AYA Estate among first ten for global Old Vine Registry Seal
AYA Estate in Bulgaria is among the first ten producers across seven countries cleared to use the Old Vine Registry’s new OVR Seal on labels and shelves. The mark is not a quality or sustainability certificate — it flags wines with at least 85% grapes from Registry vines at set age tiers, for a one-time US$300 fee.
Bulgaria is on the opening list.
AYA Estate is among the first ten producers across seven countries cleared for the Old Vine Registry (OVR) Seal at its 1 October 2026 launch. Named with it: Seghesio and Bedrock in Sonoma, Plaimont in Gascony, Garage Wine Company in Chile, Methymnaeos on Lesvos, Ciclo Andino in Argentina and Woolridge Creek in Oregon. Several already show the mark online; bottle labels follow with new vintages.
The Seal is a label and shelf mark — not a quality, sustainability or farming certificate. A wine qualifies when at least 85% of its grapes come from Registry vineyards at tiers 35+, 50+, 75+, 100+ or 150+ years. Fee: one-time US$300, so even small producers can join.
Alder Yarrow, architect and manager of the OVR, said the Registry has long helped the trade value old vineyards; the Seal is how that registration reaches the shelf. The project grew from a registry initiated by Jancis Robinson and is run by the Old Vine Registry Foundation under Yarrow’s management.
Bulgarian hook: one of the first ten seats worldwide sits with a Bulgarian estate, on the same launch slate as Sonoma and Gascony.
Mini-concept: an age tier on a label is not a medal — it is a documented share of fruit from vines old enough for a public register.
Keep: a soft drink never needed a vineyard register. An old-vine bottle does — ask whether the seal points to Registry vines, or only to a back-label story.
Remember: OVR Seal 1 Oct 2026; ≥85% Registry grapes; tiers 35+/50+/75+/100+/150+; US$300 once; AYA among first ten / seven countries; Yarrow / Jancis-initiated Registry; not a quality or sustainability cert.
Source: Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News