We observe that the interest in old vines within the wine world is increasing day by day. We also announced the Old Vine Registry initiative, which is one of the concrete examples of interest in this issue, in the WAYANA Weekly a while ago. Let's take a closer look at what causes this interest and what its reflections are, which is a complete inversion of one of the old sayings in Turkish if you allow me: "If there was a demand for the old, light would shine on the Flea Market."

There is no official standard for the definition of Old Vine. But there is a consensus to group the vines under four headings according to their age:

• - Old Vines – over 35 years old
• - Survivor Vines – Over 70 years old
• - Centenarian Vines – over 100 years old
• - Ancestor Vines – over 125 years old

Of course, placing productivity first in generating income from viticulture is an understandable priority. Increasing productivity means increasing the yield and increasing earnings. When the vine's most productive period, which varies between 25-40 years, is completed, it is a common practice to rejuvenate the vineyard by removing old vines, with the pressure of renewing the saplings and maintaining productivity.

But old vines also stand out with some distinctive features they have developed over the years. For example, their nutritional reserves are stronger thanks to their vegetative structure consisting of trunks and branches that have grown into trees and have gained strength over many years. The time spent on mandatory operations such as pruning, thinning of leaves and clusters in young vines is much less in older vines. In addition, old vines, whose roots extend deeper over the years, can resist dry periods more easily. Another advantage of old vines is their resistance to diseases; the decrease in the number of leaves over the following years gives an advantage to old vines.

When we look at the pros and cons, can we say that better wines are made from old vines? There is no easy answer to this question. First of all, it is safer not to be too optimistic about the planting conditions of vines that we consider old today and the meticulous care they receive while growing. Many of the viticulture techniques that have been tested and developed over the years were probably not applied when the old vines were planted. We see that in old vineyards, the distances between the vines were not taken into consideration, and no other factor other than product yield was taken into account at the time they were planted.

But we see that the new generation of vintners have a greater sensitivity in their view of their own products and that their love for old vines is increasing. We see that there are vineyard owners and wine producers who approach the vine stumps that were carelessly removed and thrown away in the past with more compassion, and wine lovers also approach the wines with respect if they are produced with this approach. Even these heart-warming observations revive our faded hopes for tomorrow.

We now see more frequently that producers indicate on the label the wines they make from grapes of old vines. The number of wines made with grapes from old vines is increasing in WAYANA's Wine Menu too. Of course, we serve these wines both by the bottle and by the glass as always. On your next visit, ask WAYANA team about wines from the old vines, they will surely provide you with samples worth trying that suit your palate.