Term
Vintage
VIN-tij
The year on the bottle
The harvest year. In marginal climates it is a plot twist; in reliable sunshine it is a footnote. Non-vintage means a blend across years.
A cool, wet year can mean higher acid, greener tannin, and lighter body — or disaster. A hot year can mean riper fruit, higher alcohol, and lower acid — or cooked, soupy wine. The grower's choices (when to pick, how to extract) matter as much as the weather.
Vintage charts are blunt instruments. They help in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and Piedmont. They help less in Napa — until a fire year or a cold rain year reminds you California has vintages too. A great producer in a modest year is often a better buy than a lazy one in a legend year.
Non-vintage Champagne is supposed to taste like the house, not the calendar. That is a feature. For the last fifteen years as drink / hold / careful, open Vyne's vintage charts.
