Waitrose Launches Its First Old Vine Project Wine From South Africa
Upmarket retailer Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to launch a wine certified by South Africa’s ‘Old Vine Project’, which was officially unveiled in 2017 as a way to protect the country’s old vines.
The retailer has added a Kaapzicht Kliprug Chenin Blanc 2019 (RRP: £13.99), a wine made from vines planted in 1982, in the culmination of a two year project to gain a South African Certified Heritage Vineyards (CHV) seal from the Old Vine Project. The certification guarantees authentic wines made from vineyards aged more than 35 years old.
Waitrose buyer Victoria Mason said it had been an exciting project to work on with the team at Kaapzicht. “We always strive to offer our customers a point of difference and old vines are great at reflecting the terroir of the region whilst also showcasing the vast and varied landscape of South Africa,” she said.
“In what has been an incredibly difficult year for the South African wine industry – we are so excited to be celebrating a fantastically unique and delicious wine which will hopefully be the first of many carrying the Old Vine Project seal.”
Saving old vines:
The project originated in 2002, when viticulturist Rosa Kruger began the painstaking job of hunting down and recording old blocks of vines across South Africa in a bid to preserve as many old vines in South Africa as possible. Other producers soon joined the cause and in 2014 Kruger, with help from the South African Wine Industry Information & Systems (SAWIS), unveiled a website cataloguing old vineyards.
Read more at source: thedrinksbusiness
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