Wines may be classified by the year in which the grapes
are harvested. "Vintage wines" are made from grapes
of a single year's harvest, and are accordingly dated.
These wines often improve in flavor as they age, and wine
enthusiasts will occasionally save bottles of a favorite
vintage wine for future consumption.
For most types of wine, the best-quality grapes and the
most care in wine-making are employed on vintage wines.
They are therefore more expensive than non-vintage wines.
Whilst vintage wines are generally made in a single
batch so that each and every bottle will have a similar
taste, climatic factors can have a dramatic impact on the
character of a wine to the extent that different vintages
from the same vineyard can vary dramatically in flavor and
quality.
Superior vintages, from reputable producers and
regions, will often fetch much higher prices than their
average vintages. Some vintage wines are only made in
better-than-average years.
At the highest end, rare, super-premium wines are
amongst the most expensive of all foodstuffs, and
outstanding vintages from the best vineyards may sell for
thousands of dollars per bottle.
Red wines, at least partly because of their ability to
form more complex subtleties, are typically the most
expensive. Such wines are often at their best, years or
sometimes decades after bottling.
