How Old Does the Zinfandel Vine Have To Be?
The accepted standard is 50 years or older. This number is agreed upon by notable organizations like The Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and The Historic Vineyard Society. The Historic Vineyard Society holds old vine Zinfandel to an even higher standard, requiring that the grapes are also sourced from a currently producing California wine vineyard, and at least ⅓ of the existing producing vines can be traced back to their original planting date.
This standard is not mandatory or enforced, so you will sometimes find wines that are made from younger vines using the term “old vine Zinfandel”.
What makes Old Vine Zinfandel Unique?
Most people in the wine world believe that old vines make better wine than new vines. As a Zinfandel vine ages, it cultivates deep roots and produces less grape bunches. This creates a more intense flavor profile (think crushed cherry, blackberry, raspberry preserves, and blood orange). These old Zinfandel vines also have thinner leaves - which lets the grapes absorb more sunlight.
The end result is a wine that has soft, concentrated fruit and tannin with a good amount of acidity (some call that a “well-balanced” wine). An old vine will produce a very different wine than it would have been able to produce in its younger years. We like to think of it as the vine perfecting its craft as it gets experience, just like a winemaker!
Does BACA Wines Produce Old Vine Zinfandel?
Absolutely! BACA specializes in artisanal Zinfandel, and we source from many old vine Zinfandel vineyards. If you are already a huge fan of old vine Zinfandel, or would like to try it for the first time, we recommend any of these BACA wines:
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Tug O' War – Sourced from the Maffei Vineyard in Russian River Valley, which was planted between 1928 and 1942. Our 2020 vintage was awarded 95 points from Wine Enthusiast, Virginie Boone!
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Bleachers – Sourced from Rudy’s Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, which are about 70 years old.
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Home Base – A Mixture of Rudy’s Vineyard’s old vines and their 40-year-old vineyard.
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Somersault – Sourced from the Pacini Vineyard in Mendocino county, these vines are over 100 years old!