The Old Vine vs. The New – How do Italian Wines Change as the Vine Ages?

When we speak about the work Italian wine producers do, we often tend to generalise it.

Take the vines, for example.

We’ll talk about how producers meticulously tend to their vines and how they ensure they only pick the choicest grapes to make their best wines. But there are a lot of factors that affect the quality of the grape that are all about the vine itself.

Take age as an example.

When you hear about vines getting destroyed, it’s often difficult to see what the big deal is. Sure, the producer loses a crop, which is heartbreaking. But they can always plant new vines, so why do they work as hard as they do to protect the vines they have.

It turns out there are reasons.

Older vines imbue their grapes with qualities that they can’t get from younger vines. And in this article, we’re going to look at exactly what older vines have to offer so you understand why they’re so valuable to Italian wine producers.

But first, we have a question to answer…

What Makes an Italian Wine Vine Old?

How old is old?

It’s an interesting question. After all, plants come and go all of the time. If you know your wine history, you may also point to the Phylloxera issue, which was essential a virus that killed many of the ancient vines in Europe. Throughout the 19^th century, this terrible affliction wreaked havoc on the European wine industry, so much so that many of the oldest vines we had were decimated.

The fact is that there is no specific definition of what “old” means when it comes to Italian wine vines. 

Still, as a very general rule of thumb, we can think of an old vine as one that’s been producing grapes for over 35 years. Vines that have lasted a century or more are both survivors and ancient, which makes their yields even more spectacular. Still, the point is that older vines tend to produce better wines.

Why?

There are a few reasons.

Reason #1 – Lower Yields

As a vine gets older, its yield decreases. The age of the plant starts to show and it isn’t able to produce as many grapes as it once could.

At first, this may seem like a bad thing.

Lower yields mean the producer can’t create as high a quantity of their wine.

However, this limited yield also means that only the cream of the crop, in terms of grapes, will survive. The older plant dedicates all of its energy and resources to a smaller number of grapes, rather than spreading them thinly across a huge yield. As such, each individual grape is often of a higher quality than the individual grapes you’ll find on a younger vine.

Ultimately, you get more concentrated grapes from older vines.

This makes them more flavourful and impactful when compared to their younger cousins. 

Reason #2 – More in Reserve

Think about what it must take for a vine to survive for over 35 years.

These are plants that are constantly being tended and picked., They face all sorts of weather conditions, as well as plant-based diseases that threaten to ravage them. Those that survive are the hardiest of the vines. And that hardiness only increases as the vine ages.

To understand this, we only need to know the basics of how plants work.

Of course, we know they use photosynthesis to feed themselves. However, plants also grow roots that allow them to extract moisture from the ground. The older the vine, the deeper the roots dig down. This means that an older vine is able to find water where a younger vine, with shallower roots, may struggle. 

As a result, winemakers prefer to have older vines because they’re able to withstand unexpected or difficult weather conditions. They can stock up more water in reserve, as well as find it when others struggle, which makes them tougher than the average vine.

You can also extend this idea to disease resistance. 

The oldest vines that survive today are the ones that managed to survive the Phylloxera crisis we spoke about earlier. They also tend to have stronger leaves, with smaller canopies, which means they’re able to pull more nutrients out of the sun.

Simply put, if an older vine has managed to survive to today, it’s because it’s a tough vine that produces great wines.

Reason #3 – The Effects on the Wine

So, older vines are sturdier and produce more concentrated fruit.

But this would mean little if the wines they created were of low quality. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Wine experts will generally tell you that the Italian wines produced by an older vine are better than the same wine coming from a younger vine.

Why?

The more concentrated grapes play a big role.

With older vines dedicating more of their resources to their grapes, you end up with fruits that are more flavoursome and complex. When turned into wines, these grapes tend to be the wines that create the complexity that so many look for in the best wines. They have more interesting flavours, allow for the development of stronger note profiles, and generally just taste better than their less mature cousins.

We also have the issue of tannins.

Many an Italian winemaker will tell you how important their land is in the production of their wines. The composition of the soil, and the plants that grow from it, can actually be tasted in the wines produced. And in the case of older vines, you have plants that have fed from this land for many years. Many argue that this leads to the grapes produced being more representative of their land because the plant has essentially become part of the land rather than something that just grows on it.

Ultimately, we can conclude that older vines produce more complex and interesting wines. However, this does not mean that younger vines produce poor wines. In many cases, it depends on your personal tastes, with those who favour complexity also tending to favour older vines.