Vintage once ruled the wine world
In wine, the vintage has always been king. Every bottle of red, white, or rosé almost always carries the year of harvest on the label. Non-vintage still wine, which blends grapes from several years, has long been seen as cheap and undesirable. It is also far less common.
But climate change is now shaking this tradition. Heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather push winemakers to seek consistency. A small but growing group of respected wineries now release non-vintage bottles. They argue blending ensures quality when nature brings chaos.
Napa Valley feels the heat
Chris Howell, winemaker at Cain Vineyard in California’s famous Napa Valley, has worked there since 1991. He says summers are much hotter than before. “Heat waves are now more dramatic,” he explains. “They can peak at nearly 50C.”
The higher temperatures also bring wildfire danger. In 2017, devastating fires struck Napa right in the middle of harvest. Howell decided to use only grapes picked before the disaster. That meant saving half of the crop from possible smoke contamination.
He remained calm because Cain already produced a non-vintage blend called Cain Cuvée. Howell says blending across years provides safety and flexibility. “Even without fires, vintages have become unpredictable. Two years combined improve the odds of achieving the desired style.”
Champagne built on blending
Still wines remain mostly vintage, but sparkling wines tell another story. In Champagne, non-vintage bottles dominate. Historically, this was the only option, as the northern French region rarely saw perfect summers. Winemakers had to blend harvests to create reliable quality.
Now warmer summers mean more vintage champagne than before. Yet blending remains the standard because it guarantees consistency.
Italian experiment challenges tradition
In Italy, Riccardo Pasqua embraced this approach for still wine. Inspired by great non-vintage champagnes, he launched Italy’s first multi-year white in 2019. His family winery near Verona now blends grapes from as many as five years.
Pasqua wanted to capture the best expression of a single vineyard while escaping the unpredictability of weather. “My family thought I was crazy,” he recalls. “But blending gives the wine more depth, more chapters in its story.”
He named the wine Hey French, You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t. The playful jab nods to Italy’s rivalry with France. With climate change bringing droughts, hail, and heat, more Italian winemakers now consider this path. “Extreme weather has become ordinary,” Pasqua says. “Frosts in spring, violent hail, and scorching summers are now expected.”
Breaking the stigma
Back in Napa, Howell says the wine world must drop its bias against non-vintage bottles. “Why cling to single vintages? Non-vintage wines can be just as delicious,” he insists.
Wine expert Dawn Davies, a master of wine, believes many drinkers will adapt. She divides consumers into three groups. Casual buyers, who often spend under £15, rarely care about vintages. Industry insiders and connoisseurs also welcome blending because they understand the challenges.
The real resistance comes from traditionalists. They focus on vintages and resist change, much like the early rejection of screw caps. But Davies points out a fact often forgotten: “Most wines are blends already. They come from multiple plots or barrels. Blending across years is only the next step.”
