What is the difference between vintage and non-vintage Champagne?
The major difference is that vintage champagne is made from the grapes of only one year’s harvest, whereas non-vintage champagne is a blend of many different years’ wines. Non-vintage champagne is a blend of several different years’ wine. Because of this, the character of non-vintage champagne is very consistent year after year. Styles of non-vintage champagne vary by both producer and region within Champagne. The vintage wines are only made in exceptional years where the grapes ripen well (as Champagne, as a region, is rather far north) and can only contain juice from that vintage. Some of these vintage bottlings are aged for many years in the winery before being released while others are aged the minimum required by law (3 years). Because these wines are produced from a single year’s fruit they reflect that specific vintage and can vary from one vintage to another (from delicious brain-numbing liquids to idiosyncratic wines that can be backward). A well-known example of vintage champ
