The Old Vine Project Campaigns to Save South Africa’s Historic Vineyards
Wines made from vines more than 35 years old are complex and dense, and they’re increasingly valued.
Bellevue Pinotage, planted in 1953, Stellenbosch.
Photographer: Zach Moolman
It was 1920. King George V was on the English throne as Jakobus Hendrik de Wet carefully planted his vines of Muscat d’Alexandrie in South Africa’s Breedekloof valley. In 1936, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected for a second term when the “La Colline” semillon vineyard was laid out on the outskirts of Franschhoek. In 1964, as the Rolling Stones dropped their debut album, farmers Basie van Lill and Joshua Visser were planting chenin blanc on a lonely mountain called Skurfberg.
These roots are still producing grapes, and it’s this rich viticultural heritage that South Africa’s Old Vine Project (OVP) is working to protect, by celebrating the quality and complexity of the wines made from them.