The Economics of Old Vines w/ Andy Robinson, Seghesio

It appears on some wine labels, winemakers speak lovingly about them, and there are organizations focused on them.  “Old Vines” is a loosely defined term that is often associated with quality in the wine industry.  Seghesio, a historic Californian winery, has a strong focus on old vines with its focus on Zinfandel and Italian varietals.  Andy Robinson, Seghesio’s winemaker, lays out the economics of growing and selling old vine wines. 

Detailed Show Notes: 

Andy’s background: grew up in the Finger Lakes (NY), studied Chemistry, worked at Charles Krug

Seghesio overview

• Founded 1895 by Piedmont immigrant Eduardo Seghesio
• Alexander Valley & Russian River (Sonoma)
• ~120k cases / year; 160 acres planted
• Mostly Zinfandel (oldest 1895 at Home Ranch) and Italian varieties (Sangiovese, oldest from 1910)

Defines old vines as 50+ years vs Old Vine Conference defines as 35+ years, conventional vineyards normally have 20-25 year lifespan

• Must be an excellent vine (both in yield and quality) to become an old vine

Benefits of old vines

• Often head trained, umbrella shape gives natural shading, don’t need trellis supports, requires less maintenance late in the season; overall about the same cost as trellised (head trained harder to mechanize)
• More flavor compounds (a Spanish company researched this)
• More textural and complex flavors

Costs of old vines

• Expect lower yields (sets less fruit)
• Big cuts from pruning can have bigger impact on vines

Need to have a focus for old vines to be successful, which is why there are many single vineyard old vines; consistent ownership important for this

People are often willing to pay more for old vine wines, wine needs to be good

For deciding when to replant old vines: wines not fantastic anymore, yields drop <1 ton/acre, people not willing to pay enough to keep it

More diversity of varietals coming with old vines as late ‘70s plantings hit 50 years, historically mostly Zinfandel

Old vine organizations

• Old Vine Conference (started ~2020, Sarah Abbott in London): very international
• Historic Vineyard Society (started ~2010, Morgan Twain Peterson, Mike Officer, others): non-profit to catalogue old vine sites
• Core benefit of organizations is engaging wine writers and getting more publicity for old vines

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