Oldest vine and what they mean for the grape Part 2 of 2

Continuing on from the last blog. The age of the vine has varying different effects on the grape and in turn the wine. For e.g. you are able to harvest old vines sooner as the tannins ripen sooner, though the yields of an old vine are low, compared to younger vines.

Old vines produce a steady grape. Young vines can produce a grape that is high in sugar and juice/water content, making a cordial like wine. Old vines can produce a grape that evenly distributes these attributes. Lastly an old vine has deeper roots, as a starting point the vines root can go down to 6 metres (20 feet) and laterally 9 metres (32 feet) and further still with ancient vines.

Deep roots benefit the grape as the vines can search for water deeper down in the soil during drought, while young vines struggle. When there is too much rain, the older roots don't soak up that much water whereas the younger vine will take in all this water and produce a very juicy grape.

Of course, all of this has an effect on the wine, so in saying all of this, get to know your regions, how old their vines are, keep an eye out on the vineyards weather and how their wine is made.

Does all this make a difference to the wine? Yes and No!
Yes, because old vines provide balance and No, because it depends on what the wine maker does with the juice to develop a great old vine wine.

Peace,

Cristian Sepulveda

Oldest vine and what they mean for the grape Part 1 of 2

It's been a while since my last blog, Easter came and went and my son's baptism also came and went. So a lot of family time over these last few weeks which is always great + some wine on the side.

These last few weeks, I've also been researching the oldest vines in Australia and this title goes to Yalumba in South Australia's, Barossa Valley.

We'll start with the Barossa Old Vine Charter. This charter was introduced so that the age of vines can be distinguished between the various ages of the vine itself, within the Barossa Region, i.e. at 35 years of age you get an Old Vine, 70 year old vine is a Survivor Vine, 100 year old vine is a Centenarian Vine, 125 year old vine is an Ancestor Vine.

Now, this isn't cemented, it's like "The Pirate's Code" in Pirates of the Caribbean. They're more like guidelines but can still be taken seriously. This is a great start, opposed to the the many laws in Europe. Here is the link to the video that explains in detail the Barossa Old Vine Charter.

Peace
Cristian Sepulveda