Vintage
Date
|
|
A "Vintage
Date" is shown on many bottles of wine. The vintage
date indicates the year in which the grapes were harvested.
|
The
one exception is for very late harvested wines in Europe such
as 'eiswein' (or 'icewine' in Canada). Even though the harvest
of the grapes may extend past January 1st, the wine still carries
the vintage year of the year in which the grape were grown.
|
In the
Northern Hemisphere, grapes are usually harvested between August
through October (depending on the grape variety and local climate).
Grapes harvested in October of 2003 will carry the 2003 vintage
date even though the finished wine may not be released until
2004 (or even 2005 for many red wines).
|
In the
Southern Hemisphere, grapes are harvested from February though
April. Wines made from grapes harvested in March of 2003 will
carry the 2003 vintage date no matter when the finished wines
are released.
|
Regulations
in the United States require that 95 percent of the grapes used
to make a wine must come the harvest in the labeled vintage
year. Many countries have similar regulations to allow winemakers
a little leeway but still maintain the integrity of the vintage
date.
|
Wines
bearing a Vintage Date on the label are usually of higher quality
than "non-vintage" wines. This is not always the case,
but usually you will find that wines that offer greater specificity
of information about the vintage or source of the grapes will
be of higher quality.
|
|
|