Age of A Wine
Many people do not pay much attention in choosing the year a wine is made. They think it is as unimportant as choosing Coca-Cola. Well, every bottle of Coca-Cola will taste exactly the same as the one before. But, not wine - it's alive and changing all the time.
The primary ingredient of wine, grapes, are as vulnerable to the seasons and human management as any other kind of agriculture, making no two wines made from year-to-year the same.
The following are some factors that influence a vintage and some tips buyers should be aware of when making a purchase.
Weather we are blessed in New Zealand with what is known as a 'maritime' climate - where the huge tracts of ocean surrounding us affect the weather. This basically means that our weather is more unsettled and unpredictable, thus affecting the quality and quantity of wines produced here from year-to-year. In an earlier article the Wine fairy explained how a good vintage doesn't just rely on a good ripening season but for the weather to be good at certain times of the year to allow the vine to go through its various stages of development - particularly from early spring right through until harvest time in autumn. The weather will affect fruit quality, quantity, ripeness and flavor. At crucial times the weather must come to the party in order to assist grape growing and at other times the weather can ruin it all.
Location also plays a role when it comes to vintages - particularly in relation to the weather. In NZ there are no regions with dream climates so every vineyard is susceptible and therefore vintage sensitive. A bad year for a region with frosts or poor fruit will affect the amount of wine that makes it to the market - which will in turn affect its availability and price. Some regions may have a good fruit set, but a poor ripening season - affecting the depth and flavor of the wine - or vice versa - have a cracker of a ripening season, but not that many grapes, producing highly concentrated flavor instead.
The Human Factor The catch phrase of most vineyards these days seems to be 'our wine is made in the vineyard'... but what does this mean? Essentially producers are saying they want to let the quality of the fruit speak for itself. It's an acknowledgement that a huge part of making great wine is having great fruit to make it with. Growers and winemakers have to coax their grapes to ripeness, battle sometimes dire autumn weather to complete the harvest, and carefully nurse the grape juice through a tricky series of manipulations to produce good wine in less-than-perfect seasons. This is where all the skill of the winemaker must be employed. In these marginal years poor winemakers tend to make poor wine, whereas vineyards that have stood the test of time tend to be those who make good wine even in bad years.
A wine changes as it ages so bear in mind what kind of wine you want when you look at the vintage. New Zealand seems to be a nation of drinkers who like their wine young, fresh and lively - if this is you, look for more recent vintages that will still have plenty of pure fruit characters and zip. If you are someone who likes the character wine gains as it matures, an older vintage will probably suit you well, but bear in mind the following remarks on price.
Price The price of a wine will often change depending on its vintage. Wines that are cheaply produced in a 'drink now' style are often also promoted at very sharp prices offering wine drinkers some great value. Be aware though that a lot of wine is also promoted in this way to clear old stocks or because the wine is nearing its drinking peak. If you are buying older vintages of such wine, it may be quite developed and not as fruit driven as a younger wine. This works the other way with wine that is made with longevity in mind - as it gets older, it tends to get scarcer and more expensive - thus a bottle of wine that cost you $40 two years ago may cost you $70 now.
If you enjoy wine with a bit of age on it, do a bit of research on cellaring potential and stock up with a mind to hold onto it for a while. This will save you money in the long run as well as rewarding your patience.
