A vintage wine actually refers to a wine that was made from grapes grown, for the most part, in the same year. Vineyards will go through great lengths to label their bottles with the year associated with that wine when a vintage wine is produced.
What defines a vintage wine varies among different countries, but normally, a vintage will be allowed to contain a certain amount of wine made from other grapes which are not of the same vintage.
Generally, vintage wines are produced in the same period, in order to ensure the taste of all the various bottles to stay roughly the same. Wine making is a delicate process, and there are so many factors that can affect the taste. Among them are the climate, soil, region and even the amount of sunlight or rain exposed to the grapes when they were growing.
The purpose of the vintage wines, for most vineyards, is to define a quality of wine for that vineyard, which will also define a standard for the rest of that vineyard’s range of wines. This is a method of keeping consistency in this delicate process, as well as showing off the highest quality they can achieve. There are even some vintages which are only produced when the quality of grapes that year are a certain level, thus increasing demand for the beverage by decreasing supply.
In America, the highest quality vintages are given an AVA or American Viticultural Area label. This label defines that the wine was bottled with at least 95% of the vintage grapes during that year. If a wine doesn’t have an AVA, it can still be called vintage, given that 85% of the wine was made from grapes grown in that same annual period.
There are also non-vintage wines, which consist of a blend of grapes or wines of different vintages. This allows for vineyards to keep producing wines when the quality of grapes that year is bad. Some vineyards, such as in France, take this blending to an important style.
Controversy is growing about the actual difference in quality between vintage wines and the blended variety. Many people claim that the cheaper and blended wines can be just as good as the higher priced vintages. On the opposite side of the controversy, are conservative connoisseurs, who believe that the consistency of vintage wines is essential for high quality wines to be produced. On the other hand, wine tasting contests are giving support to both sides of the controversy.
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