Are There Really “Old Vines” on Long Island?
Tom over at Fermentation has resurrected an interesting discussion that has gone around and around in the wine blogosphere (and media at large) that I thought I’d bring over there to this here blog as well — Old Vines.
What does it mean? Should it be a regulated term? Does it matter to you when you see it on a bottle?
As far as I know, the only Long Island winery using "old vines" on their labels is Lenz Winery, which uses it on a merlot, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. I think that the oldest vines at Lenz are around 27 or 28 years old, making them some of the eldest on Long Island. But is that really "old"?
I don’t think so. But, I also don’t think it’s a big deal if they have it on the label. It doesn’t affect my buying decisions, whether we’re talking 25 year old chardonnay vines or 110 year old zinfandel vines. To me, it’s really no different than putting ‘reserve’ on a label.
Then again, I know that locally, ‘reserve’ means that the wine was barrel fermented or aged in oak longer. It is more an indication of style than quality most of the time. In that way, ‘old vines’ is less useful than ‘reserve’ because it doesn’t tell me anything about the wine’s style.
What do you think?
- Related:
- lenz winery
- long island wine
- old vines
“Old Vines” labels do not affect my buying decisions either, but this is because I know the term is often meaningless. Especially with Cabernet Sauvignon vines which are almost always replanted after 30 years or so because the yields plummet and the grape quality does not perceptively increase with additional age as it does with Zinfandel. I think that the term could mean something if properly regulated, but that is easier said than done. It goes back to the endless debate of regulation via the French AOC model versus the more laissez-faire New World inclinations. Both have their pros and cons, and compromise between these two models is difficult.
I guess if it is not regulated, they can put in on the bottle. But I think it is absurd since I believe it should refer to much older vines. To me, I think it hurts their credibility.
Putting “Old Vines” on the label should mean something, I think. Same as “turbo” should mean something on a car, or “diet” on a soda can. Let’s decide what constitutes old (40 years or more?) and use that as a benchmark. Wine made from 40-50 year old vines tastes and feels different from wine made from 15 year old vines. We encourage producers to dumb themselves down by letting them put whatever they want on a wine label.