The biddies turn to what makes a good vintage, and how you can make sure you’re buying a good wine. Tune in to learn about good years, bad years and a nifty wallet size print out so you can buy good vintages on the fly.
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Sources:
Wine Folly, Wine Vintages & Why They Matter (Sometimes)
Decanter, What Makes a Great Vintage?
Wine Investment, What Makes a Good Vintage?
Download: Wine Spectator Vintage Chart
Image Credit: Wine Folly
Study Notes for What’s In a Wine Vintage:
*Please note some of these lines might be directly taken from sources noted above.
VINTAGE: the year in which the grapes were grown and harvested, not the year in which the wine was made or released
- Northern Hemisphere – growing season is April to October
- Southern Hemisphere – October to April
NON VINTAGE: multiple years blended together
- Different grapes prefer different climates and growing conditions so a good vintage for one varietal or region does not mean every wine from that year from every grape and every
- Ex: Riesling does well in sunny spots with cool nights and Cabernets need hot and dry climate
What Defines a Good or a Bad Vintage?
- The defining feature of a vintage is sunshine
- Sunny days give grape the best chance of reaching full maturity and optimum ripeness levels
- If a region receives too much rain and clouds, grapes do not fully ripen and may be more prone to rot and disease
- However, if the region is too hot (too many days above 92) then grapes become raisinated and the wines could be flabby or have bitter tannins
How Weather Affects a Vintage By Season
- Spring: Frosts are common in semi-continental climates (Burgundy, NY) and can destroy crops before they even flower
- Hail storms can break off flowers and buds reducing the vintage’s size
- These do not reduce quality unless they greatly reduce the length of the growing season
- Summer: Wet weather during the summer can cause fungal disease
- Drought and exceptionally hot weather causes the vine to pause their growth until cooler weather returns
- Fall: Rain at harvest swells grapes causing them to lose concentration or rot
- Cold weather slows grapes from ripening
When Vintage Matters More
- Wines from Intermediate Climates:
- These areas have less predictable growing regions (France, Northern Italy, Northern Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Chile, Austria)
- & When it matters less:
- Wines from predictable climates like Central Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Australia, California, Southern Italy since they all produce a more consistent style from year to year
- Wines for Large Producers
6 Critical Factors to Produce Great Wine (According to Decanter)
- An early and rapid flowering and a good fecundation assuring a sufficient yield and the hope of homogeneous ripening
- Sufficient hydric stress at fruit set to limit the growth of young berries and determine their future tannic content
- Cessation of vegetative growth before color change
- Complete maturity of the grapes
- Good weather
- Cost of Operations
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