Vintage Is a Harvest Before It Is an Adjective
Vintage means the year a wine was made, and by extension anything old and good. The word comes from the grape harvest itself.
Vintage is the year's grape harvest and the wine made from it. Only some years are declared vintages in regions like Champagne and Port: in lesser years the wine is blended across harvests instead. Everyday English then borrowed the word for anything old and of quality — vintage clothing, vintage comedy.
- The year a wine was produced. *A 1982 vintage.*
- Old and of high quality. *Vintage furniture.*
- A period of origin. *A car of 1920s vintage.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vintage | A great vintage. |
| Plural | vintages | Recent vintages. |
| Adjective | vintage | Vintage clothing. |
| Person | vintner | A wine vintner. |
| Related | viticulture | A viticulture course. |
How it is used in a sentence
- It was a poor vintage in that region.Weather during the growing season.
- She collects vintage typewriters.Old and desirable.
- The house is of Edwardian vintage.Meaning period.
Age categories
- Vintage clothing — typically twenty years old or more
- Antique — usually a hundred years or more
- Retro — new but made in an old style
- Veteran car — in Britain, built before 1905
- Vintage car — in Britain, built between 1919 and 1930
From Anglo-French *vendage*, from Latin *vindemia*, the grape harvest, from *vinum*, wine, and *demere*, to take off. The spelling drifted towards *vintner*.
What is a non-vintage wine?
One blended from several harvests, common in Champagne to keep a consistent house style. It is not a mark of poor quality.
Vintage or antique?
Antique generally means a hundred years or older. Vintage means old enough to be characteristic of a period, often twenty years or more.