Vintage

This article is about the winemaking term. For other uses, see Vintage (disambiguation).
Vintage by Satyrs and Maenads. Ancient Greek Attic black-figure cup, end of 6th century BC. Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
The Vintagers, after a miniature of the "Dialogues de Saint Gregoire" (13th century)—manuscript of the Royal Library of Belgium

Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and declare vintage Port in their best years. From this tradition, a common, though not strictly correct, usage applies the term to any wine that is perceived to be particularly old or of a particularly high quality.

Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the year denoted on the label. In Chile and South Africa, the requirement is 75% same-year content for vintage-dated wine.[1][2] In Australia, New Zealand, and the member states of the European Union, the requirement is 85%.[3][4][5] In the United States, the requirement is 85%, unless the wine is designated with an AVA, (e.g., Napa Valley), in which case it is 95%. Technically, the 85% rule in the United States applies equally to imports, but there are difficulties in enforcing the regulation.[6]

The opposite of a vintage wine is a nonvintage wine (often seen on a wine list as 'NV'), which is usually a blend from the produce of two or more years. This is a common practice for winemakers seeking a consistent style of wine, year on year.

  1. ^ Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile/ Viñas De Chile: Decree 464, Article 5
  2. ^ Wines of South Africa: labeling requirements (South Africa) paragraph 14; Cape Wine and Spirits Institute
  3. ^ Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Regulations 1981, Statutory Rules 1981 No. 156
  4. ^ ANZFA Standard P5 and P6
  5. ^ EU Regulation: 1493/99, Annex VIII, E.7
  6. ^ 27 CFR Ch.1 § 4.27