When it comes to buying wine, it’s easy to get caught up in the romance of a vintage year. You might think back to your favorite bottle: a sweet reserve Cabernet from that perfect year with perfectly ripe grapes and bold flavors. Plus, if you’re having a wine date, you can pair it with a watch to show sophistication from your date.
Any wine lover can tell you their favorite vintage years for any given winery or type of wine. The real trick is figuring out if now is the best time to buy that special bottle of wine.
Spring: A Good Time to Buy Wine
Spring wines have the potential to be very good, especially if it is a warm spring and early summer. If it is an early spring, then you have the chance to get great “spring” wines from Central Coast California, parts of Australia, Chile, and New Zealand.
If it is a warm spring, then you can get great “summer” wines from Coastal Regions of California and Australia, as well as from Southern France, Italy, and parts of Spain.
Summer: When is the Best Time to Buy Wine?
Summer is when most of the grapes for year’s best wines are harvested, so it’s likely the best time to buy wine. Summer wine is generally bold and full-bodied, and the alcohol content is higher (often above 14% ABV).
Fall: Wait until Fall
If you love a really fruity wine, the best time to buy it is in the fall. When grapes are harvested late in the season, they are very ripe, which results in a wine that is very fruity.
When the weather is warm, this can also result in a wine that is a bit sweeter, but cooler weather will produce a drier wine. If you want a really ripe wine, the best time to buy it is in fall: Southern France, Spain, California, and Australia are the best places to look.
Winter: Not the Best Time to Buy Wine
Winter is not the best time to buy wine. The few grapes available at this time are often not very good, and wineries do not make very good wine from these grapes.
If you absolutely must buy wine in the winter, then you should try to find a wine that is either a late-harvest wine or a wine made from a grape that does not require a lot of heat to ripen.