Would you pay more for a wine if you know it came from old vines?
This is the crucial question for the Old Vine Conference, which held an industry gathering in California this week for about 100 people. There was a lot of preaching to the converted: industry folks, including me, went because we like both the wines and their story. California has grapevines planted at the same time that Thomas Edison was patenting the lightbulb, years before radio was invented.
Imagine the people planting those vines! No lights but lanterns to work by. Tractors didn't exist. The farmers had likely never been in an automobile; they used horses to carry grapes to wineries and wines to market. Those same thick, gnarled vines might still be tended by the great-great-great-grandchildren of the men who planted them.
Now, imagine a consumer in a store in 2025 looking at two bottles of wine, one for $35 and one – made from those historic vines – for $75. Which will he/she buy?
Are old vine wines better?
A study released last week by University of Zaragoza in Spain on the Campo de Borja region showed that Garnacha grapes from old vines had chemical compounds that lead to more black-fruit than red-fruit aromas, and more aromatic complexity.
Is that better? It's different, but we're in a world where a lot of people don't actually want more complexity. Vodka-tonic remains a popular drink; Pinot Grigio remains a top-selling wine.
"A lot of consumers who are buying in supermarkets are looking for consistency and might be looking for that taste profile and that's not what old vines are about; they're about diversity," said Peter Granoff MS, co-proprietor of Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco.
"Consumers will sometimes ask us, if they're contemplating a membership in our wine club, can you guarantee me that I will like all the wines?" Granoff said. "The answer is no. We're celebrating diversity of wines, and we want to get people to appreciate wine that way." But he has to sell that concept as well as the wines.
The wine trade – buyers, importers, sommeliers, etc. – doesn't think old vines are especially important, according to a Wine Opinions survey. Only 47 percent of wine professionals think "old vines" are a "strong indicator of quality" when promoting a wine. This ranks below estate-bottled (51 percent), sustainable vineyard practices (54 percent) and appellation reputation (61 percent). It also ranks below "long-established winery reputation" (62 percent), which shows that the building matters more than the farm.
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