Old Vine Registry announces ‘vine hunt’ on first anniversary
One year on from its official launch, Old Vine Registry is upping its efforts to catalogue and protect the world’s heritage vineyards via a new incentivised search.
Over the next three years, prizes will be awarded yearly to the individuals who contribute the newest vineyard entries to the Registry (vines must be at least 35 years of age). Prizes have been donated by industry leaders including Wine Scholar Guild, JancisRobinson.com, The Old Vine Conference, World of Fine Wine magazine, Académie du Vin Library and Vinous. Acting as a ‘Wikipedia for old vines’, the Registry depends on the submissions of interested parties who own or can search out vineyard data.
After three years, the individual who has contributed to the most vineyards will receive the Grand Prize, which includes a travel bursary to attend an Old Vine Conference field trip, valued at US $2,000.
The Old Vine Registry has picked up significant momentum after officially launching last year (the movement grew from Jancis Robinson MW’s earlier efforts to catalogue old vines from around the world).
The number of old-vine listings have grown by more than 1,000 new vineyards in one year. This increase of 49% brings the total number of vineyards catalogued to 3,279 across 36 countries.
“I’m really pleased with the progress that we’ve made so far,” said Old Vine Registry manager, Alder Yarrow. “More than 200 individuals from around the world have submitted vineyard data, as well as some larger regional organisations. That said, we’re still just scratching the surface of the old vine universe.”
In the interests of growing the depth and impact of the Registry, the team hopes to add 10,000 vineyards in the next three years. This target was announced during a webinar held last night (27 June) to mark the one year anniversary.
The Registry’s co-founder Sarah Abbott MW added: “In order for The Old Vine Registry to keep growing and deepen its impact we need to keep it in the minds of the global wine community. That’s why we have launched the Heritage Vine Hunt Contest which aims to incentivise individuals to help us log, promote and protect more old vineyards.”
Yarrow continued: “We hope these prizes will incentivise some people to do a bit of research and contribute more vineyards. It’s not that hard to dig up information on old vineyards, it just takes a little time and effort, and now with the contest we can reward some of that effort with great prizes and, of course, an immersive and educational trip to learn more about the significance of the world’s viticultural heritage.”
The Old Vine Registry is accepted as the wine world’s first concerted effort to catalogue old vines from around the world. It also acts as a resource for the wine industry, academia and consumers to dive into the world of old vineyards, with a keen eye on helping to preserve these vineyards by increasing sales and profit for producers.
Originally started by Robinson, the Registry launched as a crowd-sourced, public resource on the web in June of 2023, funded by a donation from Jackson Family Wines and managed by Alder Yarrow of Vinography.com. The site is owned by The Old Vine Conference, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to building a credible and sustainable category for old vine wines.
Contest winners will be announced yearly on the anniversary of the Registry’s launch.
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