A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and declare vintage Port in their best years.

You might think an older vintage is better than a newer one, but that isn't always the case. Some wines are better drunk soon after release, while others taste better if they are a little older. For white and rose wines, they are often best enjoyed the same year as the label, or just a year later.

Whilst the term can cause confusion for some, the answer is really quite simple. Vintage refers to the year when a wine's grapes were harvested.

The word vintage literally means "of age." With such an open meaning, there are many interpretations. Most antique dealers consider an item to be vintage if it is at least 40 years old. So, in the context of this blog date, a vintage item would be made between 1918 and 1978.