The Wine Bottle

People who are not well versed in wine history usually share a common misconception about Vintage Wine. Many think that labeling it Vintage automatically means ‘old’ and high quality, however this does not always ring true. Vintage wines actually indicate the year on the label is the one year of grapes grown and used in the wine.

The idea may have originated from the producers of Vintage Port in who make ports based off grapes from certain years, which are later analyzed and the ‘good years’ are then decided. These ‘good batches’ are then labeled as ‘Vintage Ports’ by each winery, indicating a particularly good batch.

Vintage wines do share some aspects of the labeling but it is not exactly the same. In the same fashion as Vintage Port, Vintage wines are made using only the grapes from a select year, however this does not mean the wine will be better in taste or quality. Usually the wines are released for sale and the wine community discusses and works out which of the wines are exceptionally good.

To add to this, Vintage wines do not actually have to be 100% made from grapes from that year. In areas such as Chilie and South Africa, Vintage wines can consist of 75% grapes from that year and up. Vintage wines from the U.S, Australia, New Zealand and European Union have the bar set at 85% and higher.
The other types of wine, which are just called ‘non-vintage’ wines, can be made from grapes form harvests over two or more years. Some wineries use this method to create wines with consistent tastes and quality.

In the past, vintage wines were prized and did have different qualities and tastes according to the years they were grown, however modern farming techniques and irrigation now lets most wineries grow consistent crops, but the debate over quality still continues to this day.

Follow the link for more information on vintage wine cellars.

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