{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/62301a5c63c97500122f8a76/6a272a2dec7c103dca60b3c0?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The Economics of Old Vines w/ Andy Robinson, Seghesio","description":"<p>It appears on some wine labels, winemakers speak lovingly about them, and there are organizations focused on them.&nbsp; “Old Vines” is a loosely defined term that is often associated with quality in the wine industry.&nbsp; <a href=\"https://www.seghesio.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Seghesio</a>, a historic Californian winery, has a strong focus on old vines with its focus on Zinfandel and Italian varietals.&nbsp; Andy Robinson, Seghesio’s winemaker, lays out the economics of growing and selling old vine wines.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Detailed Show Notes:&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Andy’s background: grew up in the Finger Lakes (NY), studied Chemistry, worked at Charles Krug</p><p>Seghesio overview</p><ul><li>Founded 1895 by Piedmont immigrant Eduardo Seghesio</li><li>Alexander Valley &amp; Russian River (Sonoma)</li><li>~120k cases / year; 160 acres planted</li><li>Mostly Zinfandel (oldest 1895 at Home Ranch) and Italian varieties (Sangiovese, oldest from 1910)</li></ul><p>Defines old vines as 50+ years vs Old Vine Conference defines as 35+ years, conventional vineyards normally have 20-25 year lifespan</p><ul><li>Must be an excellent vine (both in yield and quality) to become an old vine</li></ul><p>Benefits of old vines</p><ul><li>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)</li><li>More flavor compounds (a Spanish company researched this)</li><li>More textural and complex flavors</li></ul><p>Costs of old vines</p><ul><li>Expect lower yields (sets less fruit)</li><li>Big cuts from pruning can have bigger impact on vines</li></ul><p>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</p><p>People are often willing to pay more for old vine wines, wine needs to be good</p><p>For deciding when to replant old vines: wines not fantastic anymore, yields drop &lt;1 ton/acre, people not willing to pay enough to keep it</p><p>More diversity of varietals coming with old vines as late ‘70s plantings hit 50 years, historically mostly Zinfandel</p><p>Old vine organizations</p><ul><li>Old Vine Conference (started ~2020, Sarah Abbott in London): very international</li><li>Historic Vineyard Society (started ~2010, Morgan Twain Peterson, Mike Officer, others): non-profit to catalogue old vine sites</li><li>Core benefit of organizations is engaging wine writers and getting more publicity for old vines</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Robert Vernick, Peter Yeung"}