News — The Old Vine Festival

Chenin Blanc is South Africa's most planted old vine variety. It's been growing here since the 17th century, survived phylloxera, and built the brandy industry. And yet, most people only know one version of it. Put three old vine expressions from three different regions side by side, and that changes completely.

Old vines produce less. But what they produce is rarer, more layered, and carries something younger vines cannot replicate. In South Africa, that story is backed by science, economics, and a certification system unlike anything else in the world. Here's everything you need to know.