What is vintage champagne? For all the wine lovers present in the world and don’t have a clue about what vintage champagne is, then you are in the right place. When romance is up in the air and two people are feeling each other then the best option is to open up a bubbly bottle of sparkling wine and let the rest follow.
Apparently, most wine experts and professionals say that wine keeps you active and makes you happy hence it is highly recommended. Vintage wines are meant for people who are celebrating special events and occasions.
In case you want to ask your girlfriend to marry you, or you and your wife are celebrating your long-awaited anniversary or you’ve just completed a huge amount of work and want to take it easy for the remaining time, you can decide to pop open a vintage wine and celebrate depending on the occasion.
Most of the people celebrating want a unique type of sparkling wine of which they are not sure. They don’t know whether to choose vintage sparkling wine or non-vintage sparkling wine. Don’t worry, we got you covered and will help you choose the best one. So what is vintage champagne? Let’s find that out.
What Does Vintage Champagne Mean?
What is vintage champagne? Many people are curious to know. Close to 80 to 90 % of sparkling wines sold in the world today are non-vintage types of champagne.
This means that the grapes that are used in the production of sparkling wine are not from the same year but from a couple of different years. This is very different from the vintage sparkling wines. The vintage champagne is made from grapes that are harvested and grown in one or the same year.
The grapes used are commonly known and include Pinot Meunier, Pinot noir, and Chardonnay, of which are harvested in one or the same year in order to manufacture vintage champagne. Most of us wonder as to why the non-vintage sparkling wine is made up of grapes not harvested in the same year.
This is because of the weather conditions. As the Champagne region in France is towards the northern hemisphere, the weather experienced in that area is cold and freezing. This brings about fluctuations as to when the grapes would ripen.
In some cases, you will find a year has passed and the grapes being grown have not yet ripened while in other cases you might find that the grapes have already ripened even before a year has passed.
In order to solve this problem, several Champagne houses in France started reserving old wines in drums and tanks and later blended the old reserve wines with the current wine from the same year hence producing non-vintage sparkling wines that are very common in the world.
What Is Vintage Champagne - Why Is it Expensive?
Most people don’t know that vintage sparkling wine should be reserved and aged for 4 years which is the minimum number of years, as opposed to a non-vintage sparkling wine which should be reserved and aged for 15 months of which is the minimum.
For the non-vintage sparkling wine, you can age it up to three years without a problem. Champagne houses such as Laurent Perrier have manufactured their non-vintage sparkling wines for more than three years and they are one of the best selling wine companies in the world.
This is what makes vintage sparkling wine more expensive than non-vintage sparkling wine. The more time you have to market your wine means that the wine is more likely to be expensive. Although vintage sparkling wine is slightly more expensive than non-vintage sparkling wine, it is one of the best wines that you’ll ever taste thus it won’t disappoint you.
Why It’s Better to Drink Vintage Champagne
As you already know what vintage champagne is, you can now know of its verse benefits. Vintage sparkling wine is manufactured using the best grapes and one factor that makes it more efficient than non-vintage sparkling wine is that it spends a lot of time when the secondary fermentation takes place in the wine bottle.
As opposed to no vintage sparkling wine, vintage champagne is highly unique, which means that you will never recreate the same vintage wine again as it is only for that year only for its uniqueness.
Vintage champagne can age and last for up to 60 years depending on the brand of the sparkling wine. I have drunk the Dom Perignon vintage wine, which was manufactured in the year 1960 that was tasty and beautiful.
Most people drink vintage sparkling wine when they are too young which is not highly advisable. Wine experts advise us to wait for some years before drinking the vintage wine. You will find that it would have gone high in price and value.
Vintage sparkling wine is all about the vibes and what you are celebrating. Learning about sparkling wines whether vintage or non-vintage is all about getting the right answers, knowing which is the best style of wine that you like, and which wine producers are you into.
If you know these three things then it will be very easy for you when you are choosing which type of vintage sparkling wine to choose in order to enjoy with your beloved ones.
You could also read about if Korbel champagne is good.
What Is Vintage Champagne - Why Is it the Best?
What is vintage champagne? All those who know what vintage champagne is, arguably know that it is one of the best despite its huge price tag.
If you know how to choose your vintage sparkling wine carefully, then the price should not be an issue as there are some vintage champagne out there that are readily available and cheap for the people, especially during the festive seasons and holidays.
Many of us want to enjoy our vintage sparkling wine, but you won’t know its true potential if you only buy it once or twice a year. For you to know a vintage’s true capability and taste then you should be a regular customer in your regular wine shop and in all truth, vintage champagne does not disappoint.
