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This week we'll take a look at American
wine vintages and your birthdate. Ever wondered whether you
were born in the year of a great vintage or a perhaps a year that
might taste better as salad dressing? If you're fortunate enough
to be somewhere between 15 and 41 years old open a bottle of wine
you love to drink, toast to your health and then take a look at
the following chart. You'll find three of America's
best red wines rated on the basis of how well they did in
a given year.
Since there is very little recorded about wine vintages
in most of America's newest wine regions, I've chosen the California
wine region. And who knows, maybe you have a bottle or two
resting in the wine cellar. If you don't you might try asking
your family if they laid away a case on the day the wine was released
from the winery with your birthdate on it. This is a tradition
in some European countries and in England they choose a Portuguese
Port for its long aging potential and start to drink it on the
21st birthday.
If you find that you were born in a stellar year, you might
want to try to find a bottle or two. In which case you'll be calling
up a a few good wineshops that make a
specialty of handling older vintages. For the really determined
finding out where the next
wine auction is taking place in San Francisco or Chicago or
New York City will be your goal. You can reserve your bidder's
paddle and get ready for the thrill of trying to buy your wine
against collectors from all over the world.
Birthday Vintage Chart
|
Vintage |
Cabernet sauvignon |
Pinot noir |
Zinfandel |
| 1955 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
| 1956 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
| 1957 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
| 1958 |
20 |
19 |
19 |
| 1959 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
| 1960 |
19 |
18 |
18 |
| 1961 |
18 |
18 |
17 |
| 1962 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
| 1963 |
14 |
13 |
13 |
| 1964 |
18 |
17 |
17 |
| 1965 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
| 1966 |
20 |
16 |
18 |
| 1967 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
| 1968 |
20 |
16 |
18 |
| 1969 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
| 1970 |
20 |
17 |
18 |
| 1971 |
14 |
12 |
15 |
| 1972 |
11 |
12 |
14 |
| 1973 |
17 |
15 |
16 |
| 1974 |
20 |
17 |
18 |
| 1975 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
| 1976 |
15 |
17 |
18 |
| 1977 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
| 1978 |
18 |
17 |
16 |
| 1979 |
16 |
17 |
17 |
| 1980 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
| 1981 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
The chart below will give you an indication of how the
wine rates in quality. Twenty points is the system developed at
U.C. Davis,
School of Enology and Viticulture for rating wines based on
their color, aroma , flavor, balance, acidity level, finish and
overall freedom from defects.
What the rating means
| Distinguished |
20-19 |
| Excellent |
18-17 |
| Very Good |
16-15 |
| Good |
14-13 |
| Fair-Common |
12-11 |
| Poor, Faulty |
10-9 |
| Unacceptable |
8-6 |
| Undrinkable |
5-1 |
Cheers! Here's to life.
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