My fellow volunteer colleagues and I received some very exciting news last evening in Paris. The Old Vine Registry website that we worked so hard to get up and running, and that I spend my free time maintaining and growing was just awarded Best Heritage Initiative at the Vin d’Or Awards at the kickoff of Vinexpo and Wine Paris. The photo above shows my colleague Belinda Stone collecting the award on stage.
This is a significant honor, especially considering who we were competing against, and in some cases the length of time those organizations have been chasing their objectives. We’re just getting started with the OVR, and there’s so much more we hope to do with it.
The parent organization for the OVR has issued a press release about this award, which follows.
PRESS RELEASE
12th February 2024 – For Immediate Release
The Old Vine Registry Wins Best Heritage Award
The Old Vine Registry, the world’s most comprehensive database of living historic vineyard sites was awarded Best Heritage Initiative at last night’s V d’Or Awards held in Paris ahead of the opening of Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2024. Belinda Stone, Head of Marketing at The Old Vine Conference collected the award on behalf of the team behind The Old Vine Registry.
The Old Vine Registry is an evolution of what started as a simple spreadsheet and was completely digitalised in June 2023 to become an unmatched resource for the global wine industry, the academic world, and wine lovers around the globe. The Old Vine Registry is a search-based tool designed by Alder Yarrow, Founder & Editor at Vinography.com. The raw data at the heart of the Registry was provided by Jancis Robinson MW who began documenting heritage vineyards with wine writer Tamlyn Currin more than 15 years ago. The ongoing stewardship of The Old Vine Registry lies with The Old Vine Conference and the digitalisation of The Old Vine Registry was funded by a donation from Jackson Family Wines.
The shortlisted nominees for Best Heritage Initiative at the V d’Or Awards 2024 were:
- VIGNO, Chile
- PORVID – Associação Portuguesa para a Diversidade da Videira, Portugal
- Bernard Magrez Start-up Win, France
- The Old Vine Registry by The Old Vine Conference, UK & USA
The judges explained this was a hotly debated category with an impressive shortlist. Ultimately The Old Vine Registry won as an “international, global and beautiful project of tremendous value. If we go back to the roots of the wine environment, it is critical to preserve the genetic diversity and the cultural heritage documented in The Old Vine Registry and promoted by The Old Vine Conference’’ they said.
As of January 2024 The Old Vine Registry has 3,100 vineyards from 35 countries. In order to be included in the registry vineyards must be at least 35 years old in line with guidance set by The Barossa Old Vine Charter, The Old Vine Project in South Africa and The Old Vine Conference.
On news of the win Jancis Robinson MW, whose work formed the core of the data held on The Old Vine Registry, said ‘I’m thrilled that, against extremely stiff competition, all the hard work that Alder Yarrow has put into transforming a messy list on JancisRobinson.com into a beautiful, increasingly valuable standalone website has been recognised. And I’d also like to thank Jackson Family Wines who funded the development work.’
Alder Yarrow, the architect behind the design and build of the digitalised Old Vine Registry, said “It’s extremely gratifying to have our early efforts with the Old Vine Registry recognized and celebrated, especially as we’re in the very early days of what this public resource has the potential to become. But most of all, I’m excited that we’ve won this award under the banner of heritage because that’s a concept we all need to recognize and promote when it comes to old vine vineyards.”
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About The Old Vine Registry: Alder Yarrow, Founder & Editor at Vinography.com is the architect behind the design and build of The Old Vine Registry and has driven the project from concept to realisation. The raw data at the heart of the Registry has been provided by JancisRobinson.com and the ongoing stewardship of The Old Vine Registry lies with The Old Vine Conference. The development of the Old Vine Registry has been funded by a donation from Jackson Family Wines. As of January 2024 The Old Vine Registry has 3,100 vineyards from 35 countries.
About The Old Vine Conference: The Old Vine Conference is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to bring together a global network to create a new category for wine from heritage vineyards. The Old Vine Conference works to safeguard old vines of cultural and ecological value by connecting, educating, and inspiring the global wine industry through conferences, research, partnerships, tastings, and fieldtrips. The Old Vine Conference, co-founded by Sarah Abbott MW, Alun Griffiths MW and Leo Austin, is changing the path for old vines and their wines, and in the 3 years since its founding has contributed exponentially to the awareness, understanding, and support of the global old vine movement. The first conference took place in March 2021. The Old Vine Conference is funded by a combination of sponsorship, trade, winery, and individual membership.
About the V d’Or Awards: The V d’Or awards are the Business Awards of Vinexposium, organisers of Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris. V d’Or awards recognise the top business initiatives in the wine and spirits industry worldwide and celebrate the excellence of industry members in terms of performance and sustainability. The awards are divided into five categories: new business solutions, brand experience, heritage initiative, joint initiative, and eco-friendly market launch. Award recipients are decided by vote by members of the V d’Or Committee. The awards are presented during La Nuit des V d’Or, ahead of Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris.
Contact:
Belinda Stone at The Old Vine Conference
belinda@oldvines.org
+44 (0)7903 804227
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