This fall, celebrate old vine wines with like-minded growers and producers
By Alexandra Russell
In 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, London-based wine marketer Sarah Abbott, MW, was casting around for a project that would both excite her and bring her network of wine professionals together. She landed on a subject that had long held her interest, then reached out to colleagues Leo Austin and Alun Griffiths, MW, for help launching the idea.
“Old vines are a lens to all that is best and most beautiful in wine,” she says. “And so many regions and producers globally have demonstrated that old vines are an ark that holds wine’s sustainable future, too.”
This passion, combined with encouragement from their contact lists, led Abbott, Austin and Griffiths to organize the first Old Vine Conference (OVC), an online gathering of growers, winemakers and enthusiasts, to discuss challenges and share best practices.
Following the success of the inaugural event, OVC was established as a nonprofit organization with a mission to “bring global attention, advocacy and commercial momentum to old-vine vineyards and wines.” Abbott gathered a team — including Belinda Stone, now executive director of the conference — and, as pandemic restrictions eased, started hosting meet-ups, where interested consumers and professionals could gather to experience the magic of old vine wines.
Bringing stakeholders together
In late October 2025, OVC will launch its first in-person conference, with sessions in Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Lodi, California. “Our digital conferences proved the appetite for global connection on this subject,” says Abbott. “An in-person conference lets us bring stakeholders into the vineyards themselves to share knowledge, taste wines and build the coalitions that are essential for impact.”
To best represent California’s place in the global old vine story, OVC has partnered with California Wine Institute, ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers), the Historic Vineyard Society, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Sonoma County Winegrowers, and many leading California producers. “These organizations bring credibility, commitment and local knowledge,” says Abbott. “Their support reflects how deeply California’s wine community values its old vines.”
For its part, ZAP has driven the effort to unite the state’s old-vine community, engage key regional organizations and oversee local conference logistics. Working alongside OVC, ZAP has spent more than two years shaping this first-of-its-kind global gathering, giving California a world stage to share its old-vine story. “We are proud to have led the charge in bringing our state’s old-vine community together and in creating a platform that connects our heritage with the worldwide movement to preserve these remarkable vineyards,” says Rebecca Robinson, executive director, ZAP. “This conference puts California’s old vines — especially Zinfandel — on the global stage.”
Topics designed to encourage collaboration
Dubbed “A Meeting of the Minds,” conference topics will include the commercial value of old-vine wines, regulatory barriers to vineyard preservation, clonal and genetic diversity, marketing and pricing strategies, regenerative viticulture and cross-regional collaboration. The conference will also showcase success stories.
As of this writing, presenters and participants include a mix of producers, researchers, journalists, importers and retailers. This includes heavy-hitters such as Jancis Robinson (who will deliver a keynote address, followed by an in-conversation session with Ridge Vineyards‘ Paul Draper), Rosa Kruger (The Old Vine Project, South Africa), Alder Yarrow (The Old Vine Registry), Dr. Laura Catena (Catena Zapata, Argentina), Michelle Bouffard (Tasting Climate Change) and José Ignacio Gracia Lopez (D.O. Campo de Borja), among others. In addition to Draper, California luminaries will include Joel Peterson (aka the Godfather of Zin), Bob Biale (Robert Biale Vineyards), Violet Grgich (Grgich Hills Estate), Karen DeGolia (Limerick Lane Cellars), Mark Vernon (Ridge), Christian Miller (Wine Market Council), Stuart Spencer (Lodi Winegrape Commission) and ZAP’s Robinson.
“Our session topics were shaped through consultation with growers and trade leaders,” says Abbott. “Our focus is practical: how to make old vines economically viable, environmentally sustainable and commercially visible.”
A working conference
“This is a working conference, not a lecture series,” she continues. “Attendees can expect immersive field trips, structured panels, walk-around tastings and networking opportunities designed to maximize access to speakers. All sessions will include open Q&A. We are creating space for ideas to be exchanged, not just presented.”
Further collaborative opportunities include shared meals, wherein attendees can bring their own wines to pour at a table, thereby introducing brands to a wider, global audience. By bringing together a global fellowship of like-minded individuals, OVC aims to make connections that bridge geographic boundaries and find common ground among those with knowledge and experience to share.
“Our goal is to break down silos,” says Abbott, “because the future of old vines depends on collaboration.”
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Click here for more information about the upcoming Old Vine Conference.
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Alexandra Russell
Alexandra Russell is Managing Editor at Wine Industry Advisor. She can be reached at arussell@wineindustryadvisor.com.
