Dispelling the Vintage Wine Myth
Author: Lou
People who are not well versed in wine history usually share a common misconception about Vintage Wine. Many hold the belief that because it is labeled as a 'vintage wine' that it is superior in quality and taste. A Vintage wine is a wine that has been produced using grapes grown and harvested in one particular year.
The misconception may have been brought over from the producers of Vintage Port, who follow the practice of creating vintage ports and later declare which ones were the best years for harvest. These are then labeled as 'Vintage Ports' and denote which were particularly good years for harvest and quality.
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. 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. Wines from Chilie or South Africa only have to have 75% of grapes from the same year to be labeled as Vintage wines. In other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, America and the EU, they are required to be 85% and up.
The regular types of wine, known as simply 'non-vintage wines' utilize harvests from 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.
