Old Vines

An article by John Higgins for Derbyshire Times Elite magazine

February. Cold. Dark. Even the winemakers across Europe tend to stay in-doors throughout February. The only real out-door task is to take cuttings from the vines for grafting on to the root-stock which are placed in sand and kept indoors away from the cold and frost. Until quite recently, grafting was very laborious and time consuming and therefore expensive. Nowadays a simple stamping machine cuts a mortice and tenon in the root stock and the scion of the variety to be grown. The two lock together and form a new plant almost immediately.

Vines, like most other plants, will reproduce from seed. Sowing grape pips would be much the easiest and cheapest way of getting new vines. But, unlike thoroughbred race horses, they rarely turn out like their parents. Pips are used for experimenting with new cross varieties, but for planting a new vineyard though, every vine has to be a cutting, either planted to take root on its own or grafted to a rooted cutting of another species.

The vines deadliest enemy is the Phylloxera Vastatrix bug in its root-eating and flying form. A century ago, this American bug almost destroyed the vineyards of Europe. Every European vine is now grafted on to American roots, which resist its attack.

As a vine grows older its roots penetrate deeper into the earth. While it is young and they are near the surface they are quickly affected by drought, fertilisers and have little stability, young vines will never be first class. If the soil near the surface does not provide enough food it will send its roots deep down, often resulting in the discovery of valuable resources and flavours. Hence, you will often see the word "Vielles Vignes" or Old Vines adorning some premium wine labels. These wine have a far richer, fuller and more complex structure than their younger vine counterparts.

The promotion of Vielles Vignes wines used to be the preserve of France, Burgundy in particular, keen to advertise the age of their prestigious vines. A Vielles Vignes wine often pulls a mediocre offering into a superior drink. The marketing men in the New World have finally realised the potential of labelling their wines created with Old Vines as such. Indeed, most of the root stock in the New World is older than most found in Europe, especially in California and Chile. Chile escaped the ravages of the Phylloxera bug and has some of the oldest vines anywhere, adding to the phenomenon that has seen the sales of Chilean wine sky-rocket over the past 2 years.