As you know from our work on the Old Vine Registry and in our everyday coverage, we believe strongly in the importance of old vines as a repository of knowledge, culture and history. So it is with great delight that we found out that this year’s call for nominations for the Old Vine Heroes Award resulted in 105 nominations from 17 countries. Clearly the old-vine movement is gaining momentum!
This award, first launched in 2023, was created to recognise people around the world who are working to preserve old vines and the cultures around them, whether it’s through winemaking, farming, research or communication. A committee from the Old Vine Conference has managed to whittle down the choices to just 16 and now it’s time for the rest of us to get to work.
The award categories and their nominees are as follows.
Viticulture
- Jesús Jiménez & Alejandro Vicente Castro, Bodega Numanthia, Toro, Spain
- Dr Dylan Grigg, Australia and Spain
- Derek Mossman-Knapp, Garage Wine Co, Chile
- Professor Carlo Petrussi, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Winemaking
- Maria Jose Granier, Jardin Oculto, Bolivia
- Viviana Malafarina, Basilisco, Basilicata, Italy
- Derek Mossman-Knapp, Garage Wine Co & VIGNO, Chile
Research
- Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy
- Plaimont Producteurs, Gascony, France
- PORVID (Portuguese Association for the Conservation of Grapevine Diversity), Portugal
Communication
- Randy Caparoso, journalist/photographer, California, USA
- Katie Jones, Domaine Jones, France
- Robert Hill-Smith, Yalumba, Australia
Commercial impact
- Giles Cooke MW, co-owner/co-founder Thistledown Wine, South Australia
- Joel Peterson, Once and Future Wines, USA
- André Morgenthal, South Africa
You can read about all 16 nominees here, then vote here.
The poll will close on Thursday 21 March at 21.00 GMT.
Votes will be counted and cleaned and the winners of each category (determined by number of votes) will be announced at a virtual awards webinar on Monday 25 March at 17.00. (And our very own Tam was a judge in nominating the shortlists and will present the award for the Communication category – ed.) Readers can register to attend the live results webinar here.
