As an official member of The Old Vine Project we’re proud to announce the inaugural Old Vine Day this year (and every year after from now on), on the 1^st of August 2022, this being the founding date of the OVP in 2016.

Rosa Kruger, vineyard manager and founder of the OVP, began to catalogue old vines in 2002. Since the formal launch of the OVP six years ago, the organisation has gone from strength to strength, with close to 130 members and over 250 Certified Heritage Vineyard (CHV) wines now released each vintage.

“Old vines are a phenomenon that has captured the attention of the global wine world. Wines that are made from old vines are a tribute to the grower’s love of his or her land. They exist because of the people who touched and tended them over many years. In South Africa, producers can certify old vine vineyards and wines with the Old Vine Project (OVP).

South Africa has the advantage that our vineyard plant dates can be verified by the South African Wine Industry Information Systems (SAWIS) back to 1900. This extraordinary database has been instrumental in the existence of the OVP and its guarantee of traceability.

Members of the OVP apply for the Certified Heritage Vineyards seal for wine made from vineyards of 35 years or older, together with the planting date. This is a guarantee to the consumer of authentic wines made according to the OVP viticultural and winemaking guidelines.

The journey to document South Africa’s old vines was started in 2002 by vineyard manager, Rosa Kruger. The OVP was formalised in 2016 with seed funding from the Rupert Foundation. Today, with traction gained and awareness spreading, more wines are being launched to augment the OVP’s footprint.” – as the official project overview reads.

We’re celebrating our eldest – Raaigras Grenache (planted in 1952 – 70 this year!)

but we proudly honour the other old blocks that we work with too

Images are screengrabs from the latest draft of our edited Single Vineyard Wines’ fact sheet – a collaboration between our team and Yehbaby Design in Paarl.

So there you have it, being over 35 doesn’t only put you in the middle age box (35-45 I mean really…) but also groups you with what is considered Heritage… Cheers!