winning Member of the Association of Photographers
Luma Monteiro - Wine Judge, Buyer and Wine Communicator
Belinda Stone - Executive Director, The Old Vine Conference
Our Headline Sponsor
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is a protected wine area in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy and the historic heart of the most premium expression of Prosecco. Officially recognised in 1969, its hillside vineyards represent a striking example of heroic viticulture, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage cultural landscape.