They celebrated 20 vintages recently with a tasting of older wines for a few friends and winemakers at Olivers in Clyde, where they launched their first wine two decades ago.
Burgess might be a little more weather-beaten than he was 20 years ago and Edwards is as gracious as ever, despite battling rabbits, birds and frost on the vineyard they blasted out of the schisty hillside above Earnscleugh.
Many of the wines have aged just as affably.
Tasting representative vintages of riesling, gewurztraminer and pinot noir back to the first vintage, 1988, I was struck by a remarkably consistent, slightly honeyed, slightly rubbery, schisty undertone that seems characteristic of this particular vineyard from its early days to the present vintages.
It's what wine people like to call "terroir" - the effect of the soils, vineyard exposure, climate and people on the wine from a particular vineyard.
Several winemakers, most of whom had made wines for Black Ridge over the years, were there, but sadly not Mike Wolter, who died in an industrial accident in 1997, or current winemaker Kevin Clark, who was in Germany.
Those present included many of the region's most distinguished winemakers - Dean Shaw, now of Central Otago Wine Company, Rudi Bauer, of Quartz Reef, Grant Taylor of Valli, Alan Brady of Mount Edward, and Tony Bish, now at Sacred Hill in Hawkes Bay.
While the 1988 riesling was definitely tired, the 1988 gewurztraminer was still delicious - gewurztraminer has always been a highlight of Black Ridge's portfolio.
Tony Bish, who made this wine while he was working at Rippon, said it was the most distinguished old gewurztraminer he had tasted, reminding him of an old Alsatian gewurztraminer.
Of the intermediate ones, the 2002 gewurztraminer, with hints of orange liqueur, bright floral aromas and intensity, was deliciousBlack Ridge pinot noirs tend to be elegant with the characteristic hint of schist or hot rock, intense red fruits and firm tannins.
Like the whites, they certainly have no trouble maturing for a decade - the 1997 was deliciously attractive with elegant redcurrant and spice and grainy tannins.
Old vines are valued in the wine world and most of Black Ridge's are 20 or more years old.
Black Ridge Old Vine Riesling comes from vines planted 27 years ago - the new 2008 is deliciously lively, with zesty hints of lime and white peaches, intensity and a racy, bone-dry finish, a highlight of this historic tasting.
