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Vintage - why the weather decides the wine

On a wine label there is almost always a year - the vintage. For many it is just a date, but in reality it is encrypted information about the weather of a given growing season. Wine is an agricultural product, and grapes grow under the open sky, so their ripeness, acidity and sugar are decided by how much sun, rain and heat there was in a given year. This is why the same winemaker, from the same vineyard, will in a sunny and a rainy year make a completely different wine. The vintage is the key to understanding why wines from the same place can be so uneven. Here is a guide to the vintage: why the weather decides, how it affects the style of a wine and where the vintage matters most.

What a vintage is

A vintage is the year in which the grapes used to make a given wine were harvested. It is not the date of bottling or sale, but the year of harvest - and through that the year of a particular weather, which shaped the fruit. Wine is an agricultural product: grapes grow through one season, from spring budding to autumn harvest, under the influence of that year’s weather. This is why a vintage is in essence a record of the weather conditions of a given growing season. Two wines from the same vineyard, but from different vintages, can taste noticeably different, because they were made in different weather. Understanding that a vintage is information about the weather, not a mere date, is the starting point for the rest. This is why connoisseurs are so interested in vintages and keep rankings of them. We cover the concept of place itself more in terroir.

Sun and ripeness

The most important factor of a vintage is the sun. It is the sun that lets grapes ripen, accumulate sugar and reach full maturity. Sunny days give the fruit the best chance of ripeness and an optimal level of sugar, which translates into a fuller, riper wine. In cool, cloudy years grapes ripen less, giving wines lighter, more acidic and less ripe in flavour. But the key is balance, because an excess of sun also harms. Too much heat leads to overripe, jammy aromas and unpleasantly high levels of alcohol, when there is too much sugar. An ideal vintage is one with the right amount of sun - enough for the fruit to ripen, but not so much as to scorch it. The sun decides the ripeness, and the ripeness the style of the wine. Understanding the role of the sun is the foundation of understanding the vintage. It is the first and most important of the weather factors.

Rain and its traps

The second key factor is rain, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Moderate summer rainfall helps the development of flavour, supplying water without diluting the sugar - the vine fares well and ripens evenly. The problem begins with an excess. Too wet conditions in the ripening phase lead to diluted flavours, because water dilutes the fruit. Especially dangerous is rain just before the harvest: the grapes take on water and become watery, diluted, and the wine loses concentration. On the other hand extreme drought also harms - with too little water the vine shuts down and stops ripening. This is why rain has to be just right: enough for the vine to have water, but not so much as to dilute the fruit or cause disease. The timing of the rain can be key to the quality of a vintage. Rain is a factor that can destroy even a sunny season.

A good versus a weak year

These factors together explain the difference between a good and a weak vintage. A warmer, drier year usually gives grapes of higher sugar content, which leads to wines of higher alcohol and more intense, riper flavours - full, strong, rich. A cooler, wetter year gives fruit of higher acidity and lower sugar, leading to wines lighter, more acidic and more delicate. Importantly, a weak year does not automatically mean a bad wine, and a good year does not guarantee an outstanding one - it is rather different styles and levels of ease. In difficult years a good winemaker can save the vintage with selection and work, and in easy ones even a mediocre one will make a decent wine. The vintage speaks of the conditions in which the wine was made, and does not pass a final verdict. Understanding this difference helps read vintages without oversimplification. Every year has its character. We cover the difference of climates more in Old World and New World.

A table: warm versus cool year

Let us gather the influence of the weather in one place:

The table shows how the weather translates directly into the style of a wine: heat gives strength and ripeness, cold freshness and acidity. They are two different faces of the same wine from different years.

Where the vintage matters most

The vintage does not have the same significance everywhere - it depends on the climate of the region. The influence of the vintage is strongest in regions of unpredictable, changeable weather, where years differ markedly in quality and style - like Bordeaux or Burgundy in France. There every year is something of a lottery, and the differences between vintages are enormous, which is why connoisseurs so keenly follow vintage rankings. In turn regions of stable, sunny weather show the smallest vintage differences - like many areas of California, Australia or Chile, where the sun obliges year in, year out. There the vintage is less significant, because conditions are predictable. This is why in cool, capricious regions the vintage is key information, and in warm, stable ones it matters less. Understanding this difference helps judge when it is worth worrying about the year on the label. It is a matter of the variability of the climate.

Wines without a vintage

It is worth mentioning the opposite: wines without a vintage (non-vintage, NV). These are wines deliberately blended from many vintages, to achieve a consistent, repeatable style. The most famous example is champagne: most champagnes are NV, blends of many years, whose aim is always the same, recognisable character of the house. Blending vintages allows weather differences to be evened out - a weaker year is supplemented with reserves from better ones. Wines without a vintage are famous for consistency and good value, because they do not depend on the whims of one year. It is a different philosophy from vintage wine: instead of giving the character of one season, they aim for constancy. Both approaches make sense - vintage gives the uniqueness of the year, NV gives certainty and repeatability. Understanding the difference helps choose deliberately. We cover sparkling wines more in champagne, prosecco and cava.

Why it matters for the drinker

Understanding the vintage gives practical knowledge. First, it explains why a favourite wine from different years can taste different - it is not a flaw but the effect of the weather of a given season. Second, it helps choosing: in regions of changeable weather it is worth checking whether a given vintage was successful, especially with more expensive wines for longer ageing. Third, it teaches humility before nature: wine is an agricultural product, dependent on capricious weather, not a factory product of a constant recipe. For the drinker the vintage is an extra layer of understanding and pleasure - the awareness that you are drinking the record of a particular, unrepeatable year. You do not have to know all the rankings, but it is worth knowing that the year on the label means something. It is knowledge that deepens the relationship with wine. We cover the ageing of wine more in the ageing of wine.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. The vintage is the year of harvest of the grapes, and in essence a record of the weather of a given growing season, which shapes the wine. The most important factors are the sun (ripeness and sugar - but an excess gives jammy, too strong a wine) and rain (moderate helps, an excess dilutes, especially just before harvest). A warm, dry year gives wines full, strong and ripe, a cool and wet one lighter, acidic and delicate. The vintage matters most in regions of changeable weather (Bordeaux, Burgundy), and less where the sun is stable (California). Wines without a vintage (NV), like most champagnes, blend years for consistency. Now you know why the year on the label is information about the weather and why it decides the style of a wine.

Note every wine in GustoNote - including the vintage and the style you sense. Over time you will start to associate years with the character of wines and better understand the influence of the weather.