{"id":1436,"date":"2026-05-29T14:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/?p=1436"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:31:44","slug":"why-travelers-are-following-the-trail-of-south-africas-oldest-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/why-travelers-are-following-the-trail-of-south-africas-oldest-vineyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Travelers are Following the Trail of South Africa\u2019s Oldest Vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For wine travelers, South Africa\u2019s Old Vine Project has transformed a tasting trip through the Cape winelands into a journey through living wine history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the Western Cape, the tell-tale shapes of gnarled old bush vines \u2014 some planted decades ago \u2014 are now among the country\u2019s most compelling travel experiences. Visitors in the know increasingly come not just to taste wine, but to stand among vineyards that survived turbulent decades of drought, shifting wine fashions, and the global race toward high-yield commercial wine production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Champion of South Africa\u2019s Old Vines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the center of this movement is Rosa Kruger<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> the South African viticulturist widely credited with helping save the country\u2019s heritage vineyards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I had the privilege of meeting Rosa at an event hosted by the Wines of South Africa<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> where she recounted her quest to rediscover, document, and preserve the country\u2019s oldest vines. A tasting confirmed they were worth the effort \u2013 and visiting those wineries nurturing and making wine from these small and precious vineyards should be on every oenophile\u2019s list of travel goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 2000s, Kruger began traveling through the Cape searching for forgotten old vineyards. At the time, many were at risk of being uprooted because older vines naturally produce lower yields and were often seen as economically inefficient. Kruger believed exactly the opposite: that these mature vineyards represented some of South Africa\u2019s greatest wine treasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Old Vine Project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Her work eventually led to the formal launch of the Old Vine Project (OVP<\/strong>)<\/a> in 2016. The project\u2019s mission is to identify, preserve, and promote vineyards older than 35 years while creating financial incentives for growers to keep them alive rather than replacing them with younger, higher-yielding vines better suited to mass, commercial wine production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result has been transformative \u2014 not only for South African wine, but for wine travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa did not invent the idea of old vines. European wine regions have revered ancient vineyards for centuries, and wineries in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy long marketed \u201cold vine\u201d wines. Spain and Portugal, in particular, still have vineyards significantly older than many in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What South Africa has done \u2014 arguably more influentially \u2014 has been to turn old vines from romantic wine marketing into a globally respected preservation movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groundbreaking Initiative Preserving Ancient Vineyards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

South Africa debuted the first nationally organized certification and preservation movement dedicated specifically to identifying, registering, protecting and commercially promoting old vineyards across an entire wine-producing country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the South African model, \u201cold vine\u201d was often vague marketing language with no formal definition. One producer\u2019s old vines might be 20 years old; another\u2019s 80. The Old Vine Project introduced traceable vineyard records and a formal \u201cCertified Heritage Vineyards\u201d seal for vineyards older than 35 years, helping establish credibility and authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global Impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The idea resonated far beyond the Cape winelands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For decades, many growers saw old vines as liabilities because they yield fewer grapes. The Old Vine Project helped flip that thinking. Lower yields could mean greater concentration, texture, and personality \u2014 wines distinctive enough to command premium prices and inspire wine lovers to travel halfway around the world to taste them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its impact can now be seen in the Old World and the New World, where wineries are embracing, codifying, and preserving their own oldest vines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kruger herself has become one of the most respected figures in global wine. In 2022, she became the first South African inducted into Decanter\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redefining Regional Wines and Wine Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The movement reshaped South Africa\u2019s wine identity. For years, the country was associated with inexpensive bulk wine. The rediscovery of old Chenin Blanc, Cinsault, Semillon, Palomino, and Grenache vineyards helped fuel a premium wine renaissance centered on authenticity, terroir, and heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the glass, old vines often deliver wines with extraordinary texture, concentration, and sense of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For visitors planning a Cape winelands itinerary, the Old Vine Project has created a heritage wine route through some of South Africa\u2019s most compelling vineyard landscapes: a quest that is part wine tasting, part road trip, part treasure hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

