Photo courtesy of Unsplash | Taken by Lucas Law

Often, winemakers note that they get only one opportunity per year to perfect their craft. A single vintage, they explain, is all they have to capture a year’s worth of weather variations, difficulties, and abundance in their wine.

This implies that many winemakers, when wine production is their lifelong profession, typically have the chance to perfect their art throughout 30 or 40 vintages, or even more in some cases.

One such vintage holds a special meaning… for you.

We’re discussing “birth year” wines, or wines produced in the year of your birth. This tradition carries sentimental value for wine enthusiasts: collecting wines from their own birth year, gifting wines from the birth year of friends or children, and celebrating a birthday by opening a birth-year bottle.

This gesture adds a layer of significance to the memory of the gift and the giver, creating a lasting impression. Consider the winemaker from Sardinia who shared a bottle from my birth year, coincidentally his first vintage. Or my parents’ friends, avid wine collectors, who gifted two bottles to celebrate the birth of my twins.

Such magnanimous gestures indeed!

However, the significance doesn’t just lie in the act of gifting the birth year wine; it also stems from when we choose to open it. The birth year wine for my twins might be opened on their 21st birthday. The Sardinian wine from my birth year may have already reached its peak, and the joy may be more in opening and reflecting on that particular year than the wine itself.

When it comes to wines from your birth year, the concept of being “age worthy” takes on a completely different interpretation. Perhaps for your next birthday, or the birthday of someone special to you, you could consider tracking down a wine from your birth year. Matthew might have some suggestions for you. Celebrate the event by discussing what “age worthy” means to you.

Credit: Unsplash | Photo by Annie Spratt

Have you ever had the experience of sitting down with a bottle of wine that was produced in your birth year?

It’s one of the unique experiences we have at our disposal in the world of wine drinking. Matching our personal growth journey with those of an agricultural product that has been nurtured and refined into bottled magic that can stand the test of time.

Is it good?

Good is subjective.

Some people love young and fresh wines, and good on them for enjoying them!

Some people love the tertiary qualities that wine gains as it ages. The fruit will integrate, dissipate, and earth tones come into focus.

What factors contribute to a wine’s ability to age?

There are three key elements: Acidity, Tannic Structure, and Sweetness.

If a wine scores highly in at least two out of these three categories, it could potentially be aged for several decades, during which time it would undergo a form of alchemical transformation.

How can I find out if the wine from my birth year is of high quality?

In essence, this pertains to the levels of output. A good crop year tends to provide wineries with an ample yield of wine. Having had decades of observing wines from 1960s-1990s, it’s become comparatively easy to ascertain which vintages have aged well. My belief is that if a well-crafted wine has been kept unmoved in a cold, dark place for many years, it’s highly likely to age gracefully.

However, finding accessible bottles of vintage wines is becoming increasingly challenging as we move forward, and prices continue to rise likewise. My advice is to explore lesser-known regions and smaller producers. Don’t shy away from taking risks, spend a few bucks and discover wines you have never heard of before. Time and darkness have the power to rectify any errors made by a wine that was sent to languish in a cold bottle for seemingly endless periods.

Today is my birthday, and as I was born in 1983, my birth year has always been outshone by 1982. However, over the past 20 years, I’ve been sampling many 1983 bottles and so far, none have disappointed me.

Here’s to celebrating with the wine from your birth year!