Old Vines: Wines with History

We’ll taste 8 wines from Greece, Turkey, Spain, Lebanon, South Africa and Chile, from rare grape varieties and vines up to 150 years. For this tasting, we’ll start in countries considered among the world’s oldest wine regions, exploring ancient wine cultures and the vineyards that have survived through generations, before venturing beyond them to discover remarkable old vines around the world. We’ll taste 8 wines from Greece, Turkey, Spain, Lebanon, South Africa and Chile, featuring rare and lesser-known grape varieties and vineyards ranging from around 40 to 150 years old. Most of the vines are older than the winemakers who make the wines today - in some cases, they were planted generations before the person making the wine was even born. Along the way, we’ll explore what makes old vines special, why some vineyards have survived while others have disappeared and whether vine age really translates into something distinctive in the glass. From ancient wine-growing traditions to high-altitude vineyards, old bush vines and ungrafted vines, each wine has a story to tell about its place, grape and history. As always, this will be an informal and educational tasting for curious wine drinkers - whether you’re already fascinated by old vines or simply want to discover some wines and regions you may not have encountered before. We’ll also serve a small selection of cheeses alongside the wines. This will be the final Pale Ruby Wine tasting in our current format for a while. Going forward, we’re taking Pale Ruby Wine on the road, with one-off tastings and events at different venues across London and beyond. So join us for this tasting as we explore wines with roots that run deep - and before Pale Ruby Wine starts its next chapter.