The Vintage Wine Myth
A number of non-wine drinkers have been thrown by a common misconception about Vintage Wine. They believe the notion that because a wine has been labeled as a vintage wine, that it is better quality and taste. A Vintage wine is a wine that has been produced using grapes grown and harvested in one particular year.
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. While they do use grapes from one year only, labeling it as a vintage does not guarantee that it is a good wine, it is more used to simple display what year the grapes were used. The wine community then samples the wines and connoisseurs then debate over the quality and which years yielded the best wines.
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. In other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, America and the EU, they are required to be 85% and up.
The other types of wine, which are just called ‘non-vintage’ wines, can be made from grapes form harvests over two or more years. This is done by wine makers who are seeking to create and retain a consistent style of wine from year to year.
In the past when grape growing was heavily reliant on the weather, different years produced different quality wines, however with modern farming and irrigation, wineries can now grow consistent harvests every year, however this has done little to stem the debate amongst wine fans over vintage labeling.
Follow the link for more information on vintage wine cellars.
