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Written by Maryke Roberts View the original article here. A unique initiative, the Old Vine Project (OVP) that aims to preserve old vines in South Africa, is yielding huge results. The project was launched by consultant vineyard manager, Rosa Kruger in 2016 after she searched for South Africa’s older gems for many years. South Africa has 92 067 hectares under vineyard, of which 3303 hectares are vineyards of 35 years and older, according to the SA Wine Industry and Systems (

Ambiguous but essential efforts to preserve vineyard heritage. Writer Rod Phillips Photographer Jennifer Latour View the original article here. The words “old vines” (and their equivalents in other languages) appear on wine labels from all over the world. They suggest (why use the term otherwise?) that wines made from grapes grown on old vines have qualities that wines made from young vines lack. The conventional wisdom is that once vines pass a certain age—say, 20–30 years—t

Written by Raphaela van Embden View the original article here. , or so the Greek proverb goes, conjuring up further inspirational poster sentiments. You know the kind. “Nature is cheaper than therapy” emblazoned on a snow-capped mountain vista or a forest canopy (probably making use of some serious Instagram filter action) with “The closest you’ll get to immortality” in all caps. It’s enough to make the most city-hardened of us set forth to pastoral pastures, a checkered kna

By Raphaela van Embden View the original article on wine.co.za We tend to think of the wine players in two categories: those of the bulk masses and the terroir die-hards. But occasionally you get those who bridge the divide, gaining firm footing in both. Such is the case for uniWines Vineyards, one of South Africa’s largest producers, who, with their Daschbosch brand, have managed to do this one unique move: they made old vine wines. I sat down with Pieter Cronje, Head of Ma

The Innovative Old Vine Project Aims to Preserve and Celebrate SA's Oldest Vines By Richard Holmes Read the original article here SA may fall into the so-called “new world” of wine, but its viticultural history stretches back more than 350 years. While none of those vineyards, planted where Cape Town’s suburb of Bishopscourt now stands, remain in the ground, the innovative Old Vine Project (OVP) aims to preserve — and celebrate — SA’s oldest vines. And the memorable wines th

Love wines from old vines By Stellenbosch on foot Read the original article here The early days His roots lie deep within Stellenbosch. He was sculpted, as regard education, first by Stellenbosch High School and later Stellenbosch University. The 1990’s marked a time when he was living life to its fullest. Upon arriving at Stellenbosch University open day, he spotted the Wine Culture Society information desk, paid his R200, and never looked back. He studied philosophy, lang

Proof that old vines add value By Michael Fridjhon Read the original article here Research from the University of Cape Town shows that using old vine fruit earns winemakers more money. This effort to quantify the gains, says Michael Fridjhon, will help keep these treasures alive. South Africa has finally discovered – and celebrated – its treasure trove of old vineyards. A country which typically renewed its plantings every 15 to 20 years, pretty much as soon as the yields beg

WOSA Old Vine Tutorial What is the driving force behind South African "Old Vines" and what value does the world first "Certified Heritage Vineyard" seal add to South African wines? Petra Mayer (WoSA Market Manager, Germany) hosted a Zoom Session on 27.07.2020 delivering compact background information about South African Old Vines together with André Morgenthal (Project Manager Old Vine Project) and Jo Wessels (Sommelier OPUS V Mannheim, Top-25 Sommelier (ASI,2020).

Cork Talk with Rosa Kruger During the latest episode of Cork Talk, Tim Atkin and Rosa Kruger discuss the factors that make a great vineyard, sites of the future and why the South African wine industry needs our help in these difficult times. The podcast is live on Podbean and Spotify

Mixing it up By Tim James

Jordan's old vine Chenin blanc - An ancestral timepiece Planted by Ted and Gary Jordan in 1983, this healthy vineyard, now in its prime, was one of the first to use single clone plant material, imported from France, and referred to as the 'Montpellier' clone. The rocky, granitic soils have cultural and historical significance due to the Acheulean (early stone age) hand axes found buried between the vines. The 2.97 ha vineyard is rooted on a cool and breezy south-facing aspec

Deux Frères - Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc Deux Frères is a boutique vineyard in the Simonsberg foothills of the famous Stellenbosch wine route. Their Sauvignon Blanc vineyard was planted by Martin Hunting in 1985. It is a 1ha portion of a larger block bordering Deux Frères, planted east to west and situated right next to a natural wetland. "Such a small patch with such diversity in flavour of the fruit makes for a wine with complex structure and real expression of terroir." sa

Duwweltjie by Thistle and Weed Planted in 1961 by horse-plough by the growers grandfather, massive koffieklip stones were removed during the planting and used to make a wall which can be seen nearby. The Chenin blanc vines are beautiful, stand like trees and are covered in lichen. Planted in a duplex sand and clay soil this vineyard is particularly resilient and benefits from a cooling afternoon breeze in the peak of summer. And as the wine’s name implies, the vineyard is cov

Wines of South Africa: Old Vine Podcast Wines of South Africa (WOSA) has launched a series of podcast. In each episode they talk to a selection of winemakers, winery owners, and other members of South Africa's wine industry to learn more about South African wine. In this episode WOSA takes a look not at a specific region or grape variety, but at grapevines - old vines, specifically. Some of South Africa's best wines come from vines aged 35, 50, or many decades older than tha

Chamonix’s Old Vine Chenin Blanc Vineyard The vineyard was planted in 1965, some 35 years before the late Chris Hellinger bought Chamonix. He set about implementing his vision of creating a wine estate on the mountains of the Franschhoek Valley, and accordingly had to remove a lot of fruit-orchards and plant new vines, as the farm had never in its history focussed on wine production alone. Why he decided to keep this one Chenin Blanc vineyard, nobody quite knows. Some vintage

Goeie bestuur is nodig vir gesogte ouwingerd-status Deur Lucille Botha Baie dinge moet reg loop as jy ’n wingerd 35 jaar of langer wil laat oorleef – en laat floreer. Produsente moet egter seker maak hulle identifiseer belowende wingerde wat sulke gesogte ou wingerde kan word, betyds en bestuur dit reg.

Six Summer Beauties from Handford Wines MoneyWeek Wine Club introduces Six Summer Beauties from Handford Wines, including a Chenin Blanc and Grenache from Naudé Family wines.

André Morgenthal and how the Old Vine Project is saving South Africa's heritage vines By Christopher Barnes The Old Vine Project is an organization that was created to preserve South Africa's heritage vineyards. Over the past two decades many South African wineries had been pulling out old vineyards due to the low yields and generally challenging economics surrounding old vines. The Old Vine Project identified 3,505 hectares of vineyards with a vine age of over 35 years and

Betaal druifboere 100 keer die bottle prys Deur Lucille Botha Hoewel wynboere al die risiko dra, is dit dikwels die wynmakers of -kelders wat wegstap met die wins wat ouwingerdwyn bring. Die geld móét teruggaan na die grond toe om die volhoubaarheid van dié kategorie te verseker.

CERTIFIED HERITAGE VINEYARDS SHINES IN THE PRESCIENT REPORTS Media release by Winemag 18 June 2020 Prescient Chenin Blanc Report 2020 now live – Is this South Africa’s strongest wine category? The inaugural Chenin Blanc Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 88 wines from 57 producers entrered, and this proved to be an extraordinarily strong line-up. In addition to the Top 10, a further 57 ra