I would agree there. Shinki has far more "genuine grain" where vic looks embossed (at least what I've seen of late). Entirely too uniform. Vic also seems to vary more dramatically from batch to batch.I much prefer the grain on the Vicenza. The pictures are taken in very different lighting so it's tough to compare the color depth. Aging cannot be called from those photos obviously.
If I'm being honest, Vicenza doesn't excite me as far as veg tanned leathers go. You make a good point that Vicenza does not show the great advantages over chrome tanned leather that it should, but other vegetable tanned leathers do. I think just about every other veg tanned horsehide I've seen looks nicer. Shinki, what Eastman uses, what Fine Creek is using, even Badalssi cowhide. I found out that Aero has some Badalassi now. If I were to buy an Aero, that would be the leather I would buy.