Barossa Old Vine Charter

Barossa Australia's history of the region records that English shipping merchant George Fife Angas supported the migration of free settlers, including a group of Silesian Lutherans led by Pastor August Kavel in 1842, who established themselves in Bethany. Barossa Australia credits South Australia's strict quarantine policies with protecting the region's vines from the phylloxera outbreak that, in its words, “wiped out 90% of European vineyards in the 19th century”, and says some Barossa vineyards date back to 1843. In the 1980s, in response to a grape oversupply, the South Australian Government introduced the Vine Pull Scheme, offering payments to growers who removed unproductive vines; Barossa Australia says the unintended consequence was the loss of century-old Shiraz and Grenache plantings. In the same decade, St Hallett, Rockford, Bethany, Grant Burge, Charles Melton, Heritage, Willows Vineyard and Elderton were among the wineries that opened cellar doors, following Peter Lehmann's lead, and Barossa Australia says their success revitalised demand for old-vine fruit. Yalumba states that it created the Old Vine Charter in 2007 to improve clarity and honesty in wine labelling, and that in 2009 it evolved into an industry-recognised Charter with the help of the Barossa Grape & Wine Association. Wine Australia's Barossa facilitator guide likewise says the Charter was pioneered by the Yalumba Wine Company, which created its own version in 2007, before it was built on and rolled out regionally in 2009.

• Pastor August Kavel led a group of Silesian Lutherans to Barossa in 1842, a migration supported by George Fife Angas (Barossa Australia)
• The South Australian Government's 1980s Vine Pull Scheme, introduced in response to a grape oversupply, led to the loss of century-old Shiraz and Grenache plantings (Barossa Australia)
• Yalumba says that from 2007 onward any of its wines using 'Old Vine' nomenclature, on a front label, back label, or in supporting documents or descriptions, comply with the Yalumba Old Vine Charter
• Decanter reported that Yalumba's Charter was ten years in the making and was formalised in part to encourage regions to start a register of vine planting by vineyard and variety

Wine Australia describes the Barossa Valley region as located north-east of the city of Adelaide, with warm grape-growing areas on the valley floor and cooler meso-climates at higher altitudes in the surrounding hills. Its Barossa Valley region page, which carries the 2025-26 Regional Snapshot, gives the region's altitude as 112-596m and its growing season rainfall as 220mm. Wine Australia's Barossa facilitator guide notes that many old vines in Barossa are dry grown (without irrigation) as they are on deep soil, while vineyards on shallower soils often require irrigation. Barossa Australia's Charter page describes Ancestor vines as tending to be dry-grown, low-yielding vines, and says Centenarian vines were planted generations ago, when dry-farming techniques required careful site selection. The Charter's examples reach beyond the valley floor: Barossa Australia lists Eden Valley wines including Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz and Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling.

• Warm grape-growing areas on the valley floor and cooler meso-climates at higher altitudes in the surrounding hills (Wine Australia)
• Altitude 112-596m and growing season rainfall 220mm for the Barossa Valley region (Wine Australia region page with its 2025-26 Regional Snapshot)
• Many old vines are dry grown on deep soil; vineyards on shallower soils often require irrigation (Wine Australia facilitator guide)
• Henschke describes the soils at its Hill of Grace Vineyard as thick, red, clay-rich loams overlain by a veneer of brown, fine, sandy-to-silty loam

Wine Australia's Barossa facilitator guide says Barossa is home to some of the world's oldest continuously producing vines, among them Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, Riesling and Mataro, some of which date back to the area's settlement in the early 1840s. The same guide notes that old vines often produce extremely low yields and that, while vine age is often seen as an indicator of quality, it is not a prerequisite; it adds that, while the evidence is mostly anecdotal, grapes from older vines typically have higher acid and lower pH and can produce wines with greater depth. Yalumba makes a similar point, stating that vine age may often be used as an indicator of wine quality but is not a prerequisite. Wine Australia's Barossa Valley region page (accessed 2026) says Shiraz occupies 50% of the vineyard plantings and that the Barossa has some of the oldest Shiraz vines in the world dating back to 1843.

• Chateau Tanunda 150 Year Old Vine Semillon is among Barossa Australia's Ancestor examples
• Centenarian examples include Jacob's Creek 1922 Block 2 Riesling and Saltram Wines Semillon from a 1921 planting at Zerk Farm, Lyndoch (Barossa Australia)
• Old vines often produce extremely low yields, and vine age is not a prerequisite for quality (Wine Australia facilitator guide)
• Shiraz occupies 50% of Barossa Valley vineyard plantings, and some Barossa Shiraz vines date back to 1843 (Wine Australia, accessed 2026)

Barossa Australia's Ancestor examples include Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache; Hewitson Old Garden Mourvèdre from the Koch Family Pilgrim Vineyard (1853); Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz; Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz; Penfolds Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon; Poonawatta Estate The 1880 Shiraz; Chateau Tanunda 150 Year Old Vine Semillon; Elderton Command Single Vineyard Shiraz; Turkey Flat The Ancestor Shiraz; Yalumba The Tri-Centenary Grenache, planted 1889; and Purple Hands Planta Circa Ancestor Vine, from the Caiazza Family's vineyard, originally the 'Woodlands' PF Zimmermann Vineyard, planted 1885. On the same page, Marco Cirillo of Cirillo Wines is quoted: “Our old vineyard was planted by the Graetz family in 1848 and is the oldest continuously producing Grenache vineyard in the world.” Henschke states that the oldest vines on its Hill of Grace Vineyard, known as the Grandfathers, were planted circa 1860s by Nicolaus Stanitzki, describes them as dry-grown and more than 155 years of age, and says Cyril Henschke created the first Hill of Grace in 1958. Penfolds' 2004 Block 42 tasting note describes the 10-acre Block 42 at its Kalimna Vineyard as comprising “the oldest plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon continuously produced in the world”. Yalumba says its The Octavius Shiraz includes Centenarian grapes sourced from vines planted in 1908 and 1854.

• Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz, Turkey Flat The Ancestor Shiraz and Elderton Command Single Vineyard Shiraz are among Barossa Australia's Ancestor examples
• Centenarian examples include Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz, Yalumba The Steeple Shiraz (planted 1919) and St Hugo Koch Shiraz from the Koch Family Vineyard (1921) (Barossa Australia)
• Survivor examples include Kalleske Old Vine Grenache, Hewitson 3 Corner Grenache (Koch Family Pilgrim Vineyard, 1925) and Saltram Old Vine Grenache (1935) (Barossa Australia)
• Old Vine examples include Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling (Eden Valley, 1965), Pewsey Vale 1961 Block Riesling and Kurtz Family Vineyard Lunar Block (1969) (Barossa Australia)

Wine Australia's facilitator guide says the Charter classifies old vines by age into four categories. Barossa Australia defines a Barossa Old Vine as equal or greater than 35 years of age, a Barossa Survivor Vine as equal or greater than 70 years of age, a Barossa Centenarian Vine as equal or greater than 100 years of age, and a Barossa Ancestor Vine as equal or greater than 125 years of age. Wine Australia's guide describes Centenarian Vines as pre-phylloxera vines and Ancestor Vines as thought to be among the oldest producing vines in the world. Yalumba's own charter gives alternative names for three of the tiers: a Survivor Vine is also known as a Very Old Vine, a Centenarian Vine as an Exceptionally Old Vine, and an Ancestor Vine as a Very Bloody Exceptionally Old Vine. Yalumba says that until recently there was no definition in Australia prescribing what factors must be met to label an 'old vine' as such, and Decanter reported Yalumba's view that, in the absence of a nationwide standard for terms like 'old', producers can make arbitrary, conflicting and potentially misleading claims.

• Barossa Old Vine: equal or greater than 35 years of age (Barossa Australia)
• Barossa Survivor Vine: equal or greater than 70 years of age; Yalumba also calls it a Very Old Vine
• Barossa Centenarian Vine: equal or greater than 100 years of age; Wine Australia describes Centenarian Vines as pre-phylloxera vines
• Barossa Ancestor Vine: equal or greater than 125 years of age (Barossa Australia)

Barossa Australia presents the Charter's tiers in heritage terms: it describes an Ancestor vine as “a living tribute to the early European settlers of Barossa”, and says a Survivor vine “pays homage to the resolute commitment of those growers and winemakers who value the quality and structure of old vine wines”. The same page quotes Robert O’Callaghan of Rockford Wines: “We were the first to acknowledge that these old Shiraz vineyards were a rare and valuable resource in the Barossa, something that we should value and protect.” Barossa Australia's history says the 1990s saw a return to traditional techniques such as basket presses and open fermenters, with Barossa celebrating the provenance of old vines. Wine Australia's facilitator guide notes that the Barossa Vine Improvement initiative makes selections ('Heritage' clones) from old vines, particularly Shiraz and Riesling, and Henschke records mass selection at Hill of Grace over three growing seasons from 1986 and the establishment of a nursery source block in 1989.

• Barossa Australia calls Ancestor vines a living tribute to the early European settlers of Barossa
• The Barossa Vine Improvement initiative makes 'Heritage' clone selections from old vines, particularly Shiraz and Riesling (Wine Australia facilitator guide)
• Henschke established a nursery source block at Hill of Grace in 1989, and in 2001 created Hill of Roses from the nursery shiraz vines
• Marco Cirillo of Cirillo Wines, quoted by Barossa Australia: “They are not good because they are old, they are old because they’re good.”

Primary sources (Barossa Australia, Wine Australia, the Australian Wine Research Institute, and producers' own sites for their own vineyards and wines): https://www.barossa.com/wine/vineyards/old-vine-charter/, https://www.yalumba.com/old-vine-charter/, https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/regions-and-varieties/south-australia-wines/barossa, https://www.awri.com.au/industry_support/viticulture/pests-and-diseases/phylloxera/, https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/d10198e8-c79a-495f-b937-d9f163bef80a/AWD_Barossa_FacilitatorGuide_1.pdf?ext=.pdf, https://www.henschke.com.au/pages/hill-of-grace-vineyard, https://www.penfolds.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PenfoldsSharedLibrary/default/dw8c9aaee6/2-Documents/Tasting_Notes/Special_Bins/Block_42_Kalimna_Cabernet/Penfolds_Special_Bins_Block_42_Kalimna_Cabernet_Sauvignon_2004.pdf, https://www.barossa.com/about/history/. Secondary: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/yalumba-old-vines-must-be-at-least-35-87256/. Last verified 2026-09-28