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To read the article as posted on scottishfield.co.uk click here 23 September 2018 Protecting old vines in South Africa not only reaps benefits during water shortages but also pays dividends for drinkers, as Peter Ranscombe reports. AS SOON as you land at Cape Town airport, it’s impossible not to be struck by how much the recent water shortages have hit the city, with posters inside the terminal warning visitors not to waste water. Check into a hotel and more notices procl

Here is the podcast of Andre Morgenthal's interview on CapeTalk on 20 September 2018: https://omny.fm/shows/the-john-maytham-show/old-vine-project

Afrikaans version below OLD VINES A SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN WINE INDUSTRY “An increased focus on South Africa’s old vines has accelerated an unprecedented interest from wine thought leaders around the world, in the country’s wine heritage and the industry itself, with wines made from fruit sourced from these heritage vines proving their mettle,” according to André Morgenthal of the Old Vine Project (OVP). He says that membership of the OVP has grown by leaps and

Some Great Reward: South Africa BY NEAL MARTIN | AUGUST 29, 2018 Wine regions are like vines. The more they struggle, the greater the reward. And let’s not beat about the bush, both South Africa and its wine industry endures more than its fair share of struggles. Apart from decades spent in the wilderness during apartheid, the country is riven by inequality where ramshackle, no-go townships spread for miles whilst armed guards protect hilltop mansions. Crime and violence ar

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Dit is Suid-Afrika se wynreus Danie de Wet wat altyd sê: “Om die inisiatief te neem, moet jy eers die mens se verbeelding aangryp.” En hier ter plaatse sit die land wraggies met ’n ding wat die verbeelding van die hele wynwêreld boei danksy enorme inisiatief, deursetting en blote geloof. Dit gaan oor ou wingerdstokke, daardie gewoonlik laaggroeiende, kortgat bonkige plante wat meer soos bonsai-kremetartbome lyk as iets waaraan korrels sappige wyndruiwe hoort te hang. Die rom

For a summary of the activities of the Old Vine Project, please have a look at the past newsletters: February 2018March 2018April 2018April 2018 - CHV seal launchJune 2018August 2018 To subscribe to the distribution list please sign up here.

“Sans chêne refers to a wine made without any oaking regime but it also means without chains,” says Johan Kruger as he describes their family journey from being confined to one site to now being free to work with vineyards cross regionally. With the precursor of granite as the common denominator, their wines tell a story of granitic soils across regions. The big move happened when he was offered the opportunity to make wine for Naked Wines, based in the UK and with their obj

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM2TSb2LzMI

A GSB team defeated rivals Stellenbosch in the 2018 Backsberg Vino Varsity Business School Challenge with its professional and meaningful solutions to an unusual challenge. Rivals UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) and Stellenbosch Business School (USB) squared off once again at the fourth annual Backsberg Vino Varsity Business School Challenge this June. The 2018 challenge required the competing teams to tackle an unusual topic: Do the marketing efforts of the Old Vine P

The 2018 International Wine Challenge Personality of the Year award winner Rosa Kruger is one of the world’s leading viticulturists, although she has no formal training and prefers the term ‘vineyard manager’. She started life as a political journalist, then became a lawyer before finally finding her life’s calling by chance when managing an apple orchard in a cool climate area that was touted as suitable for vineyards. With her characteristic sense of adventure she decided t

Rosa Kruger interviewed by Jacques Steyn, CWM on Soundcloud talking about the Old Vine Project.

Where did it all start? The very first and oldest remaining vineyard blocks were planted by the first settlers at the Cape. The vine cuttings arrived by ship from Europe and were transported inland by tradesmen. So, effectively, some blocks were often planted in stages at different times and to different varieties. Interestingly enough, these blocks were used not only for wine or raisins but sometimes more so for distilling. The subsequent ‘older vines’ (less than 80 or 60 y

In recognition of the vital importance our heritage vineyards and their unique wines play in the South African viticultural landscape, the Platter’s Wine Guide will be adding the CHV icon in the upcoming 2019 edition. This will clearly highlight to local and international wine lovers which wines are certified by the OVP, by adding the icon next to each Certified Heritage Vineyards wine. Currently the OVP has almost 40 members, increasing by the week. Potential members have

Rosa Kruger, well-known viticulturist, now the driving force behind the Old Vines Project was designated Wine Personality of the Year at the recent Cape Wine Academy and Institute of Cape Wine Masters gala dinner on Saturday, 5 May 2018, held at the award-winning restaurant Overture in Stellenbosch. She receives it for her dedication to training in the field of viticulture and her passion for the old vines in South Africa, a project that she has nurtured since 2002. She beli

Recently a special tasting of Old Vine wines was held in Stellenbosch. It was an event I did not want to miss – I had filmed an insert for CNN’s Inside Africa on the Old Vine project, walked through vines at sunrise, tasted cold grapes at harvest, lingered in cellars and conducted interviews with passionate wine-makers – without drinking a drop of the wine old vines produce. We had too much filming to accomplish to sit back with a glass in hand. Now that production was over,

The Old Vine Project Certified Heritage Certification Seal – A World First In all the winelands of the world, old vines get proudly mentioned on labels, in many languages. Such is the value everywhere accorded to old vineyards and the wines they produce. But only in one country, South Africa, is it possible for that claim to be certified by the regulatory authority. Here, members of the Old Vine Project (OVP) can now put a Certified Heritage Vineyards seal on bottles of wine

The Golden Age of Old Vines by Hein on Wine Age as a concept is central to definitions and descriptions, whether it is your own age, the age of your children, the age of a treasured possession or even a memory... Age is also important when it comes to wine and furthermore, the vine. Meeting up with an acquaintance in Germany recently, I was hosted to a tasting of wines made from 50 to 150 year-old vineyards. Suddenly it was about more than the maturation of the wine or the

PDF of Christine Austin write-up in Yorkshire Food_and_Wine For the article as published on Yorkshire.co.uk, click here.