An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Elizabeth Taylor — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:37:16 GMT

I love this post! Thanks for the great information about Old Vines, including my favorite, Zinfandel! I look forward to reading more in the series.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Mike Officer — Sun, 22 May 2011 23:17:33 GMT

Patrick,

Although we see Barbera from time to time in old-vine vineyards, I have yet to see any Sangiovese. However, I do know that the Seghesios have a 1910 planting of Sangiovese (with a little Canielao Nero, Trebbiano and Malvasia) that is still producing today. If I'm not mistaken, the wine produced from these vines is called "Chianti Station".

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Admin User — Sat, 21 May 2011 20:27:03 GMT

Patrick, its my understanding that, at least in Tuscany, Sangiovese vines don't get much older than that because esca is really prevalent there, and it limits the lifespan of vines as it rots them from the inside. Since it is caused by a complex of fungi, rather than just one, it is difficult to eradicate.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Patrick Miner — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:43:39 GMT

I was recently told by a representative of Italian wines that there research indicated that Sangiovese vines produced optimal wines for the first 25 years, and then needed to be replaced. He mentioned this as, I believe, a selling point. You don't mention Sangiovese specifically in your piece, but I wonder if you have any information regarding that vine in particular. Obviously "optimal" means different things to different people

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Mike Officer — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:59:47 GMT

Thanks Jason. I'll definitely look into it. Sounds like a candidate for the registry!

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Jason Heller — Mon, 02 May 2011 02:28:04 GMT

Larry/Mike,

I think the Old Men that was originally part of JJ Cohn vineyard (planted and sourced by J. Daniel at Inglenook) now Scarecrow, is older then Corison's having been planted in the 1940's.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Mike Officer — Sun, 01 May 2011 17:01:54 GMT

One other comment Larry, and something I should have mentioned originally in the "Q&A" session. One of the first items on HVS's agenda is to create a registry of all old vine vineyards in California. It's still in development but you can see the registry at HVS's website, www.historicvineyardsociety.org. Most of the vineyards with which we work are registered. Details for others are being added every week.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Lawrence OBrien — Sun, 01 May 2011 15:46:27 GMT

Mike,

Thanks for the informative response. I did not consider the historical apects regading California's wealth of old vine Mediterranean varieties.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Mike Officer — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:59 GMT

Thanks for the great question Larry. Not sure I can answer definitely as I don't really consider myself a definitive expert. I only know what I've seen and experienced. Nevertheless, what I can tell you is that Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon typically don't do well on St. George. They tend to shatter resulting in a very poor set, especially as they get older, and hence would have to be replanted at an earlier age to keep the vineyard economically viable. Also, Bordeaux varieties didn't really become fashionable until much later in California's grape history, certainly not until at least after Prohibition. The same can be said of Burgundian varieties. The old vine white vineyards we tend to see are Semillon, Muscadelle, Chasselas, and Palomino - things that were popular for producing Hock in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Also, with whites, it seems as if vine age, at least say beyond say 40 years, isn't nearly as critical in order to produce something special. There are, of course, old-vine examples of Burgundian varieties such as Hanzell's Ambassador Vineyard (Chardonnay and Pinot noir) planted in 1953 and the Chardonnay terrace section of Mayacamas, also planted in the 1950s. (There are also plenty of examples, red and white, in Burgundy, many of which are marketed as "Vielles Vignes".) Examples of greater than 50 year-old Bordeaux varieties in California? I'm sure there must be some but certainly not many. Oldest I can think of at the moment is Corison's Kronos Vineyard. I believe it's between 30 and 40 years old but has a fair amount of virus.

But to answer your question, in general, yes, some varieties do seem to perform better with age. And yes, they tend to be Mediterranean varieties as that what was popular in the early days of California grape growing. And they tend to be quite vigorous when young. With regards to fruit chemistry, as I noted in the blog, our experience is that old-vine fruit typically has better chemistry (lower pH, higher TAs, better Tartaric to Malic ratios) than young-vine fruit, resulting in a better balanced wine. I'm not aware of anything undesirable in the fruit chemistry of old-vine Bordeaux and Burgundy varieties, assuming the vines are healthy of course. Perhaps it's just a matter of vigor and economics for these cultivars and/or less of a history with these varieties in California.

Mike

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Lawrence OBrien — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:48:23 GMT

Mike and Geoff,

Thank you so much for this wealth of definitive information. I do have a question that I hope you can answer as definitively. It appears that the term old vine is typically associated with Mediterranean grape varieties such as zinfandel, tempranillo, garnacha, cariñena, mataro ( a nod to Keith Goldston as the 3 previous grapes are in fact indigenously Spanish), syrah, etc. Yet, rarely is chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot or pinot noir promoted as old vine. Are there certain grape vine varieties that are better suited to long life and old age than others? Is there something about old vine zinfandel grape chemistry and resulting wine that is enhanced by vine age? Is there something undesirable about grape chemistry and resulting wine of old vine cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay? I look forward to your response.

Regards,

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Tim Gaiser — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:59:54 GMT

Hi Geoff, great blog--lots of really good information. Look forward to future posts.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

gary sullivan — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:35:47 GMT

Another awesome feature of this website! I don't think we can thank you enough for all the hard work that goes into the sight. What an amazing resource to learn from.

RE: An Interview with Mike Officer: Old Vines, Zinfandel and California's Viticultural Heritage

Nichole Dishman — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:05:51 GMT

A great read. I am super excited about this new blog series. Thank you.