South Africa: the business case for old vines

“Keeping old vines in the ground is at the heart of what we are trying to get producers to do,” Cathy van Zyl MW told guests at a recent masterclass charting the success of South Africa’s Old Vines Project.

“However, old vines tend to give less fruit so we are also supporting growers with sustainable pricing models through our Certified Heritage Vineyards seal – a world’s first.”

According to van Zyl, this seal, launched in 2016, has recently hit a turning point in terms of being recognised by the wider trade, with “sommeliers around the world now asking specifically for old vine wines sporting this seal,” she said.

Old vines equals higher bottle price

Research carried out by Jonathan Steyn in 2018 showed that for every additional year a vine is in the ground, a producer can add an extra 3 Rand (13p) onto their bottle price. Given that “90% of South African wines are sold for less than 100 Rand (£4.56) per bottle, that’s a compelling argument for the business case of old vines, and one that is underscored by new listings about to land at key UK retailers (more on this later).

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