vintage

American  

[vin-tij] / ˈvɪn tɪdʒ /

noun

vintages plural

1. the wine from a particular harvest or crop.

2. the annual produce of the grape harvest, especially with reference to the wine obtained.

3. an exceptionally fine wine from the crop of a good year.

4. the time of gathering grapes, or of winemaking.

5. the act or process of producing wine; winemaking.

6. the class of a dated object with reference to era of production or use.

   a hat of last year's vintage.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to wines or winemaking.

2. being of a specified vintage.

   Vintage wines are usually more expensive than nonvintage wines.

3. representing the high quality of a past time.

   vintage cars;

   vintage movies.

4. old-fashioned or obsolete.

   vintage jokes.

5. being the best of its kind.

   They praised the play as vintage O'Neill.

verb (used with object)

vintaged, vintaging

1. to gather or harvest (grapes) for wine-making.

   The muscats were vintaged too early.

2. to make (wine) from grapes.

   a region that vintages a truly great champagne.

verb (used without object)

vintaged, vintaging

1. to harvest grapes for wine-making.

vintage British  

/ ˈvɪntɪdʒ /

noun

1. the wine obtained from a harvest of grapes, esp in an outstandingly good year, referred to by the year involved, the district, or the vineyard

2. the harvest from which such a wine is obtained

3. 1. the harvesting of wine grapes

   2. the season of harvesting these grapes or for making wine

4. a time of origin

   a car of Edwardian vintage

5. informal a group of people or objects of the same period

   a fashion of last season's vintage

---

adjective

1. (of wine) of an outstandingly good year

2. representative of the best and most typical

   vintage Shakespeare

3. of lasting interest and importance; venerable; classic

   vintage films

4. old-fashioned; dated

verb

1. (tr) to gather (grapes) or make (wine)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvintage
  adjective
• unvintaged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vintages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vintage

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun), from Anglo-French, from vint(er) vintner + -age -age; replacing Middle English vendage, vindage, from Anglo-French; Old French vendange, from Latin vīndēmia “grape-gathering,” equivalent to vīn(um) “grape, wine” ( see wine) + dēm(ere) “to take from” (from dē- de- + (e)mere “to buy, obtain, take”) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

A vintage is the specific year that a wine was made. Different vintages are better than others. This word is mainly associated with wine. Some wine drinkers can actually identify a wine’s vintage based on smell or taste. Also, this word can refer to things that are old, yet also kind of cool. An antique car is known as a vintage automobile. There are also vintage bikes and watches. Watch out for the word vintage though: sometimes it just means old or used, like a vintage clothing store.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vintage vintages vintaged vintaging

With players like Fontaine and Kopa, Barker thinks the 1958 vintage can stand alongside the best French sides - including the modern one.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Instead of spending the money on a pricey establishing shot of the car driving on the 101, Wain inserts a brief vintage clip of a ’70s-era taxi, humming along the road.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Searle thanked the public for all the help she was offered, including the man who donated 80 vintage tea towels to help replace those lost.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

They have plans to expand with more vintage cars in the Hamptons in New York and West Palm Beach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

“The salient point about the modern vintage of housing-related fraud is its integral place within our nation’s institutions,” he added.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

New vintages from the European Union are poised to get pricier due to Trump administration duties and a stronger euro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

Mr Howell adds that "even without fires we are now subjected to more changeable vintages. So the odds are better if you use two different vintages to create the desired style for a particular wine."

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025

The trio formed Red Stitch, the wine label’s name not only a nod to their beloved sport but also the bonds that have held them together through 17 vintages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025

We don't know yet whether the changes in microbial diversity affect the flavor profiles of these two vintages.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2024

"Come with me to the Arbor, Xaro, and you'll have the finest vintages you ever tasted. But we'll need to go in a warship, not a pleasure barge."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

The proportion of wine from black grapes, mingled with the other wines, is vintaged by themselves in the Ahr valley and at Ingelheim on the Rhine.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry

We tasted here several sparkling hocks distinguished by their high flavour and refinement, with sparkling moselles vintaged in the best localities and equally excellent in quality.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry

As all the wines which he sends into the market are vintaged by himself, he can ensure their being of uniform high quality.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry

The cellars no longer contain any of that archaic wine vintaged in 1546, for which they were formerly celebrated.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry

Here the river acts as a reflector, throwing back the sun’s rays on the lower portions of the slope, where the finest wine is naturally vintaged.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry

They all answered that they were expected, and helped him to cover the figure of the vintaging girl with some strips of old linen which were soaking in a pail of water.

From His Masterpiece by Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred

In the foremost row are unripe grapes that cast the blossom, and others there be that are growing black to vintaging.

From The Odyssey Done into English prose by Lang, Andrew

They war against the quick and dead, Their flying feet are dashed with red, As theirs the vintaging that tread    Before the Lord.

From Ballads in Blue China by Lang, Andrew

Hail to thee, then, Dionysus of the clustered vine, and grant to us to come gladly again to the season of vintaging, yea, and afterwards for many a year to come. p.

From The Homeric Hymns A New Prose Translation; and Essays, Literary and Mythological by Lang, Andrew

At this Claude, stupefied, fairly stared at the emaciated Mathilde, and then at the huge vintaging woman.

From His Masterpiece by Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred

Related Words

• wine