Vintage of wines

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1180408 C & T Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir Patio Santa Maria, 2007

1183434 Dumol 2008 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 2008

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Home > Vintage

Vintage

A "vintage wine" is one made from grapes that were all or mostly grown in a particular year, and labeled as such. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion that is not from the labeled vintage. Variations in a wine's character from year to year can include subtle differences in color, palate, nose, body and development. High-quality red table wines can improve in flavor with age if properly stored. Consequently, it is not uncommon for wine enthusiasts and traders to save bottles of an especially good vintage wine for future consumption.

In the United States, for a wine to be “vintage” dated and labeled with a country of origin such as Napa Valley, it must contain at least 85% of its volume from grapes harvested in that year. If a wine is not labeled with a country of origin or AVA the percentage requirement is lowered to 85%.

Vintage wines are generally bottled in a single batch so that each bottle will have a similar taste. Climate can have a big impact on the character of a wine to the extent that different vintages from the same vineyard can vary dramatically in flavor and quality.

Thus, vintage wines are produced to be individually characteristic of the vintage and to serve as the flagship wines of the producer. Superior vintages, from reputable producers and regions, will often fetch much higher prices than their average vintages. Some vintage wines, like Barolo, are only made in better-than-average years.

Non-vintage wines can be blended from more than one vintage for consistency, a process which allows winemakers to keep a reliable market image and maintain sales even in bad years. One recent study suggests that for normal drinkers, vintage year may not be as significant to perceive wine quality as currently thought, although wine connoisseurs continue to place great importance of it.

Sub-Categories

1999 and earlier

2000 - 2001

2002 - 2003

2004 - 2005

2006 - 2007

2008 - 2009

2010 - 2011

2012 -

All sizes are 750mL unless otherwise noted.
Ratings and vintages subject to change at any time.
All pricing and availability subject to change.

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