One of the complaints I often hear from the average wine buyer is that they just don't know what wine to buy. These buyers often buy wine based upon two things: price and how much they like the label. If this describes you, please read on. It is time to become a more educated wine buyer.
What factors should I consider when buying wine?
That is a big question, and honestly I believe it varies depending on what wine region you are buying wine from. I can say that there are two things that you should always pay attention to: the producer and vintage. I am just going to focus on vintage for the rest of this post. I'll talk about producers later.
What do you mean by vintage?
The vintage is the year that the wine grapes that are in the bottle of wine were grown and harvested. If bottle of wine you are looking at has the date of 2006, then the grapes in that bottle were grown and harvested that year.
What makes a good vintage different from a bad one?
Grapes, like any crop, are affected by variations in weather. All aspects of weather have an effect and each growing season the weather is a little different. Too much or too little sun or rain can have a significant impact on the quality of the grapes grown that season. Different types of grapes are affected by different weather conditions.
How do I know what vintages are good?
Rely on people that make it their business to know. Many wine publications provide their vintage ratings free of charge.
The next time you are presented with the option of choosing between two different vintages of the same wine--make the right decision and you'll likely enjoy a better wine.
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