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Vintage, in
winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see
Harvest (wine) The harvesting of wine grapes (Vintage) is one of the most crucial steps in the process of wine-making. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing t ...
). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in
Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
, where Port houses make and declare vintage Port in their best years. From this tradition, a common, though not strictly correct, usage applies the term to any wine that is perceived to be particularly old or of a particularly high quality. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the year denoted on the label. In Chile and South Africa, the requirement is 75% same-year content for vintage-dated wine. In Australia, New Zealand, and the member states of the European Union, the requirement is 85%. In the United States, the requirement is 85%, unless the wine is designated with an AVA, (e.g., Napa Valley), in which case it is 95%. Technically, the 85% rule in the United States applies equally to imports, but there are difficulties in enforcing the regulation. The opposite of a vintage wine is a ''nonvintage'' wine (often seen on a wine list as NV), which is usually a blend from the produce of two or more years. This is a common practice for winemakers seeking a consistent style of wine, year on year.


Etymology

The word ''
vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...
'' was first used in the early 15th century. It was adapted from the
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...
''vendage'' (wine harvest) deriving from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''vindemia'' (grape-gathering), in turn coming from ''vinum'' (wine) and ''demere'' (to remove).


Importance of vintage

The importance assigned to vintage is both varied and disputed. For wine produced in regions at the colder climatic limits of wine production, vintage can be very important, because some seasons will be much warmer and produce
riper grapes In viticulture, ripeness is the completion of the ripening process of wine grapes on the vine which signals the beginning of harvest. What exactly constitutes ripeness will vary depending on what style of wine is being produced ( sparkling, still ...
and better wine. On the other hand, a poor growing season can lead to grapes failing to reach optimal ripeness, resulting in grape juice that is higher in acid and lower in sugar, which affects the quality of the resulting wine. In many wine regions, especially in the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
, growing seasons are much more uniform. In dry regions, the systematic and controlled use of
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
also contributes to uniform vintages. However, such wines are regularly labeled by vintage because of consumer demand. Wines of superior vintages from prestigious producers and regions will often command much higher prices than those from average vintages. This is especially the case if wines are likely to improve further with some age in the bottle. Some wines are only labeled with a vintage in better-than-average years, to maintain their quality and reputation, while the vast majority of wines are produced to be drunk young and fresh. In such cases, a vintage is usually considered less important. However, it can serve to protect consumers against buying a wine that would not be expected to improve with age and could be past its best, such as with
Beaujolais nouveau Beaujolais nouveau ( , ) is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is a '' vin de primeur'', fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributo ...
, a wine style made to be consumed within months of its bottling. The importance of vintage may sometimes be exaggerated. For example, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wine columnist
Frank J. Prial Frank J. Prial (November 4, 1930 – November 6, 2012) was a journalist and author, and the wine columnist for ''The New York Times'' for 25 years, writing the weekly "Wine Talk" column largely since 1972 until his retirement in 2004.Asimov, Eric, ...
declared the vintage chart to be dead, writing that "winemakers of the world have rendered the vintage chart obsolete" (Prial), and Bill Marsano wrote that "winemakers now have the technology and skills to make good and even very good wines in undistinguished years" (Marsano).
James Laube James Laube ( ) is an American wine critic, writing for ''Wine Spectator'' since 1980, a full-time staff writer since 1983, with expertise on California wine. Laube has published the books ''California's Great Cabernets'', ''California's Great Chard ...
of ''
Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general enterta ...
'' has asserted that "even an average vintage can yield some grand wines" (Laube).


Weil blind tastings

Roman Weil, co-chairman of the Oenonomy Society of the US and professor at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, tested the controversial hypothesis that experienced wine drinkers "cannot distinguish in
blind tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...
s the wine of years rated high from those of years rated low, or, if they can, they do not agree with the vintage chart's preferences" (Weil). Weil used wines ranging from four to 17 years beyond their vintage with 240 wine drinkers and found that the tasters could not distinguish between wines of good and bad vintages except for
Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
s.Parker v. Prial: The Death of the Vintage Chart
Roman L. Weil, 5/25/2001
Even when they could make a distinction, the match between the tasters' individual assessments and the charts' rankings were little better than
tossing a coin Coin flipping, coin tossing, or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air and checking which side is showing when it lands, in order to choose between two alternatives, heads or tails, sometimes used to resolve a dispute betwe ...
. When the tests were replicated with wine experts, including
French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Ameri ...
academics, the results were again the same as chance. Weil does not consider a vintage chart to be useless. He suggests using one to help "find good buys in wine. Buy wine from the Appalling years," which may be priced far below actual quality.


Miscellaneous

*In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, wine regulators publish official classifications of each vintage. *A common Bordelais saying is "The best vintage is the vintage we have to sell" (Greene).


See also

*
Comet vintages Comet vintages are years during which an astronomical event, involving generally a "Great Comet", occurs prior to harvest. Throughout the history of wine, winemakers have attributed successful vintages and ideal weather conditions to the unexplain ...


References


Further reading

*Greene, Joshua. "Bordeaux 2005". ''Wine & Spirits'', June 2006, 25(3), 24–26. *Laube, James. "A caveat for Cabernet". ''Wine Spectator'', June 15, 2006, 31(4), 37. *Prial, Frank J. "Wine talk: So who needs vintage charts". ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 9, 2000, B1 & B14. *Marsano, Bill. "Vintage nonsense". ''Hemisphere'' (
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
' inflight magazine), May 2001. *
Weil, Roman L Roman Lee Weil, Jr. (born May 22, 1940) is an American economist, accountant, consultant, and Emeritus faculty member of Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, especially known for his work on bond duration. Biography Roman L. ...
. "Parker v. Prial: The death of the vintage chart". Oenometrie VIII. Eighth annual meeting of the Vineyard Data Quantification Society (VDQS) in


External links

*
Ribeiro Denomination of OriginThe Decanter's Vintage Guides
{{Winemaking Viticulture Wine terminology