Old Vine Project: Certified Heritage Vineyards

How to Complete

4 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 📜 1

   Touch the 124-Year-Old Vines That Survived Two Wars

   history Free

   Wellington Cinsault vineyard planted 1900

   Wellington has the oldest registered vineyard in South Africa. Cinsault planted in 1900. That's 124 years old. A 0.25-hectare plot that is the oldest commercial vineyard still producing. These vines survived phylloxera, two world wars, the KWV monopoly era, apartheid, and Day Zero drought in 2018. They are dry-farmed bush vines - no irrigation, roots 10 meters deep. They have outlived regimes, droughts, and economic collapses. Rosa Kruger started her quest in 2002 to catalog old vineyards. She found heritage vines hidden in forgotten corners: Skurfberg, Moutonshoek, Piekenierskloof, Wuppertal. She established the Old Vine Project in 2016 to protect vines at least 35 years old. The OVP seal is the world's first certification for old-vine wines. Drive to Wellington, 45 minutes from Cape Town. Ask at any wine shop or tasting room: "Where is the 1900 Cinsault vineyard?" The town knows it. It's a pilgrimage site for winemakers. When you find it, look at the gnarled, twisted trunks. These vines are older than your great-grandparents. Touch the bark (don't enter private property). This is living history. If the 1900 vineyard isn't accessible, visit Wolvenhoek Vineyards at the foot of Groenberg mountain - part of Old Vine Project, 35-year-old vineyards, accessible for tastings.

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   Taste Wine From Vines Rosa Kruger Saved From the Bulldozer

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   Old Vine Project certified wines

   In the 2000s, Rosa Kruger traveled farm to farm, convincing farmers not to rip out "unproductive" old vines. Many ignored her. Those who listened now have wines selling for 5-10x more per bottle than young-vine equivalents. Old vines naturally produce less fruit but infinitely more complex berries. Without those old vines, there would be no Columella, no Mullineux, no modern Swartland at all. Kruger literally saved the revolution. The Old Vine Project seal guarantees wine comes from vines 35+ years old. At present, 4,004 hectares classified - mostly Stellenbosch and Swartland. About 50% of OVP vines are Chenin Blanc. Look for: Mullineux Old Vines White, Leeu Passant Dry Red, RAAR Skin Contact Chenin Blanc, 22 Families Chenin Blanc Old Vine Certified, Swartland Winery Heritage Collection Oldest Bush Vine Chenin. At any tasting, ask: "Do you have Old Vine Project certified wines?" Look for the OVP seal on the bottle. Taste side-by-side: young-vine Chenin vs old-vine Chenin. The difference is profound - texture, complexity, minerality, length. Ask the winemaker: "How old are the vines for this wine?" Watch their face light up. Vine age is a religion here. If no OVP-certified wines available, visit Riebeek Valley Wine Co in Swartland - 22 growers with 3rd and 4th generation wine grape families, many with old certified vines. 100% Wine of Origin Swartland.

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3. ⛰️ 3

   Learn to Spot Ancient Vines in the Wild

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   Decode the secret language of bush vines

   Old bush vines look different from modern vineyards. No trellis wires - vines stand alone like bushes. Low to ground - maybe 60-80cm tall. Thick, gnarled trunks - sometimes wider than your thigh. Twisted growth - decades of pruning create sculptural shapes. Irregular spacing - hand-planted, not machine-rows. You will see gaps where vines died, survivors standing alone. These are gobelet-trained (French for "goblet") or head-trained. The vine grows into a cup shape. No wires means roots go down, not sideways. Down equals survival in drought. Drive Swartland back roads - Paardeberg, Riebeeksrivier, Malmesbury area. Stop when you see vines with no wires. Get out (stay roadside, don't enter property). Count the trunk thickness. If you can barely wrap both hands around it, that vine is ancient. Look at the spacing. Modern vineyards have machine-perfect rows. Old vineyards have character, irregularity, life. Ask yourself: "Could this vine survive without irrigation?" If yes (thick trunk, deep roots), you're looking at the Swartland's future. If you can't find them, visit AA Badenhorst's Kalmoesfontein (booking essential) - surrounded by old bush vines planted 1950s-60s to Chenin, Cinsault, Grenache. Adi Badenhorst will talk about bush vines if you catch him. His wine labels show drawings of them - the obsession is real.

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4. 📜 4

   Find the Semillon Planted Before Your Grandparents Were Born

   Optional

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   Franschhoek 1905 Semillon - oldest in SA

   Semillon may have arrived at the Cape before Chenin Blanc. Today it survives in tiny, precious pockets that Old Vine Project is fighting to preserve. Rickety Bridge's "The Road to Santiago" comes from Basil Landau's Semillon vineyard in Franschhoek, planted 1905. That's 121 years old. Nearly 120-year-old vines still producing world-class wine. Other old Semillon sites: Eben Sadie's Kokerboom (1930s Semillon vines), Chris Alheit's Monument Semillon and Cartology blend (oldest Franschhoek Semillon), Damascene from Jean Smit (vineyards planted 1942 and 1962). There's also Semillon Gris - pink-skinned mutation essentially unique to South Africa. Decanter called it "South Africa's old-vine oddity." Ask at Franschhoek wine shops or tasting rooms: "Where can I find Rickety Bridge's Road to Santiago Semillon?" or "Do you have any old-vine Semillon?" The wine is allocated, rare, expensive. If you find a bottle, buy it. If you can't buy, ask to taste it (offer to pay tasting fee). Old Semillon from 1905 vines tastes like history - waxy texture, lanolin, honey, stone, and time itself. If old Semillon's unavailable, ask for wines from Chris Alheit (Cartology includes old Semillon), or any producer sourcing from Franschhoek's heritage vineyards. The story is in the land, not just one bottle.

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