Evaluating the worth of nascent old vine cues for South African wines

In their recently published paper, “Evaluating the worth of nascent old vine cues for South African wines”, Jonathan Steyn and David Priilaid discussed the value of old vine extrinsic bottle cues, showing their significant impact on a wine’s final price. They found that R2.96 was added for every year a vineyard had been in the ground, translating to a R103,60 premium for a 35-year-old vine entering old vine status. Interestingly, the location of the old vine cue has a significant affect on price. Due to a trust in back label narrative, a bottle gained R67.84 in value when the old vine cue was placed on the back label, but was discounted by R85.01 when placed on the front label, a space commonly used to convey legal information. Pinotage came at a significant price premium, adding R332.51 to a wine’s final worth, while Stellenbosch added R58.37.

View the “Evaluating the worth of nascent old vine cues for South African wines” paper, here.