I: Grape
The oldest grape vine in the world still makes wine.
Good morning. Today is primidi, the 1st of Vendémiaire, Year CCXXXI. Happy New Year!
A grape vine, carefully tended, can live more than a century. Wine growers typically don't allow this, as the number of grapes the vine will produce decreases after a few decades, but there are some specialists who tout the flavors of "old vine" wines and keep a vine going as long as possible in order to claim the label. The label isn't clearly defined, so when you buy a bottle of "old vine" you could be getting something grown from a vine 20, 40, or 100 years old depending on what seems "old" to that region.
Or, if you're special on that "world leader" level, you could get a small bottle gifted to you from the stara trta, a vine that has been growing against the same wall in Mirabor, Slovenia, for more than 400 years.