START YOUR TRIP! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story and event images: Lynn Elmhirst, <\/em>travel journalist and expert<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top image: Getty<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be copied, re-published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For wine travelers, South Africa\u2019s Old Vine Project has transformed a tasting trip through the Cape winelands into a journey through living wine history.  Across the Western Cape, the tell-tale shapes of gnarled old bush vines \u2014 some planted decades ago \u2014 are now among the country\u2019s most compelling travel experiences. Visitors in the know increasingly come not just to taste wine, but to stand among vineyards that survived turbulent decades of drought, shifting wine fashions, and the global race toward high-yield commercial wine production. The Champion of South Africa\u2019s Old Vines At the center of this movement is Rosa Kruger, the South African viticulturist widely credited with helping save the country\u2019s heritage vineyards.  I had the privilege of meeting Rosa at an event hosted by the Wines of South Africa, where she recounted her quest to rediscover, document, and preserve the country\u2019s oldest vines. A tasting confirmed they were worth the effort \u2013 and visiting those wineries nurturing and making wine from these small and precious vineyards should be on every oenophile\u2019s list of travel goals.  In the early 2000s, Kruger began traveling through the Cape searching for forgotten old vineyards. At the time, many were at risk of being uprooted because older vines naturally produce lower yields and were often seen as economically inefficient. Kruger believed exactly the opposite: that these mature vineyards represented some of South Africa\u2019s greatest wine treasures. The Old Vine Project Her work eventually led to the formal launch of the Old Vine Project (OVP) in 2016. The project\u2019s mission is to identify, preserve, and promote vineyards older than 35 years while creating financial incentives for growers to keep them alive rather than replacing them with younger, higher-yielding vines better suited to mass, commercial wine production.  The result has been transformative \u2014 not only for South African wine, but for wine travel. South Africa did not invent the idea of old vines. European wine regions have revered ancient vineyards for centuries, and wineries in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy long marketed \u201cold vine\u201d wines. Spain and Portugal, in particular, still have vineyards significantly older than many in South Africa. What South Africa has done \u2014 arguably more influentially \u2014 has been to turn old vines from romantic wine marketing into a globally respected preservation movement. Groundbreaking Initiative Preserving Ancient Vineyards South Africa debuted the first nationally organized certification and preservation movement dedicated specifically to identifying, registering, protecting and commercially promoting old vineyards across an entire wine-producing country. Before the South African model, \u201cold vine\u201d was often vague marketing language with no formal definition. One producer\u2019s old vines might be 20 years old; another\u2019s 80. The Old Vine Project introduced traceable vineyard records and a formal \u201cCertified Heritage Vineyards\u201d seal for vineyards older than 35 years, helping establish credibility and authenticity. Global Impact The idea resonated far beyond the Cape winelands. For decades, many growers saw old vines as liabilities because they yield fewer grapes. The Old Vine Project helped flip that thinking. Lower yields could mean greater concentration, texture, and personality \u2014 wines distinctive enough to command premium prices and inspire wine lovers to travel halfway around the world to taste them. Its impact can now be seen in the Old World and the New World, where wineries are embracing, codifying, and preserving their own oldest vines.  Kruger herself has become one of the most respected figures in global wine. In 2022, she became the first South African inducted into Decanter\u2019s Hall of Fame. Redefining Regional Wines and Wine Travel The movement reshaped South Africa\u2019s wine identity. For years, the country was associated with inexpensive bulk wine. The rediscovery of old Chenin Blanc, Cinsault, Semillon, Palomino, and Grenache vineyards helped fuel a premium wine renaissance centered on authenticity, terroir, and heritage. In the glass, old vines often deliver wines with extraordinary texture, concentration, and sense of place. For visitors planning a Cape winelands itinerary, the Old Vine Project has created a heritage wine route through some of South Africa\u2019s most compelling vineyard landscapes: a quest that is part wine tasting, part road trip, part treasure hunt. START YOUR TRIP!  Story and event images: Lynn Elmhirst, travel journalist and expert Top image: Getty All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be copied, re-published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dining"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1446,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions\/1446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wanderfullworldtravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}